£100 million donated to Oxfam in spite of recession

Generous residents in England donated an impressive £100 million to Oxfam last year, recent figures revealed.

The cash gifts provides enough to feed more than 14 million families or provide clean water for more than 110 million people worldwide.

The ten most generous counties were:
1. Oxford - £ 16 million
2. London - £ 11 million
3. Surrey - £2.9 million
4. Lancashire - £2.5 million
5. Kent - £2.1 million
6. West Yorkshire - £2.1 million
7. Hampshire - £ 1.9 million
8. West Midlands - £1.9 million
9. Cheshire - £1.8 million
10. Hertfordshire - £1.7 million

The statistics prove that people haven’t been put off giving by the tough economic times. In fact, research revealed that one in five (22 per cent) say that the recession has made them feel more compassionate towards those in greater need.

However, the research also showed that 72 per cent of Britons believe running costs eat up a significant amount of their donation and 65 per cent admit that they are put off supporting charities because of these costs.

The figures were released on the same day that Oxfam teamed up with PayPal to bring back the groundbreaking 100 per cent giving initiative, first launched in February. This sees PayPal covering the running costs on every donation made to the charity via PayPal in September, giving generous people in England a chance to push their pound even further.

Paul Vanags, Oxfam’s Head of Innovation, says: “At a time when life is financially harder for most of us, the generosity of people in this country is amazing and absolutely vital in supporting Oxfam’s work fighting poverty around the world.

“Administration costs are essential to enable us to work in more than 70 countries. But we do appreciate that for a few people, they can sometimes be a barrier to giving to charity.

“By teaming up with PayPal for 100% giving, we’re giving everyone the opportunity to make their money go further, with every penny of their donation going directly to the cause.”