Oxfam has reinvented the way you donate your unwanted goods to charity by launching the first ever permanent workplace charity stock donation programme today. Oxfam Collects aims to bring in an extra £1 million worth of donated clothing, books, music and other unwanted goods directly through offices and workplaces across the UK.
The scheme makes clearing out your clutter and donating it to charity as easy as simply turning up to work each day. Uniquely, Oxfam reports back to every individual who donates through this scheme to tell them how much their unwanted goods have raised and illustrate what this amount of money could fund in the charity’s work.
Oxfam is aiming to work with up to 100 companies in the next twelve months to follow in the footsteps of its successful City pilot with international law firm Freshfields, Aviva Investors and others to sign up around 10,000 donors. This could raise around £1million – enough to buy safe water for 1.1 million people or to fund all of Oxfam’s work in Niger for a year.
Every company that participates also receives a corporate impact report that celebrates its employees’ contribution – referencing the contribution the total funds could make to Oxfam’s beneficiaries.
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Recent research by Oxfam indicates that 17% of people haven’t donated anything to a charity shop in the past year, with a further 26% only donating once or twice. In addition, once the decision to donate to charity has been made, the most important factors when making a charity shop donation are ease and convenience.
Oxfam’s Director of Trading David McCullough said:
“Our sixty years of experience tells us that donating unwanted goods to charity is very much part of British culture, but also that sometimes it’s not easy to find the time to get down to your local shop. Oxfam Collects is designed to make donating your unwanted goods as easy as getting to work on a Monday morning.
“Even better, thanks to Gift Aid, not only does every donation raise 28% more to help us change lives, it also means we can tell you exactly how much you’ve helped us to raise. For thousands of people living in poverty around the world, joining Oxfam Collects could be the most important thing you do during your working day.”
James Smethurst, a partner at Freshfields said:
“Freshfields has a long pro-bono relationship with Oxfam and we’re delighted to have been involved in piloting this highly innovative yet simple scheme. Feedback has been positive and staff have appreciated knowing how much money their unwanted items have raised and how Oxfam uses that money to fight poverty. We’re currently on track to reach our goal of £15,000 in year one and are looking forward to participating in Oxfam Collects for some time to come.”
