Projects Direct FAQs

Projects Direct are carefully chosen from projects submitted by Oxfam regional offices around the world. We choose a variety of locations and themes, but all projects help local communities to improve their daily lives.

All Projects Direct fit into Oxfam's national, regional and global strategies for change. Oxfam project managers across the world let us know about important projects which they need funding for and we share this information here on the Projects Direct website. We then need your donations to make them happen. Local organisations, local communities and Oxfam work together on these projects and we report back to you on their progress.

Your donations make positive change in developing countries possible. Oxfam carefully chooses local organisations that we work with to respond to the needs of their communities. We also have good links with local and national governments, but we need your donations to make a difference.

Projects have an annual cycle from the start of April to the end of March, and we will send you reports half way through that time and at the end. Most Projects Direct last for more than one year - the project description will explain the stage that this project is embarking on this year.

Oxfam almost always works with local partner organisations, which we ensure are carefully chosen. So why shouldn't you just donate to them directly? Choosing to support local communities through Oxfam has some big advantages:

Oxfam nurtures and builds the skills and abilities of local individuals and communities, so they can do more for themselves. 

We're responsible
Oxfam makes sure that project implementation is monitored and evaluated. And we track how money is spent. 

We're experienced 
Oxfam works in 92 countries around the world. This means that we can learn what works and use successful methods in other locations and we share what we've learnt. 

We look at the big picture
All Oxfam projects are in the context of a long-term plan to develop a region, and we always 'plan to leave'. Our goal is to build local skills and experience so that communities can be in control of their own lives.

Oxfam updates Projects Direct at the end of March (the end of our financial year). At this point we update information on multi-year projects for the coming year, and launch new projects starting in April.