Oxfam vs British Red Cross
In short: Oxfam GB tackles poverty through humanitarian response, development and campaigning, with partners and UK shops. The British Red Cross runs emergency, refugee and health services in the UK and contributes to international relief through its Movement.
Last reviewed by CharityCompare editorial.
Both respond to humanitarian crises, with different roles at home. Oxfam GB put 52% of its 2024/25 charitable spending into humanitarian work and reports 9.21 million people supported where it is the executing affiliate. The British Red Cross responded to 1,300 UK emergencies in 2025 and runs refugee and health services here. Their financial years end in March and December.
Oxfam vs British Red Cross: key differences
| What to compare | OXFAM | THE BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY |
|---|---|---|
| Registered work and operating model | Humanitarian response, long-term development and campaigning on poverty, with partner organisations and UK shops. | UK emergency response, refugee support and health and care services, plus international relief. |
| What to consider | Its people-supported figure covers countries where it is the executing affiliate, not the whole Oxfam confederation. It worked with 426 partner organisations and made 687 grants to institutions in 2024/25. | It reports spending by area: £36.1 million on disasters and emergencies, £53.3 million on health and care, £28.0 million on displacement and migration and £110.7 million on work across the world in 2025. |
| Access and practical checks | Give to a named emergency appeal or general funds, or donate goods to its shops. It is registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. | Check which UK services, such as mobility aids hire, Support at Home or refugee support, run near you. It is one charity, incorporated by Royal Charter and registered in England and Wales, Scotland, Jersey and the Isle of Man. |
| Sourced result or evidence gap | 9.21 million: People supported with partners. 2024/25, countries where Oxfam GB is the executing affiliate. A charity-reported output with no counting method given; 8.05 million of them were reached through humanitarian response. | More than 37,900: People supported by its UK refugee services. 2025, UK. A charity-reported output; 77% of those given one-to-one casework reported reduced risk to their safety and wellbeing, a measure covering only that subgroup. |
What the latest filings show
Figures from the accounts held in our dated dataset; the live register may contain newer filings. Ratios can span multiple years, as labelled. Clarity scores use our methodology. Cost to raise £1 of donations is not part of the score; legacies make it lumpy, and it is withheld where trading costs would distort it (how it works).
These snapshots have different latest accounts years. Compare the same period in the full profiles before drawing a conclusion from a financial difference.
| Metric | OXFAM | THE BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY |
|---|---|---|
| Latest accounts year in our snapshot | 2025 | 2024 |
| Financial snapshot refreshed | 2026-09-06 | 2026-09-06 |
| Ratio reporting window | 3-yr avg | 3-yr avg |
| Overall score | 60/100 (3★) | 77/100 (4★) |
| Accountability & Finance | 75/100 | 100/100 |
| Spend on charitable activities | 68% of expenditure | 78% of expenditure |
| Fundraising efficiency | £3.1 total income per £1 fundraising (2023–2025, disclosed years) | £4.9 total income per £1 fundraising (2022–2024, disclosed years) |
| Cost to raise £1 of donations | Not shown for 2025: trading income was 93% of donations | Not shown for 2024: trading income was 29% of donations |
| Latest income | £339m | £287m |
| Fundraising spend | 32% of expenditure | 22% of expenditure |
| Reserves | 2 months | 2 months |
| Accounts filing | Late | On time |
| Data confidence | medium | high |
| Charity number | 202918 | 220949 |
OXFAM on the register · THE BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY on the register
Considering Oxfam GB
- You want to fund humanitarian response together with long-term development and campaigning on the causes of poverty.
- You want to give by shopping or donating goods as well as money.
Considering British Red Cross
- You want to fund emergency response in the UK as well as overseas.
- You want to support health and care services such as help at home and mobility aids.
Oxfam vs British Red Cross: questions answered
Oxfam or British Red Cross: which should I support?
There is no universal winner. Oxfam GB combines humanitarian response, development and campaigning on poverty; the British Red Cross runs UK crisis, refugee and health services and supports international relief. Choose the work you want to fund, then check the appeal and accounts period. A financial rating is not an impact assessment.
How are they linked to their international networks?
Oxfam GB is an affiliate of Oxfam International, a separate charitable foundation registered in the Netherlands, and Oxfam affiliates are not under common control. The British Red Cross is one of the National Societies that, with the IFRC and the ICRC, make up the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
How much of their spending is humanitarian?
Oxfam GB says 52% of its 2024/25 charitable spending was humanitarian, including £24.2 million of donated goods distributed to people. The British Red Cross does not use the same categories: it reports £36.1 million on disasters and emergencies and £110.7 million on work across the world in 2025.
How we score charities +
The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.
Accountability & Transparency
Scored from filings
40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10).
Financial Health
Scored from filings
30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises).
Financial Efficiency
Scored from filings
20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below).
Community Support
Scored from filings
10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio.
Overall score
Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated.