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CAFOD stands for ‘Catholic Agency for Overseas Development’.

We are the official Catholic aid agency for England and Wales. We work in more than 40 countries across the world, with more than 500 local partners, standing side by side with them to end poverty and injustice through practical help, emergency relief and advocacy.

We are the England & Wales representative of the global Caritas network, a federation of 170 international Catholic aid agencies. Visit the Caritas website for further information.

More about what we do

Here at CAFOD stewardship is one of our key values. This means that we take great care of the valuable resources entrusted to us by our supporters. The amount we spend on fundraising and governance is low compared with other major charities.

For each £1 you donate:

• 82p is spent directly on overseas programmes, UK education (schools and supporters) and global advocacy.

• 9p is spent on support costs required to run the organisation.

This means that 91p in every pound you donate is spent on delivering our charitable activities, with a further 9p spent to generate future income.

Read our annual review

CAFOD is funded mainly by the Catholic community in England and Wales, but also by the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the European Union and organisations such as Comic Relief, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and other Catholic development and relief agencies.

International organisations define poverty as living on less than $2 per day. Extreme poverty is living on less than $1 per day.

But the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) also states that: “poverty can also mean the denial of opportunities and choices most basic to human development – to lead a long, healthy, creative life; to have a decent standard of living.”

This means that alleviating poverty is not just about providing the bare necessities, but ensuring that people have dignity and quality of life too.

On the whole things are slowly improving. One quarter of the world’s population still lives in severe poverty, but we are making progress. According to the United Nations figures, child death rates in developing countries have more than halved in the last 50 years. Malnutrition rates are down by almost a third, and more children are attending primary school than ever before.

Over the past 30 years, the number of people in developing countries with access to safe water nearly doubled.

While these figures are encouraging, we’re not complacent about them. We continue to work and campaign for a better deal for people living in poverty.

As the official agency of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and respectful of Catholic teaching and beliefs, we never fund the supply or distribution of condoms. We ask all partners working in the area of HIV prevention to give individuals full information about all means of HIV prevention and that this advice is scientifically correct.

Find out how to volunteer with us

See CAFOD’s job vacancies

No.

We employ staff at most levels of the organisation who are not Catholic but who share CAFOD's vision, values and ethical framework. Job descriptions for each post specify what kind of knowledge and understanding of the Catholic Church is needed.

CAFOD doesn’t send volunteers overseas, but we do operate a gap year scheme for 18-30 year olds, which includes time spent with our partners overseas.

It’s our policy to work through well-established local organisations overseas that are mostly staffed by local professionals. While there’s no question that sharing ideas and skills between developed and developing countries is valuable, we believe members of local communities should be trained and supported in finding their own solutions.

Absolutely! Why not explore our website for ways to give, campaign and pray with CAFOD?

Yes, we have hundreds of resources for schools and young people – everything from assemblies and lesson plans to powerpoints and icebreakers. Go to our education pages to find the full range of activities and resources, most of which are instantly downloadable, and some of which are available to order free of charge.

For help with your homework visit our learning hub.

For any other enquiries, please e-mail schools@cafod.org.uk

Yes, we have Campaigning materials to order and download, fundraising ideas, and worship materials, such as prayers and liturgies. We provide resources for young people, and our policy & research papers give you more in-depth information about our work. All of these resources can be found in the relevant sections of the website.

If you are receiving duplicate mailings or literature from CAFOD which is unwanted, please contact CAFOD on 020 7733 7900 and ask for Supporter Care, or email your request to cafod@cafod.org.uk

Alternatively, you can sign up for one of our e-newsletters. This means you can keep up to date with our work by email instead – less paper for you, less cost for us.

Yes, CAFOD can provide speakers, youth workers or educational staff to visit your school or parish. If you would like to find out more, contact your local CAFOD office