Catholic Agency for Overseas Development

What Catholic Agency for Overseas Development does

CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development) is the official overseas aid and development agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Founded in 1962 (with a 1984 reference point suggesting a structural reorganization), the charity operates from Romero House on Westminster Bridge Road in London and runs regional programme offices in Harare (Southern Africa), Nairobi (East Africa), and Khartoum (Sudan). It is a member of the Caritas Internationalis confederation, the global Catholic humanitarian network, and is led by CEO Christine Allen.

The organization's work spans international development, emergency relief, and advocacy, delivered through field programmes in Africa and elsewhere. Its public-facing products include World Gifts (an alternative-gift catalogue), Education and Prayer Resources, Campaign Actions, and an online donation portal. Fundraising is diversified across five channels: individual and parish donations, a Gambling Commission-licensed Summer Raffle (operated with lottery partner Woods Valldata), corporate partnerships, legacy giving, and dedicated schools and youth fundraising. Technology infrastructure is anchored on the Fundraise Up donation platform, which applies ML-driven donation suggestions to optimize supporter conversion, alongside Woods Valldata for lottery management.

CAFOD holds multiple accreditations relevant to the UK charity sector, including DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee), NCVO, Bond, CHS Alliance membership, Living Wage Employer, and Disability Confident status. It is registered with the ICO, holds Gambling Commission licence no. 42347, and is signed up to the Fundraising Regulator. Revenue, donor counts, and year-over-year growth figures are not disclosed in the available input.

Name

Catholic Agency for Overseas Development

Legal name

Catholic Agency for Overseas Development

Website

https://cafod.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

CAFOD is the official Catholic overseas aid agency for England and Wales, funding international development and emergency relief through parish donations, a licensed lottery, corporate partnerships, legacy giving, and schools/youth fundraising, delivered via a global Caritas network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development Charity

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB), International Development & Donor-Funded Education Programs (EDADALAB), Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning (MEL) & Reporting for Donor Programs (BPADAOAL)

Keywords

• International development
• Humanitarian aid
• Charitable fundraising
• Emergency relief
• Advocacy campaigns

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual and Parish Donations: Donations from individual supporters, parishes, and direct debit monthly donors across England and Wales
2. Lottery and Raffle: CAFOD Summer Raffle and prize draws licensed by Gambling Commission (account number 42347). Ticket sales at £1 per entry, with maximum 60 tickets per customer. 2025 raffle generated £170,224 in ticket sales with 50% going to charitable purposes.
3. Corporate Partnerships and Philanthropy: Major giving programme and corporate partnerships for larger donations
4. Legacy Giving: Bequests and gifts left in supporters' wills
5. Schools and Youth Fundraising: Education programmes engaging schools and young people in fundraising activities

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CAFOD is a Catholic international development charity that raises funds through individual donations, parish collections, ethical gift purchases, and an annual society lottery to support overseas development and humanitarian response programmes. It operates as the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, delivering aid through local partners in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East to address poverty, injustice, conflict and climate crisis.

Product overview

CAFOD operates as a Catholic international development charity offering a portfolio of engagement tools rather than a unified software product. The core offering includes emergency and development aid programs funded through online donations (via Fundraise Up), an ethical gift shop (World Gifts), and an annual Summer Raffle (Gambling Commission license 42347). Supplementary offerings include educational resources for schools, prayer and reflection materials, and online campaign tools for advocacy on issues like debt crisis and climate justice. The organization does not offer a SaaS platform or developer-facing products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• World Gifts Ethical charity gift shop where supporters purchase symbolic gifts such as agricultural tools, clean water solutions, and community support packages that fund CAFOD's overseas development work. Targeted at individual supporters looking for tangible, ethical present alternatives.
• Summer Raffle
• Education Resources
• Prayer Resources
• Campaign Actions
• Online Donation Portal

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Caritas InternationaliscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAFOD is part of Caritas Internationalis, the global network of Catholic development agencies. This membership connects CAFOD to a worldwide network of charities working on international development and humanitarian response.
• Woods ValldatacoreTechnology or IntegrationExternal Lottery Manager (ELM) licensed by Gambling Commission (licence number 003586-N-103664-013). Operates online raffle platform, handles ticket distribution, payment processing, and data management for CAFOD's society lottery.
• Fundraise UpcoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline donations provider using machine learning to process donations, make personalised suggestions on donation amounts and frequency, and track conversions for CAFOD's digital fundraising.
• GoogleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAdvertising platform partner for digital marketing campaigns. CAFOD shares customer and transaction data via secure Shopify integrations to measure campaign effectiveness and attribute sales activity.
• MicrosoftminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAdvertising platform partner for digital marketing campaigns. Data sharing via secure integrations for campaign measurement.
• TikTokminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media and advertising platform partner for reaching supporters and driving donations.
• Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media platforms for advertising and supporter engagement. CAFOD shares email addresses to exclude supporters who have already donated from targeted appeals.
• JustGivingminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party fundraising site where supporters can create pages to raise money for CAFOD.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• British Red Cross: UK arm of the International Red Cross movement. Directly comparable as a UK-anchored humanitarian charity with emergency response appeals (DEC member), large volunteer base, and programmes in conflict and disaster-affected regions.
• World Vision UK: UK arm of World Vision International, a Christian child-focused humanitarian NGO. Comparable to CAFOD in faith-rooted UK fundraising, school and parish/sponsor engagement, and international development programme delivery.
• Islamic Relief Worldwide: Faith-based UK-headquartered international humanitarian and development NGO. Comparable to CAFOD in faith-rooted fundraising from a UK constituency, overseas programme delivery, and DEC co-membership.
• Plan International UK: UK arm of Plan International focused on children's rights and gender equality. Comparable to CAFOD in UK mass-market individual giving, school sponsorship programmes, and international development portfolio.
• Tearfund: UK evangelical Christian relief and development agency. Closely comparable to CAFOD's faith-anchored fundraising model through UK churches and individual supporters, with similar overseas programme delivery through local partners and DEC co-membership.
• Christian Aid: UK-based ecumenical Christian international development charity. Closest peer to CAFOD given the parallel faith-based fundraising model, church network engagement, and international development and humanitarian programme portfolio across the Global South.
• ActionAid UK: UK-based international development charity focused on women's rights and poverty. Comparable to CAFOD as a UK-anchored NGO raising funds from the UK public for rights-based development programmes in Africa and Asia through local partners.
• Save the Children UK: Major UK-headquartered international children's charity. Comparable to CAFOD in scale, UK mass-market fundraising operations, school engagement programmes, and overseas humanitarian and development delivery.
• Oxfam GB: One of the largest UK-based international development and humanitarian NGOs. Directly comparable to CAFOD as a faith-independent charity raising funds from the UK public to fund poverty alleviation and emergency response programmes overseas, with overlapping donor bases and DEC membership.

Broad incumbents

• Caritas Internationalis: Global confederation of Catholic social and development organisations of which CAFOD is a member. Comparable as the umbrella Catholic humanitarian and development network operating similar programmes through member agencies across all CAFOD's geographies.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cafod
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/cafodtv
• Facebookfacebook.com/cafod
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cafod
• Instagraminstagram.com/cafod
• TikToktiktok.com/@cafoduk

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Catholic Agency for Overseas Development