A devastating number of humanitarian emergencies are unfolding around the world, and it is children who are suffering the most.
From natural disasters to new and ongoing conflict, UNICEF is there, delivering lifesaving help to children in just 48 hours in more than 190 countries. But we can only do this because of our regular donors, who we call Global Parents.
When you donate regularly over 12 months, you are helping to:
- Keep UNICEF’s warehouses and hubs stocked with supplies in areas where emergencies are likely to occur because of climate conditions or political instability.
- Reach children as soon as an emergency hits with medical supplies, safe drinking water and lifesaving therapeutic food.
- Respond to children’s needs, giving them safe spaces to play, learn and receive medical support at a moment’s notice when a crisis happens.
- Invest in long-term solutions to make a lasting impact for children.
UNICEF is 100 per cent donor funded and has helped save more lives than any other humanitarian organisation. Your regular donations as a Global Parent help us to respond at a moment’s notice.
Ongoing violence in Gaza continues to take a horrendous toll on the lives of children.
Four-year-old Sila lost her right leg after her house was bombed while her family was sleeping. Devastatingly, Sila also lost her parents and three sisters and now lives with her grandmother, uncles and aunties.
Every child in the Gaza Strip has been exposed to deeply distressing events and trauma, marked by widespread destruction, relentless attacks, displacement, and severe shortages of essential necessities such as food, water, and medicine.
Despite the challenging humanitarian and security situation, UNICEF and our partners have been working around the clock to provide lifesaving support, including delivering medical supplies, fuel for the operation of critical water, hygiene, and sanitation (WASH) facilities, water treatment essentials, and mental health and psychosocial support.
Having pre-positioned supplies inside the Gaza Strip allowed UNICEF to immediately begin distributing support for children and their families despite restrictions on aid getting in. The generosity of our monthly donors helped make this possible.
2 m
As of May 2024, UNICEF has reached over 2 million people with water for drinking and domestic needs.
633,335
As of May 2024, UNICEF has delivered medical supplies to support 633,335 people.
But this is not enough. Children and their families are in desperate need. We need your help to do more.
The impact your regular donation can have over 12 months.
37.7 m
children and young people accessed education in 2023, including 17.7 million children in emergencies.
23 m
UNICEF reached more than 23 million people with safe drinking water in a humanitarian setting in 2023.
Become a Regular Donor
As a Global Parent, your regular donations help UNICEF reach children before, during and after an emergency.
As a Global Parent, you will:
- Be part of a passionate community of champions for children.
- Have access to exclusive tickets to events and webinars with UNICEF and partners.
- Receive regular updates on the impact of your donations on the lives of children.
- Receive an annual tax statement.
- 80¢on average, 80 cents to every dollar spent for the past three years went directly to helping children in need, including long-term programs, emergency response and community education.
- 14¢on average, 14 cents to every dollar spent for the past three years went to essential fundraising costs that helped us generate more impact for children.
- 6¢on average, 6 cents to every dollar spent for the past three years went towards our admin costs, such as keeping your personal data safe.
How do we use each dollar donated?
Become a Regular Donor
As a Global Parent, your regular donations help UNICEF reach children before, during and after an emergency.
FAQs for regular donations over 12 months
Your donation will be deducted every four weeks on a scheduled date, or on the nearest business day.
Yes. At the end of the financial year, we will send you a statement that details all of your transactions with UNICEF for the regular donations you gave over the 12-month period. We send our donor receipts annually to save on our administration costs, however you can request a receipt at any time by contacting us on 1300 884 233.
As a Global Parent, your regular donations support short- and long-term programs that provide essential support to improve the lives of all children. Because UNICEF focuses on helping as many children as possible, you can rest assured that your funds are going where they are currently needed the most. You help UNICEF assist hundreds of vulnerable and disadvantaged children every single day.
We count on your recurring donation to be able to plan ahead and continue to provide support to children in need all around the world. When you pledge to donate every four weeks, you enable us to:
- Have extra supplies ready in areas where emergencies are likely to occur because of climate conditions or political instability.
- More effectively plan our upcoming work, knowing that we have the funds ready to invest in long-term solutions and make a lasting impact for children, and
- Respond to children’s needs wherever it is most urgently required at the time.
You might also find that a smaller regular donation can be less of a burden on your budget than a larger one-off gift.
Yes, donations of $2 and over are tax deductible.
You can make your regular donation by credit card or direct debit. Please note that credit card is UNICEF’s preferred method for payment. Unfortunately, we are unable to take regular donations via PayPal or BPay.
UNICEF’s approach is to use low-cost, highly effective solutions that work dramatically to improve children’s lives.
Everything we do at UNICEF is done with the world’s children in mind first. For every dollar donated by the Australian public in 2022:
- 82 cents went directly to program expenditure, including long-term development and emergency response work across both domestic and international programs and community education.
- 13 cents per dollar from funds raised by the public went to investing in further growing fundraising in Australia to benefit more children across the world. UNICEF Australia reinvests our supporters' generous donations to grow more funds, meaning that more funds are able to be remitted to the field to support our work with children.
- 5 cents was spent on UNICEF Australia's accountability, administration and reserves. UNICEF Australia is in the lowest percentile of our peer organisations in terms of money spent on administrative costs.
For more information on where donations go, and where they come from, please see our most recent Annual Report.
Thank you for your support, especially in times of global crisis. Global Parents like you are the reason why UNICEF can quickly reach the world’s most vulnerable children with the support they need, when they need it. However, we understand that things change, so we’d like to take this opportunity to support you.
We offer the ability to update, cancel or pause your donation for your next three gifts so that you can continue to impact children’s lives when you are in the situation to do so again. Just contact our friendly Sydney-based team at support@unicef.org.au with the subject line ‘Global Parent Gift Change’. In your email, include your supporter ID number and let us know how you'd like to update your gift.
You can also contact us by calling 1300 884 233, but please be aware that we are experiencing high call volumes at the moment and it may take us longer to respond to your call. If mail is your only option, our mailing address is: PO Box 587, Pyrmont, NSW 2009.
Please note: Your recurring donation will be updated or cancelled from the following month once we receive your request. Donations are debited every four weeks, on your scheduled date. As such, for written notification received within five business days of your gift date, your donation may be debited before it can be cancelled.
UNICEF has a regular giving program, called UNICEF Global Parent, which is designed to provide long-term assistance to children and communities around the world. UNICEF’s Global Parent’s support many children, rather than focus on the story of just one child.
As a Global Parent, your regular donations support short- and long-term programs to provide essential services to improve the lives of all children.
By focusing on helping as many children as possible, we ensure that funds go to where they are most needed to help the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. With UNICEF’s help, hundreds of children’s lives are improved every day.
UNICEF does not promote individual child or family sponsorship, but if you're looking to sponsor a child, why not join the huge number of Aussies who have become a Global Parent instead – our alternative and much-loved way of giving regular, life-transforming support. If you would like some information about the UNICEF Global Parent program posted to you, please contact our Supporter Experience team on 1300 884 233.