In Gaza, Sudan and beyond, children are paying the heaviest price as emergencies around the world take a devastating toll.
The world is facing an unprecedented number of emergencies: ongoing conflicts, mass displacements, disease outbreaks, and extreme weather such as droughts, floods, earthquakes and cyclones. In 2024 alone, UNICEF responded to 448 humanitarian emergencies across 104 countries, and this year is proving just as challenging for children.
When disaster strikes, UNICEF is on the ground in as little as 48 hours, and we stay long after the headlines fade. But we can only do this because of our regular donors, who we call Global Parents.
By becoming a Global Parent, you help:
- 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.
- Provide safe spaces for children to play, learn and heal during crises.
- Invest in long-term solutions that create lasting change for children.
Every child deserves to be healthy, educated and safe, no matter who they are or where they live. Your regular donations as a Global Parent make it possible for UNICEF to be there. No matter what.
When you become a regular donor, you become a Global Parent for every child.
Join an incredible community of Global Parents whose ongoing support gives UNICEF the predictability and flexibility to reach children who need it most.
Ongoing violence in Gaza continues to take a horrendous toll on the lives of children.
After nearly two years of conflict, repeated displacement, and severe restrictions on humanitarian aid, more than half a million people in Gaza City are now trapped in famine, and the number is only expected to rise. Our teams on the ground are doing everything they can to help children like one-year-old Mahammed, who is suffering from acute malnutrition, by delivering critical lifesaving supplies, such as therapeutic food and essential nutrition supplies. Yet, humanitarian supplies remain far below the minimum amount required to meet children’s immense needs, and humanitarian movements still faces significant delays preventing the delivery of aid at scale.
Even after the conflict ends, it can take years to rebuild what has been lost – homes, schools, healthcare, and access to clean water. Regular donations help UNICEF stay beyond the emergency, restoring essential services and supporting children and their families through every stage of recovery.
The impact your regular donation can have
1 in 4
UNICEF supports health centres where 1 in 4 babies around the world are born.
35 m
UNICEF is the largest provider of water, sanitation and hygiene services, providing over 35 million people with safe water access every year.
As a Global Parent, you will:
- Join a passionate community of champions for children.
- Receive exclusive access to events and webinars with UNICEF and partners.
- Get regular updates on the impact of your donations.
- Receive an annual tax statement.
- 78¢on average, 78 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.
- 15¢on average, 15 cents to every dollar spent for the past three years went to essential fundraising costs that helped us generate more impact for children.
- 7¢on average, 7 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?
FAQs for regular donations
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.