Rosita Boland looks at five charity Christmas-card packages to see just how much money filters back to the organisations
Amnesty International
Where sold: in Amnesty shops in Dublin and Galway, and through its website and catalogue
Typical pack: eight cards for 4.95, picturing the Magi
The cards: Amnesty chooses designs from Irish artists and pays for production and printing in Ireland
Print run in 2003: 100,000
Profit to Amnesty: 50 per cent
Profit in 2002: €25,000
Where the money goes: Amnesty Ireland
Oxfam Ireland
Where sold: in Oxfam shops and distributed through Papertree to national retail outlets. A higher percentage of money goes to charity when cards are bought directly in Oxfam shops
Typical pack: 10 cards for 7.50 (fir trees)
The cards: designs chosen through Oxfam UK; cards printed in Ireland
Print run 2003: three million
Profit to Oxfam: 15 per cent
Profit in 2002: €425,000
Where the money goes: Oxfam Ireland's unrestricted funds, usually to development work in southern and central Africa; Oxfam Ireland oversees its own project in Tanzania
Our Lady's Hospital
Where sold: nationwide retail outlets
Typical pack: 12 cards for 6.95; mixed designs, picturing Christmas tree, Santas, and snowmen
The cards: designed, produced and printed by an Irish card company, which gives the hospital a 12.5 per cent commission for use of their name on the packs
Print run 2003: not available
Profit to Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin: 12.5 per cent
Profit in 2002: €30,000
Where the money goes: allocated by hospital according to need
Irish Cancer Society
Where sold: through the society's Northumberland Road shop and website and retail outlets nationwide
Typical pack: five cards for 3, picturing Christmas trees
The cards: designs chosen by the ICS, which pays for production and printing of cards in Ireland
Print run 2003: 750,000
Profit to ICS: 75 per cent
Profit in 2002: €250,000
Where the money goes: day- and night-nursing home-care service; hospital-based oncology and liaison nursing service.
Irish Charity Xmas Cards
Supporting the Irish Hospice Foundation; the Alzheimer Society of Ireland; the Children's Research Centre; Childline, and the Irish Society for Autism
Where sold: nationwide retail outlets
Typical pack: 10 for 5.50, picturing snowflakes
The cards: designed, produced and printed by Irish card company Lantz, which gives named charities 15 per cent commission for using their names
Shared between the five charities: 15 per cent
Profit in 2002: €35,000, divided five ways
Where the money goes: to the five charities