At OCF, we could not even entertain our ambitions as a leading support organisation for the charitable sector without the help of other organisations. We are connected with many networks, and can achieve more by working in partnership, rather than by significantly expanding our staff team.
Partnership working
Strategic partners
Our Oxfordshire Uncovered report in 2016 and the current pandemic highlighted key issues in our county: homelessness, educational inequality, loneliness and isolation, and more recently, digital poverty. To help make an impact on these issues, OCF engaged its networks and knowledge of the county to initiate four strategic partnerships that brought together organisations from all sectors to tackle these issues together.
In 2022, these partnerships moved away from being hosted within OCF, with coordination passed into the capable hands of the delivery partners, and Oxfordshire Homeless Movement becoming an independent charity. OCF remains a committed advocate and ally of these and other partnerships.
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Age Friendly Banbury is a partnership between local organisations with an interest in making Banbury an age-friendly town. It brings together older people, community leaders, local charities, businesses, and local councils. After working with partners to convene and initiate Age Friendly Banbury, OCF passed the coordination of the project to the leadership partners from May 2022.
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Getting Oxfordshire Online seeks to tackle digital exclusion across the whole of the county, by putting the infrastructure in place to deliver a sustainable, long-term solution. By 2025, the majority of those who are not currently online should have the digital access they need. After working with partners to convene and initiate Getting Oxfordshire Online, OCF passed the coordination of the project to the delivery partners from February 2022.
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Growing Minds is an innovative and ground-breaking initiative to improve school readiness in disadvantaged communities. OCF created Growing Minds and brought together expert partners to deliver a unique and collaborative project, which is now hosted and administered by Peeple and Home-Start.
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Oxfordshire Homeless Movement (OHM) is a partnership of the many organisations working to ensure that nobody has to sleep rough on the streets of Oxfordshire.
OHM aims to bring greater visibility to all Oxfordshire’s work in this area, guiding volunteers, supporters and people experiencing homelessness alike to the actions or services they’re looking for. It also aims to fill critical gaps in provision that others can’t – always working in partnership meaning that we have the best team for the job and always listening to the voices of those with lived experience of homelessness. OHM became an independent charity in September 2022.
Other partners
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NEXUS is a partnership programme which connects businesses with charities, social enterprises and start-ups. They signpost information and host events to facilitate introductions and sharing experiences. They enable members to collaborate, learn and grow as part of a like-minded community.
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Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA) supports Oxfordshire’s voluntary and charitable sector with development and funding advice, information and training. They often advise groups to apply to us for funding and support them in making their grant applications.
OCVA took on any ongoing responsibilities of Oxfordshire All In (OAI) at the end of 2021. OAI was set up temporarily to help support a joined up approach to Covid-19 across the county, reaching the most isolated and vulnerable.
OCVA and Charity Mentors Oxfordshire are working together to provide a ‘First Stop’ service for charity leaders. Offering monthly one-to-one slots for charity leaders to talk in complete confidence about any challenges they are facing.
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Community First Oxfordshire (CFO) is a community development charity which helps communities and individuals to identify issues that affect them and find their own solutions. They support and advise volunteer-led actions in Oxfordshire, helping hundreds of volunteers fulfil many roles in their communities. Based on the principles of Asset-based Community Development, stronger, more sustainable communities are built using the skills and gifts that people already have.
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UK Community Foundations (UKCF) is the umbrella organisation for all community foundations. They have quality accredited Oxfordshire Community Foundation to standards endorsed by the Charity Commission, and provide advice and support. They work to deliver UK-wide fundraising and grant-making programmes through community foundations.
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In 2016 OCF became the first community foundation in the UK to publish open data about our grant-making on 360 Giving. This online platform provides a consistent standard for data publication, and helps people to understand and use the data in order to support decision-making and learning across the charitable giving sector.
OCF is focusing its efforts on bringing greater philanthropic support to charitable organisations in Oxfordshire.
OCF distributes between £1 and 2 million in grants every year to charities across Oxfordshire that are working at the grassroots level. This incorporates funds awarded at OCF’s discretion and according to our strategic priorities, as well as grants made through named funds and national funders. We publish full details of all the organisations we have supported via 360Giving, the open data source for grant funders. You can find a year by year list (since 2013) here.