Living Essentials Fund

The Living Essentials Fund will help charitable organisations to provide crucial ongoing support to people in Oxfordshire, ensuring people have the basics needed for living a stable and safe life.

Funding will support charitable groups that are helping people with unaffordable essentials. The fund will support challenges such as homelessness, housing insecurity, food insecurity, debt advice, and managing heat and cold.

This grants round is supported by funding from Oxfordshire County Council’s Crisis and Resilience Fund.

We hope to have approximately £250,000 available to award in grants.

Last year 32 organisations received a share of £240,000 from the Living Essentials Fund. This was a 57% success rate for applicants.

We are seeking grant proposals which deliver one or more of these outcomes:

1. Preventative solutions that help individuals build financial stability
2. Support for community resilience, including mitigating summer heat or autumn/winter cold
3. Basic services for those in crisis to prevent them slipping into greater need
4. Schemes that improve home comfort and efficiency and address housing insecurity

The following are examples of the types of activities we are looking to see in applications. However, we welcome applications for activities beyond these.

• Debt advice, benefit and practical advice, particularly around reducing energy or housing costs
• Drop-in centres, including thermally comfortable spaces, lunch clubs, social clubs and family support groups
• Practical advice and interventions for keeping homes a comfortable temperature (cool in summer or warm in winter)
• Food and meal distribution, clothing and accommodation

We are looking to support those who are already disadvantaged. This list is not exhaustive, but examples include those on low incomes, isolated older people, global majority and minoritised ethnic groups, people with mental and physical health challenges, asylum seekers or recent migrants, and Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities.

Organisations must be serving communities within Oxfordshire.

We encourage applications from across Oxfordshire’s diverse communities and geographies, and we particularly welcome applications from communities that have not previously accessed OCF funding opportunities.

Applicants must fulfil the following criteria:

• Registered Charity, Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Charitable Company (Limited by Guarantee), Community Interest Company, a Constituted but Unincorporated Club or Association (i.e. it has a constitution but is not one of the other entities listed above)
• Operating in Oxfordshire
• Income under £500,000
• At least one year of operation; if constituted for less than one year but active for longer, evidence should be provided
• Have a bank account in its own name with at least two unrelated signatories, open for three months or more
• Have at least three trustees/committee members/directors who are not related to each other
• Up to date monitoring and reporting to OCF for any previous grants received from OCF

Oxfordshire branches of national groups can apply if they meet all three of the following criteria (in addition to the other eligibility criteria):

• You are an independent branch already operating in Oxfordshire
• Your Oxfordshire branch has its own bank account with at least two unrelated signatories, that has been open for 3 months or more
• You have a local management committee

If you do not meet any of the above criteria, unfortunately we will not be able to progress your application.

To self-check if you are eligible, there is a simple eligibility questionnaire which you can complete.

Please also read our Grants Policy which sets out in detail the criteria that apply to all OCF grant-making.

• Running costs these are costs that keep your organisation running, such as salaries, rent, utilities, etc. Often known as “core costs”.

• Project costs these are both core and capital costs directly associated with the delivery of a specific project.

• Capital costs these are costs related to any physical assets your organisation may need, such as equipment or IT support.

Monday 26th October 2026: Applications open, available via online form

5pm Monday 23rd November 2026: Applications close

w/c Monday 18th January 2027: Funding decisions communicated to applicants

By Monday 1st February 2027: Successful applicants provide required financial and governance evidence

By mid-February 2027: Grants paid

• Self-check your eligibility using the eligibility questionnaire
• Apply online from 26th October to 5pm 23rd November 2026
• Read the guidance document to help you with your application
• Read the full list of questions required for this application
• Read the example application to help you know what type of information our assessors are looking for

We will be offering online drop-in sessions to answer any specific questions you may have about your application:

• Monday 2nd November, 9.30am – 5pm
• Wednesday 4th November, 9.30am – 5pm

Please email the Grants team at grants@oxfordshire.org to book a slot on these dates.

If you are unable to make these sessions then please get in contact with our Grants team and they’ll be glad to have a chat and answer any questions you may have.

Grants team telephone: 07927 539699

Main office telephone: 01865 798666

Email: grants@oxfordshire.org