Oxford spires skyline at night, dramatically lit
Our history

OCF has a long history. Since the first community foundation was created over 100 years ago in Cleveland Ohio, USA, the movement has grown to include over 1,800 foundations in 51 countries worldwide, with 47 in the UK alone.

Early days of community foundations

The first community foundation was established in 1914 in Cleveland. Philanthropy pioneer Fred Goff discovered that many of his predecessors had left benevolent wills and significant sums of money to benefit causes that had since become obsolete. He realised that a better way to ensure a community’s future was to create a fund that was held by its citizens in perpetuity, to be used at their discretion to address the needs of the day.

The Cleveland Foundation is a superb example of how well the community foundation model can work. It has raised close to $1bn in donations, has made grants of over $1.75bn, and now has over $2bn in endowment investments – showing a 4x ‘gearing’ ratio. Few investment firms, let alone charities, can demonstrate better financial acumen.

Community foundations in the UK

The first foundation in the UK was in Swindon, established in 1975. UK community foundations have grown to manage over £692 million in their combined endowment funds. The network is the fourth largest giver of charitable funds in the UK, having collectively given out over £1 billion in grants to charities, community groups and individuals.

OCF is a member of UKCF, the national body that supports and accredits community foundations in the United Kingdom.

UKCF member

Read more about our latest Quality Accreditation QA5, a programme unique to the UK Community Foundations (UKCF) network, providing the only accreditation process internationally that is tailored to and designed by community foundations.

The story in Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire Community Foundation was established in 1995 by the late Sir Ashley Ponsonby, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire 1980–96. He became our President, embracing the potential of community philanthropy. To find out more about our history, take a look at the report we published on our 21st birthday in 2016.

In 2020, OCF celebrated 25 years with Amanda Ponsonby, High Sheriff of Oxfordshire for 2020/21. Inspired by her late father-in-law Sir Ashley Ponsonby, Amanda hoped to inspire many new patrons to share our vision for the future and be involved in the next 25 years of OCF.

See Amanda talking about her role and link to OCF at our Giving Tuesday event in December 2020.

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