OCF’s new responsible business initiative Reciprocate now has 40 local companies signed up. The group of businesses are committed to collaborating to support the local community more effectively, taking a proactive approach to addressing social problems.
OCF’s corporate engagement initiative now boasts 30 members, including Allen Associates, Withy King, Unipart, Bicester Village and Finders Keepers – and now First Line IT. One of the group’s first projects will be to audit the existing community activities of its members as a benchmark for future achievements.
The new responsible business group Reciprocate will be hosted by Oxfordshire Community Foundation, and aims to help the local business community become more strategic in their thinking about community engagement, realising their good intentions through the power of many.
The Oxford Times has just published its quarterly Business Barometer – the results of a survey of local business decision-makers. This issue focuses on how businesses engage with community and charitable organisations, with results suggesting that the corporate sector has a lot to give if charities can find more sophisticated ways to approach them.
The need for greater collaboration between charities and more strategic giving by donors are key challenges for the charity sector, according to OCF’s CEO Jayne Woodley. She made the comments at the Local Enterprise Partnership’s Economic Question Time event at the Said Business School recently.
The new responsible business network will allow local corporate organisations to share best practice and learn from each other when it comes to their CSR, social impact and charitable giving. OCF is now seeking founder members to help shape the initiative.
OCF recognises that many local businesses want to behave responsibly, but aren’t sure where to start or whether their initiatives are effective. To come up with a solution that will help companies do more for their community, we’re running a series of focus groups.
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has praised the role of community foundations in creating an inclusive capitalism, as OCF-funded charity My Life My Choice starts a new campaign asking for tolerance and inclusion.
Twenty local companies will be taking part in a charity choir this Thursday in support of Oxfordshire Community Foundation and other local charities. The firms are participating in the High Sheriff’s Challenge – an initiative of this year’s High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, Tony Stratton.
Meech International was one of 18 companies that volunteered a team of five competitors for ‘The Olympic Challenge’, a specially organised sports day on 17 July to raise charitable funds for the Oxfordshire High Sheriff’s Challenge.