Oxford-based construction company Beard has launched a charitable foundation to support staff community initiatives and construction education projects. The foundation has been set up with a £250,000 donation from the Beard family and will be held and managed by Oxfordshire Community Foundation.
Former High Sheriff of Oxfordshire Tom Birch Reynardson has raised over £20,000 for an innovative project run by local charity Aspire Oxford, which will reduce re-offending rates across Oxfordshire.
OCF is delighted to be managing a charitable fund on behalf of Homes for Oxford, which is seeking pledges, donations and other philanthropic support to help them obtain a site to build permanently affordable homes in Oxford.
Over the past two years, the Future-Building Fund has given significant infrastructure funding to a range of excellent local charities that wanted to scale up their operation. The fund’s success was celebrated at a small gathering of donors, and published in a new report.
OCF’s Chief Executive and President were delighted to attend the service in Windsor, along with hundreds of representatives from communities in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Organiser The Oxford Foundation has recently set up a named fund with OCF to channel any fundraising.
Chartered Accountant Katy joins us with an experienced financial background, including roles at EY and Wenn Townsend. She will bring vital financial management to support the staff and trustees as OCF grows.
As flooding continues to affect communities in Scotland and the North of England, a UK-wide appeal has been launched to support flood victims. Coordinated by umbrella body UK Community Foundations (UKCF), the appeal will benefit from match funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Community foundations in Europe have been working together to react to the refugee crisis, with a pan-European collaboration and a new UK-based charitable fund established to support frontline care and longer-term integration into our communities.
Oxfordshire Sport and Physical Activity (OxSPA) has launched a new charitable fund, hosted by OCF – saving OxSPA the cost and hassle of establishing their own charity. OxSPA aims to increase participation in sport and physical activity in Oxfordshire, and the OxSPA Trust is its new charitable arm.
OCF is delighted to welcome retired local businessman John Taylor as its new Chair of Trustees. John is working with our current Chair Anna Moon during a handover period, before officially taking the reins on 1st January 2016.