A combination of new donor-advised funds, match funding and more strategic grant-making means the 2014-15 financial year was our best yet. By building on our income successes with Gift Aid and an impressive investment fund performance, we have been able to make bigger community investments than ever before.
Our fundholder Anne-Marie Cockburn, who lost her daughter two years ago to an accidental ecstasy overdose, has joined other bereaved families to petition Number 10 for the legalisation and regulation of psychoactive substances.
A group of enthusiastic school children took part in an interactive workshop with author-illustrator Emily Gravett as part of the annual Maggie’s Day event at The Story Museum on Thursday. The day is a chance for Maggie Evans’ family and friends to remember her and to celebrate her love of books and stories.
Funds raised during the Surviving Winter appeal in Oxfordshire total just over £12,000, and have been used to support a variety of community groups across the county who are expert in meeting the needs of elderly and vulnerable people.
The biennial Beacon Awards celebrate innovative philanthropy in the UK, and we were delighted to be there to see one of our most influential donors receive an award. Hedge fund manager David Harding and his wife Claudia recently established £600k fund with Oxfordshire Community Foundation, adding a local element to their extensive portfolio of charitable giving.
Community foundations UK-wide are now collectively in the top 15 for charitable endowments held in the UK, with the second fastest growing endowment in the country. As we approach the General Election, umbrella organisation UKCF is lobbying for the next government to make local philanthropy one of its key strategic priorities.
The Future-Building Fund takes a ground-breaking approach to supporting the local charitable sector, providing large grants to help ambitious charities significantly scale up their operation. The fund has recently awarded grants to Trax and Yellow Submarine, with more in the pipeline.
Last year, 13 community foundations across the UK received gifts of £1 million and above, working with private donors, corporations and trusts and foundations.
The Philanthropy Fellowship, a network of community philanthropists set up to inspire a greater culture of giving in the UK, hits a milestone this December as a new report documenting great British philanthropy is published.
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.