At an event to celebrate #GivingTuesday last night, John Lewis Oxford’s Branch Manager Julie Blake announced the launch of the Westgate Fund. The fund is held with Oxfordshire Community Foundation and will make grants to charities and community groups working with disadvantaged people in the city.
OCF will mark #GivingTuesday with a drinks reception at Tap Social Movement, a new brewery and social enterprise in Oxford that supports people serving prison sentences by providing work and training.
At OCF’s latest Funders’ Forum on 31st October 2017, local trusts and foundations heard from a leading Oxford homeless charity, and found out more about how they could fund projects collaboratively on The Good Exchange.
High Sheriff of Oxfordshire Jane Cranston took the opportunity to showcase the work of the voluntary sector and criminal justice system at her event last night at St Helen and St Katharine School in Abingdon.
OCF is working with Oxford City Council, Community First Oxfordshire and Oxfordshire Community Land Trust to explore options on how community-led housing could be delivered sustainably within Oxford.
OCF’s staff and Chair spent last week at the UKCF Conference, joining 370 delegates from community foundations across the UK and world to share learning and knowledge, build networks and be inspired.
The Berin Centre is a new facility serving the village of Berinsfield, which houses many low-income families. The new centre is the culmination of a year of work by the community to replace and improve on services that were previously provided by the local government-funded children’s centre.
Representatives from community foundations across Europe chose to visit Oxford as part of a study visit to the UK. OCF arranged visits to several local projects we have funded, as well as a learning exchange session in our offices.
Representatives from 17 charitable funding and support organisations in Oxfordshire came together on 13th June at Freeths to discuss how best to support the voluntary sector locally. The forum included presentations by 360 Giving and The Good Exchange.
The Oxford Royal Society of Arts (RSA) will host an all-day event in Oxford Town Hall this Saturday 10th June for anyone interested in or working on projects to bring about social change. RSA Motivate invites local community organisations and socially minded individuals to display ideas and seek collaborations.