We have taken the difficult decision to close our grant application process to ensure that we can continue to support the local charitable sector in tackling the longer-term fall-out of the virus, and be prepared for a second wave.
With the continued lockdown, we wanted to update you on how we have adapted and what OCF and its partners have learnt in the last 12 weeks. From awarding over £500k in grants, to housing the homeless, to working and (lunching!) virtually and Zoom becoming a verb (and not just a great song!) Read on to catch up on our journey since March..
OCF has temporarily paused applications to our Coronavirus: Community Resilience Fund whilst we deal with a backlog of existing applications.
Two projects, supported by funds raised through Oxford Homeless Movement, are aiming to help homeless and vulnerably housed people transition successfully from emergency Covid-19 accommodation to an independent life in their own self-supported housing.
Local charity Active Oxfordshire is promoting the ‘Mayathon’ challenge, which encourages people to take on 26 minutes of activity every day throughout May, ending with a ‘Finish Line Finale’ on 26th May at 2pm. Sponsorship funds are being raised towards OCF’s Community Resilience Fund.
Services include food parcel delivery, online exercise and arts classes, and printed flyers signposting people without internet access to the facilities available.
High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, Amanda Ponsonby, is hosting the OCF webinar at 2pm on Wednesday 13th May with a selection of community groups.
Growing Minds, the collaborative project convened by OCF to tackle educational inequality, has had to adapt quickly to the circumstances imposed by the coronavirus outbreak. Partners are moving some elements of the project online, whilst other aspects have become more important than ever in the current context.
OCF has made online statistical mapping tool Local Insight available free of charge to assist the charitable sector in identifying those most vulnerable to the crisis.
Following the launch of OCF’s new Community Resilience Fund, over £100,000 has already been awarded to support local community and voluntary organisations meeting the new needs and challenges created by the coronavirus.