Thanks to the generosity of some key donors, OCF was able to boost the government- and lottery-funded Youth Social Action Fund by 172%, meaning we could make 15 grants totalling £72,870 to local charities leading the way in engaging young people.
Following consultation over the past year or so with the charitable sector and our donors, OCF has made the decision to revise our grant-making strategy and programmes. Our new grants programmes are now open, with the next closing date 17th July 2017.
Volunteer’s Week, from 1st to 7th June, is an annual celebration of the fantastic contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK. Locally, Team Oxford has launched a movement to build more collaborations between charities and volunteers wanting to improve lives.
Following a highly successful period of fundraising, including grants totalling £10,000 from OCF, Aesop has announced a significant expansion of its pioneering Dance to Health programme.
We are delighted to be sponsoring the volunteer category at this year’s OCVA Awards ceremony. The awards recognise the many individuals who give thousands of hours of their time to helping others in Oxfordshire.
OCF recently commissioned a team from Oxford University’s Student Consultancy to research the scope and impact of local government funding cuts on the charitable sector. OCF plans to use the findings to direct funds towards the areas of greatest need in Oxfordshire.
The new High Sheriff Jane Cranston, who picks up the baton from Sarah Taylor, will focus her time and energies on a new theme for the coming year: that of justice and fairness of opportunity.
SOFEA, a social enterprise that employs disadvantaged young people in its food redistribution centre, benefited from collaborative funding coordinated by OCF. The equipment purchased has enabled them to triple the amount of food they can pass on to local charities.
Oxfordshire Community Foundation is working with funding platform The Good Exchange in a bid to forge new partnerships with charitable trusts, local authorities and social investment partners, and provide complementary funding to charities doing great work in the county.
OCF’s volunteer trustees held their Board meeting at Oxford Homeless Pathways last night, allowing them to see and hear more about why so many people locally become homeless, and what can be done to help them.