The city of Oxford has one of the most severe rough sleeping and homelessness problems in the UK. We know that on any one night, there are around 100 people sleeping rough in the city.
OCF is delighted to welcome Paul Donovan to our Board of Trustees, bringing a wealth of international business experience to the organisation. We also say farewell to our visiting trustee Olivia Tomlin.
OCF’s annual #GivingTuesday event was held last night at new social enterprise hub Makespace Oxford, where around 80 donors and supporters heard from beneficiaries of our work.
On Monday, OCF hosted a celebration at The Mill Arts Centre, bringing together local people from across the business, public and charitable sectors to share progress made by the Age Friendly Banbury partnership.
Over 80 guests took part in a fun and unique wine tasting at Henley’s Leander Club, and learnt about charities tackling deprivation in the town.
Grants totalling £150,000 have been awarded to Cogges Heritage Trust, Ark T, OxPIP and RAW Workshop from OCF’s Step Change Fund. Volunteer project managers will now help the organisations meet planning milestones and see the fruits of the funding.
The Nationwide Community Grants programme is administered by community foundations across England, and is looking to fund a variety of local housing projects.
Oxford is celebrating one year since the new Westgate shopping centre opened in 2017. The charitable fund established to mark the opening has since made nearly £14,000 in grants to projects in the city.
Suzy will be taking forward OCF’s third strategic programme: convening charities, public bodies, businesses and individuals interested in making a difference to educational inequality in the county.
Today, on World Homeless Day, the City Conversation partnership has set out collaborative actions to address rough sleeping in Oxford.