Lady Stephanie North has been a trustee of Oxfordshire Community Foundation since 2003, and as Chair of the Grants Panel has been a key figure in giving away £5.3 million to 1,700 different local charities and community groups. She is replaced as Grants Chair by Laura Chapman.
Representatives from 50 local companies attended the launch of the new responsible business group Reciprocate. At the event, which was generously sponsored by Reciprocate member Withy King and hosted by The Ashmolean, participants were inspired to work more collaboratively to help the local community.
As a finale to his year as High Sheriff, Tom Birch Reynardson has invited former Chief Secretary of the Treasury Jonathan Aitken to give a talk at the Said Business School. Convicted of perjury and imprisoned in 1999, he will share an insider’s understanding of why such a huge percentage of offenders return to jail.
OCF welcomes Laura Chapman and Lisa Compton as trustees, who bring a huge amount of charity and financial management expertise to the foundation. We are also saying a heartfelt thank you to David Astor and Ann Buchanan, who have now left the OCF Board after many years of dedicated hard work.
A wide range of projects supported by OCF’s Sovereign Housing grant programme came together on Saturday to share their achievements with the Sovereign grants panel. The panel is made up of residents from the housing association’s properties in Oxfordshire, with grants being administered by the community foundation.
We celebrate our 21st birthday in 2016. As OCF comes of age, we want to build strong collaborations with partners who will be able to help us make an even bigger difference to Oxfordshire’s most vulnerable. Our event at the historic Broughton Castle will be the chance to hear from us and from eminent philosopher A.C.Grayling about the role of philanthropy in Oxfordshire today.
The first national Arts in Health Conference was an inspiring example of a proactive, preventative approach to addressing social problems. Charity ‘Arts Enterprise with a Social Purpose’ (Aesop) showcased a series of pioneering arts projects that had proven benefits to people with health difficulties.
OCF’s new responsible business initiative Reciprocate now has 40 local companies signed up. The group of businesses are committed to collaborating to support the local community more effectively, taking a proactive approach to addressing social problems.
Thanks to a potential trustee list held by Lord Lieutenant Tim Stevenson’s office, several charities have recruited new Board members with a wealth of experience, including OCVA, Community First Oxfordshire – and Oxfordshire Community Foundation!
The High Sheriff hosted an event in Oxford Crown Court last night to celebrate a programme that introduces young people to the world of the courts. The project is administered through a charitable fund held and managed by OCF.