As flooding continues to affect communities in Scotland and the North of England, a UK-wide appeal has been launched to support flood victims. Coordinated by umbrella body UK Community Foundations (UKCF), the appeal will benefit from match funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government.
2015 has been a year of big numbers, big events, big characters and big ideas. From boosts in grant-making to well deserved awards, we’ve achieved a lot – and have even bigger ambitions for 2016!
We will be closed during the Christmas and New Year period. The team at OCF wishes you a merry Christmas and encourages you to consider making a gift to the local community this festive season.
Community foundations in Europe have been working together to react to the refugee crisis, with a pan-European collaboration and a new UK-based charitable fund established to support frontline care and longer-term integration into our communities.
Crowdfunding initiative The Funding Network will be holding its next event at the Old Fire Station in Oxford on 5th May 2016, and is now looking for nominations for local charitable projects to pitch for £4,000 in funding to an audience of donors.
OCF’s corporate engagement initiative now boasts 30 members, including Allen Associates, Withy King, Unipart, Bicester Village and Finders Keepers – and now First Line IT. One of the group’s first projects will be to audit the existing community activities of its members as a benchmark for future achievements.
Oxfordshire Sport and Physical Activity (OxSPA) has launched a new charitable fund, hosted by OCF – saving OxSPA the cost and hassle of establishing their own charity. OxSPA aims to increase participation in sport and physical activity in Oxfordshire, and the OxSPA Trust is its new charitable arm.
Donors used to gifting their Winter Fuel Payment to the community foundation’s Surviving Winter appeal can now donate to our new Health and Wellbeing Fund, which has a wider remit to support anyone living in Oxfordshire in isolation, leading to loneliness and ill health.
The awards recognised dynamic and successful organisations in the Thames Valley, and in particular those who had excelled against their business plans in the past year. OCF was a finalist for Charity of the Year, which was won by Thames Valley Air Ambulance.
Speakers for the opposition defeated the motion at our debate on Tuesday, as a 380-strong audience voted against the suggestion that “there is nothing wrong with spending more on looking good than doing good”.