Giving Tuesday event celebrates Oxfordshire Community Foundation’s impact over the last year by bringing together volunteers, donors, supporters and charitable groups that have all played a crucial role in transforming lives in our county.
The team were delighted to welcome guests to this years Giving Tuesday celebration, held at County Hall in Oxford. The event recognised the vital part that so many people play in helping to build thriving communities across Oxfordshire. Guests heard from Zoe Sprigings, Chief Executive at Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF) who thanked all of our supporters for their ongoing contribution and spoke about the importance of being a kind and supportive grant-maker. We were also pleased to hear from the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, James Macnamara, where he spoke so passionately about the importance of grassroots charities and the work that OCF does to fund many of these groups across the county.
We are incredibly grateful to the High Sheriff for his generosity in funding our event, enabling us to enjoy wonderful food and drink from Damascus Rose Kitchen, Waste2Taste and Tap Social, as well as joyous music from the Starling Sessions group, all previously funded by OCF. It was also fascinating to hear about County Hall’s history as the former county court, which included a trip to the cellars to view the old holding cells and tunnels leading to the adjacent former prison!
At the event we were delighted to share some highlights from OCF’s latest impact report from 2023-24, including these key numbers:
- £1.9 million was distributed throughout the year
- 199 grants awarded to grassroots charities
- Smallest grant of £250 awarded to OX4 Food Crew
- Largest grant of £67k awarded to Oxford City Farm
From mental health support groups and good neighbour schemes to providing bikes for refugees and an advice service for people with sight loss, our funding has supported a wide range of needs. Take a look at our impact video to get the highlights from the report as well as hearing from a few of the individuals whose lives have been transformed, thanks to funding from OCF:
Zoe Sprigings shared that we remain committed to fundraising for our Living Essentials Fund. The need in the community is great, with household finances continuing to be squeezed. Essentials such as food and fuel are unaffordable for many people and those on the lowest incomes are also burdened with historic debt, eating into savings and putting them at risk of homelessness. If you are able to, please consider donating to the fund.
>> Donate to the Living Essentials Fund
It is thanks to our donors, supporters and charitable groups that, collectively, we are able to reach all corners of Oxfordshire to transform the lives of so many people. It was a pleasure to meet so many of you and we hope all of our guests enjoyed the event as much as we did!
>> Read the 2023-24 impact report