Business people talking and laughing
Oxfordshire Collective Business Fund

Make a difference in your community – in partnership and with impact

The Oxfordshire Collective Business Fund is a new way for local businesses to make our county a better place to live and work.

Oxfordshire businesses are already committed to corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, our research shows that:

  • 84% do not have a proactive CSR strategy
  • 60% would like their charitable giving to be more strategic
  • 30% receive an unsolicited charity request every fortnight
Corporate giving is good for business
REPUTATION: 77% of consumers are more likely to use companies committed to making the world a better place
Icon - person held in hand RETENTION: corporate social responsibility can reduce employee turnover by approximately 50%
Icon - cogs and graph PRODUCTIVITY: 90% of employees working at companies with a strong sense of purpose are more inspired and motivated
How can a collective business fund help?
  • You have an easy, simple way to fulfil your CSR objectives
  • You can be sure you are addressing the social issues most pressing to the communities where you operate
  • You are involved in decision-making about who to fund
  • You will receive impact reports to share with your customers, clients and stakeholders
  • You will be offered visits to community groups to engage your employees
  • You have reassurance that your CSR is making a genuine difference
Why give through Oxfordshire Community Foundation?
  • We pool your funds together with other businesses to amplify your reach and impact
  • We help you identify frontline charities and community projects that you might not otherwise be aware of
  • We are Quality Accredited confirming our excellence in governance, finance, philanthropy, and grant making, through OCF’s membership of the UK network of community foundations
  • We conduct due diligence on grantees and report back to donors on the impact of their giving
Why does Oxfordshire need your support?

Oxfordshire’s prosperous economy hides serious social problems. One in five children in Oxford lives in poverty, and 15 neighbourhoods across the county are in the 20% most deprived in England. Oxford’s Key Stage 2 (age 7–11) school results are in the bottom 25% nationally, affecting young people’s job prospects and creating local skills shortages.

Through a collective fund, local businesses significantly increase their positive impact by combining contributions in one fund from which grants are made annually to Oxfordshire charitable organisations.

How does the fund work?
Piggy bank icon Local businesses contribute £2,000 or more per year to the fund, which is held by OCF
Hands icon OCF runs a grants round from the fund, awarding at least £60k annually to local charitable organisations
People icon Participating businesses are as involved as they wish in determining the theme for each grants round
Target icon OCF provides an annual summary to support businesses’ CSR reporting, which evidences the fund’s impact

As with all funds held by community foundations, OCF takes an 8% contribution from each fund donation, to cover costs such as donor care, administering grants rounds, due diligence and impact reporting.

How does my business sign up?

Kate ParrinderPlease contact our Head of Development Kate Parrinder,
who will be happy to explain how you can join the collective fund.

Quick links
About OCFCorporate givingCollective givingSetting up a fund

With thanks to our contributing businesses:

Featured

Ark T Centre

The Ark T Centre is an arts project in East Oxford, and is situated in a high-risk area for Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). Ark T is an open and inclusive community, where people, art, and powerful ideas come together, using the transformative powers of creativity to change lives.

SOFEA

SOFEA’s mission is to enable the transformation of people’s lives, and their communities, with a major focus on young people. They enable people to fulfil their potential through work, wellbeing, study and purpose projects, providing the means of reducing the immediate effects of disadvantage by relieving food insecurity in the wider community.

Good Food Oxford (GFO)

Good Food Oxford supports the existing work of many organisations in and around the city working to make our food system more nourishing, less wasteful and more sustainable.

Thrive

Thrive offers activity clubs and mentoring for young people in two of Oxford’s most deprived areas – Blackbird Leys and Barton. Their clubs and activities are countering the effects of social exclusion.