Below are the key funds that we hold and manage on behalf of our donors and fundholders. We also manage several smaller funds, as well as some for donors who wish to remain completely anonymous.
We work closely with these donors to channel their philanthropy to the causes they care about most, making grant funding available to community and voluntary organisations through our grants programmes.
Please note that in most cases, grant-seekers cannot apply directly to these funds.
Oxford-based construction company Beard launched a charitable foundation to support staff community initiatives and construction education projects. The foundation was set up with a £250,000 donation from the Beard family and is held and managed by Oxfordshire Community Foundation.
David Harding is founder of Winton Capital Management, now one of the world’s largest hedge fund companies. Through their private foundation, he and his wife Claudia added a local element to their philanthropic portfolio by making a contribution to our endowment fund, which means that every quarter we receive dividend income that enables us to make around £60,000 in grants per year on their behalf.
The Fund for sankalpa invests in changemakers – people with the vision and ability to bring about systemic change, and positively shape our world for the future. By investing in known and trusted people, sankalpa avoids onerous administrative systems, ensuring funds are used to best effect.
This fund assists current and future High Sheriffs in raising money for charitable purposes. For the shrieval year 2020/21 the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, Amanda Ponsonby is delighted to be supporting OCF as her chosen charity.
OCF is celebrating 25 years in 2020. It was Amanda’s late father-in-law Lord Lieutenant Ashley Ponsonby who founded OCF in 1995 and became its President, embracing the potential of community philanthropy.
Jane Wates opened her Patron Fund to enable a strategic focus on supporting young children – both preschool age and in school attendance, with priority for ages 0-5, and their families to help improve their general health, wellbeing and life outcomes. Jane’s fund has kickstarted our Growing Minds project.
In 2008, after a short but intense period of depression, Maggie, who was only 29 years old, took her own life. Her parents Bob and Kati and brother David set up the Maggie Evans Fund with OCF in her memory. The fund is used to help children discover interests that were Maggie’s own passions: a love of reading stories and appreciating illustrations, and the exploration of different cultures through languages and translation.
Headquartered in Witney, specialist design and manufacturing firm Meech International established a named fund to commemorate their 100-years milestone. The Meech Centenary Trust supports young people in finding work or getting back into education in and around West Oxfordshire.
The Midcounties Co-operative uses local community foundations in order to administer their community grant-making. Members of the Co-operative can apply to the fund on behalf of a charitable organisation or community group that is working in an area where there is a Co-operative store.
Our Common Good is an accelerator for early stage charities or social enterprises, which have the ability to scale and be replicated on a national basis. Its goal is to start locally and to then grow by attracting new funding for innovative and investable projects.
Partners at local law firm Royds Withy King make an annual donation to an endowment fund with OCF. This fund enables us to continue our work by making a contribution towards our costs. In this way Royds Withy King is sharing in OCF’s success, and is also a committed member of our Reciprocate responsible business group.
The Step Change Fund was established in 2014, by a small group of philanthropists who wanted their donations to deliver specific objectives and to follow an agreed programme of evaluation and support. OCF was an obvious home for the Fund and the quality of the relationship has resulted in the Fund becoming a flagship for the Foundation.
OCF’s Chair John Taylor and his wife Julie established their fund after making a share transfer to OCF. They are now working with OCF to channel their funds to the causes that matter most to them, making an important contribution to our grant-making.
The Tim Stockdale Foundation was set up in memory of British showjumping star Tim Stockdale. Funds raised will be awarded to support and enable participation across all sports disciplines with an emphasis on emerging young talent. The family welcomes fund raising activities.
This fund was established to coincide with the opening of the new Westgate shopping centre in Oxford in October 2017. This fund is flagship store John Lewis’s gift to the city of Oxford, and the company hopes that other businesses will come on board to co-create a lasting legacy that will be available to support Oxford-based charitable organisations over the long term.
“I opened a fund with OCF because of their knowledge, expertise and extensive contacts. I set this up now as I wanted to be part of it, to make my dream come true in helping the very young – the fund encompasses everything I’ve done in the past and expands the impact I’ve achieved”.
“As a partner, OCF provide a mechanism which allows us to channel our philanthropic investment directly into the heart of the projects we care about.”
“‘Stuff’ really is not what brings happiness. Family, friends, good health and the satisfaction that comes from making a positive difference are what really matters.”
“When you become wealthy and you have a lot of money, you’re starting to think about giving it away on a slightly industrial scale! Even if you give away the same percentage as ordinary people, you’re giving away larger sums of money so the way you’re going to do it is different.”
“I’ve lived in Oxfordshire for many years, and feel I’ve benefited greatly from being in such a thriving and interesting place. Leaving a legacy to OCF in my will is my way of repaying this – and I also trust that they will understand exactly where funds are needed in years to come. Having seen small voluntary sector groups come and go, I find this longevity very reassuring.”
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
“It’s really important to tell the world about what you’re doing. You’ll be naturally quiet and modest, and it’s not very British, but it is very important, so put your modesty aside, tell the world what you’re doing, because they’ll be interested!”
“Every act of philanthropy touches a life. Deprivation is not destiny. If you come from a disadvantaged background, you just need to be given an
opportunity.”
“I feel passionately that so many more people could be philanthropists and are a bit afraid of it. What we need to do as Beacon Fellows is go out there and talk about it. One of the things I want to do is to share the joy that I’ve had!”
“Prosperity requires not just investment in economic capital, but also in social capital. Community foundations are playing a critical role in helping to deliver a more inclusive capitalism.”
“It is more difficult to give money away intelligently than to earn it in the first place.”
“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
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 alleviates multiple social problems: the need for jobs and training for disadvantaged young people; the demand for nutritious food for vulnerable people; and the danger of supplies from the food industry going to waste.
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.
