“It is so uplifting to meet so many people blessed with generous hearts and a deep sense of community.”

The Tim Stockdale Foundation was set up in memory of British showjumping star Tim Stockdale, who died in November 2018 aged 54, a month after being diagnosed with cancer.
Funds raised will be used to enable greater participation in sports, with a focus on emerging young talent.
The fund is held and managed by Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF), a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (number 1151621) founded in 1995, with many years’ experience in enabling philanthropy and funding charitable causes. Oxfordshire Community Foundation provides a practical and valuable alternative to setting up a registered charity or charitable foundation.
Donations to the fund can be made on the dedicated Tim Stockdale Foundation JustGiving campaign. Supporters can also set up their own fundraising pages in the same place, to contribute to the Foundation. Other ways to give are listed below.
Tim represented Team GB at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, narrowly missing out on a medal by finishing fourth in the team event. He rode for GB more than 50 times in the Nations Cup, and also competed in the World Equestrian Games in 2002 and the European Championships in 2009. He also regularly worked as a BBC equestrian pundit.
He appeared on the BBC One reality TV show Only Fools on Horses, which raised money for Sport Relief.
He broke his neck in three places in a fall in training in 2011, but recovered to compete again at the top level. This is one example of how he lived by his motto, “There’s no such word as can’t!”
When Tim passed away the family were overwhelmed with letters and cards from hundreds of people that they had never met. They told us stories of the times they had met Tim and how he had made a difference to them. How he’d inspired them or encouraged them to do something. There were suggestions of how the family should try to remember Tim with charity ideas too.
This was how the foundation idea came about, Tim loved all sport and would have loved to be able to encourage anyone to take up some form of it. So the idea is that the foundation will help young people in any sport, whether it is helping them financially to get to their coach every week or helping with the kit, the foundation will try to help in anyway they can. The important thing is it will be for any young person trying to make their way in a sport they love.
Donations to the fund can be made:
“It is so uplifting to meet so many people blessed with generous hearts and a deep sense of community.”
“I really appreciate your work on what for my parents is such an important project. I am glad that the fund has been developing so positively and swiftly.”
“The huge satisfaction to be gained from spending one’s time in giving in your later years far outweighs any pleasures that you can possibly gain on the golf course, on the beach or on the back of the yacht in the Mediterranean sipping martinis.”
“I like to have something worthwhile to get up for each morning… I find that the larger and more strategic the gift, the more pleasure I get out of it.”
“I can’t get over it; I’m still shaking when I talk about it. It’s just incredible… I feel a bit guilty about getting so much pleasure out of giving!”
“Generosity is the best investment.”
“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
“It is more difficult to give money away intelligently than to earn it in the first place.”
“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!”
“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.”
“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!”
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
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