After 10 years of leadership that have seen the transformation of Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF) from grant maker to an organisation focused on strategic programmes, CEO Jayne Woodley has decided it is time to seek out a new challenge.
Jayne comments: “I am incredibly proud and privileged to have had the opportunity to lead OCF as CEO. Now, with an ever-increasing list of things I want to do and explore outside of OCF, it feels right that someone new has the chance to build on the organisation’s legacy and progress.”
“Under Jayne’s leadership OCF’s impact and influence have grown tremendously,” comments Interim Chair of Trustees, Nick Case. “We have been fortunate to have a leader of Jayne’s calibre. She should be proud of the dedication, commitment, and perseverance she has brought to the role. We respect Jayne’s decision and we are happy to support her in the search for what’s next.”
Jayne led the development of a new strategy for OCF based on the foundational research in Oxfordshire Uncovered, a report that identified three key strategic needs for the county: educational disadvantage, homelessness, and loneliness and isolation. For each of these areas, OCF now convenes service providers, funders and charities to design and implement programmes that unlock the power of our communities, addressing root causes and bringing lasting change. These programmes are now at the heart of the leadership role OCF is taking in the county, and the organisation is deeply committed to taking them forward.
Jayne has been instrumental in OCF’s other key achievements over the ten years:
- Increasing annual grant making from £300k to £1.3 million
- Growing the foundation’s endowment from £1.5m to £6m
- Achieving an Exemplar rating on the UK Community Foundations’ QA4 Quality Accreditation.
Most recently Jayne has led OCF’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, setting up the Community Resilience Fund with speed and efficiency to support Oxfordshire’s charities and bring relief to those most in need. Her fundraising acumen and excellent network of donors and supporters helped to source significant donations, and the fund has quickly built to more than £1 million.
Reflecting on her time at OCF, Jayne says: “2020 is also OCF’s 25th anniversary and it has been a real honour to have served for 10 of those years. I am incredibly proud of the strong team we have in place to take this legacy forward, and the support of the trustees, donors and community partners has been humbling. Together they have enabled us to launch programmes like Growing Minds that will make such a difference in closing the education attainment gap in Oxfordshire.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the OCF staff team, trustees past and present, and all our supporters and donors for their generosity and confidence. It would simply be impossible to name everyone, but so many have contributed to make this such an inspiring and rewarding organisation to lead.”
Nick Case adds: “We thank Jayne for her tremendous service and achievements. She will be a tough act to follow – and the rest of the team is committed to ensuring that OCF is a powerful force for good for our next 25 years and beyond. Now we begin our search for the right person to lead us in implementing our ambitious strategy and unlocking the power of our community.”
OCF will publish more details about the process and timetable for recruiting a new CEO in due course. In order to ensure a smooth transition, OCF has already appointed an Interim CEO to be in post from 1st July 2020. A separate announcement about this will follow shortly.