Last week’s #GivingTuesday was a global day of charitable giving, and the chance for OCF to celebrate the impact of our donors’ time, talent and treasure in improving the lives of people in Oxfordshire.
#GivingTuesday is commemorated every year as an antidote to retail days #BlackFriday and #CyberMonday. Here at Oxfordshire Community Foundation, we used the occasion to celebrate success stories about the results of our work, by launching our annual impact report, and welcoming around 100 guests to our drinks reception at Tap Social Movement.
The impact report shares some moving stories of lives changed by the funding we have given to local charitable organisations, tracks progress on our strategic objectives, and gives a financial update. Our President and Lord Lieutenant Tim Stephenson says of the new report: “I think the 2017 impact assessment is a tour de force: really impressive what has been achieved; it is displayed in really effective and persuasive fashion in the document.” See for yourself here!
At the drinks reception, OCF’s guests heard from Colin from Tap Social, who talked about how the microbrewery is helping him move beyond a history of offending and find a new career and place in society; Áine Kelly from the care leavers’ Christmas dinner, who described how she has moved on from a childhood of abuse and living in the care system, and is now completing a DPhil at Oxford; and Julie Blake from John Lewis, who announced the new £125,000 Westgate Fund with Oxfordshire Community Foundation to help alleviate city centre problems.
The event was a great success, and was buzzing with interesting and fun conversations. The venue, Tap Social, struck a chord with many guests thanks to its social impact credentials. You’ll find a few snaps on our Facebook page.
Most of all, we were so pleased to celebrate the power of collaboration and partnership by bringing people together. We see this as central to our work improving the lives of people like Colin and Áine, and we couldn’t do any of it without the support of our donors. At the event guests shared gifts of time, talent and treasure on a ‘giving tree’, with gifts ranging from making an annual donation to OCF, to offers of making films of our speakers or even acting as an auctioneer at a charity event.
It’s not too late to make a gift to OCF:
- Make a one-off or monthly donation on our JustGiving page
- If you’d like to get more involved by sharing your time or expertise, contact Jayne