Young people will continue to benefit from the creative arts thanks to a donation of £10,000 following the closure of OYAP Trust.
OYAP Trust was an award-winning arts charity in Bicester that gave vulnerable young people access to the creative arts, education and training opportunities, helping them develop skills, confidence and self-esteem. Their work with music, sculpture, art and language harnessed creativity and gave people without a voice the opportunity to express themselves.
In 2019 they received the Queen’s Award, the equivalent of an MBE for voluntary groups, after 21 years of service to the local community.
The trustees took the difficult decision to close the charity in 2025, due to increasing financial pressures and the difficulty in sustaining an affordable venue. As part of an orderly and planned closure, they approached OCF about how the charity’s remaining assets, which amounted to £10,000, could be used in line with their original purpose. By setting up the OYAP Legacy Fund, they have been able to ensure that the spirit of the charity continues.
A named fund is a ringfenced charitable fund held and managed by OCF, with pre-defined objectives. The purpose of the OYAP Legacy Fund will be to advance education in the creative arts, with a particular emphasis on young people in Oxfordshire. Grants will support charitable and voluntary activities that:
- Promote young people’s participation in the creative arts
- Support the provision of opportunities in the arts in the widest sense for young people in Oxfordshire
- Widen inclusivity for those that face barriers to participation.
David Marcou, former Chair of OYAP Trust, said:
“Being able to hand over the residual assets of OYAP Trust to OCF in the form of a named fund gave us a straightforward way to finalise the closure of the charity that also held meaning for us. It is reassuring to know that the funds will continue to be used for their original intention, and that these funds can be pooled together with others that OCF holds in order to make a bigger difference.”
Over the next two years grants will be made from the named fund that are consistent with the objectives of the fund. OCF is currently scoping a concept for a new collective ‘opportunities fund’ to enable people from disadvantaged backgrounds to experience the educational, employment and therapeutic benefits of arts and culture. We hope that in time, other funders will join with OYAP Trust to support this theme.
By joining the OCF family, the OYAP Legacy Fund will benefit from our grants team’s connections in communities across the county, and our role in promoting philanthropy in Oxfordshire.
Zoe Sprigings, OCF’s Chief Executive, said:
“We’re very grateful to OYAP Trust for entrusting their charitable legacy to us. Art and culture enrich lives, fostering wellbeing, purpose and potential, and help to shape society – so should be accessible to all. We feel confident that this donation will help more young people benefit from the transformative power of the arts.”
In common with all community foundations, OCF is able to accept transfers from dormant trusts, which enables funds to reach their originally intended recipients. Charitable trusts can become dormant because the administration and responsibility of running a charity have become too onerous, or because they have difficulty identifying beneficiaries. A dormant trust’s funds can be revitalised by being released to a community foundation in a process endorsed by the Charity Commission, and used to support areas of current need.
Find out more about how OCF can support dormant trusts