The Good Exchange is an online platform that enables the auto-matching of grant applications to a funder’s specific grant giving criteria. Starting with a focus on homelessness, applications to OCF’s grants programmes will soon be automatically shared with other funders on The Good Exchange.
Over the last decade, charities and community groups have lost nearly two thirds of their grants from government, from a height of £6.1 billion to £2.8 billion (NVCO). This, accompanied by large funding cuts to local council budgets, has had a significant impact on voluntary and charitable organisations, and is increasing the dependency on trusts, foundations and corporate funders.
Meanwhile, unacceptable social problems in areas like Oxfordshire are not going away, with issues such as homelessness and loneliness and isolation on the rise. The challenge faced by organisations trying to address these issues is the sheer volume of work and expertise required to find and apply for funding from the numerous potential sources, especially as most funders have their own, individual application processes.
For their part, grant-makers find that they are receiving more and more unsolicited and mis-matched applications for funds. Funders do not want to feel that they are spending large amounts of time processing inappropriate applications, without really addressing the social problems they exist to alleviate.
With trusts and foundations typically only able to grant funds to 10% to 15% of all applications in each grant round, OCF and The Good Exchange have joined together to help fundraisers quickly and easily apply to multiple funders. By sharing relevant applications with other funders on The Good Exchange, we are driving a more streamlined funding process that will allow multiple funders to contribute to the same charitable initiative. This facilitates the fastest and optimum distribution of charitable funds to causes that matter most.
As of September 2017, OCF will:
- Encourage other Oxfordshire funders in our network to sign up to The Good Exchange, where they will be able to co-fund projects, shortlist and manage applications, and offer match funding
- Automatically share applications to OCF’s Delivering Impact and Ambition grants programmes with multiple funders via The Good Exchange, where consent for this has been given on the application form.
The September to December period will be a pilot of the co-funding process with The Good Exchange, with a particular focus on applications from organisations looking to alleviate homelessness, and poverty and deprivation in Oxfordshire more generally. This coincides with OCF’s priority outcomes and preferred beneficiaries for the Delivering Impact round that closes on 30th October.
If you are interested in being part of this pilot, please contact OCF’s Philanthropy Services manager Julia Iball at julia@oxfordshire.org.