** NOW CLOSED – funding decisions will be announced w/c 2nd December **
We have launched a third round of Community Capacity funding, thanks to £341,250 from Oxfordshire County Council. Grants will be made to help Oxfordshire’s adult residents to live independently and healthily for as long as possible in their lives.
Last year around 100 eligible organisations applied and 24 organisations received a share of £325,000 from the Community Capacity Fund.
The Community Capacity grants support the Council’s Oxfordshire Way vision: “to support the people of Oxfordshire to live well in their community, remaining fit and healthy for as long as possible: to build community resilience and increase independence”.
Local community organisations play a huge role in supporting people to thrive with less need for government services. This can help people have a much better quality-of-life.
- Support the wellbeing of the whole community to stay well, live independently, increases physical activity, reduce individual isolation and loneliness, promoting emotional resilience and reducing demand on services
- Address inequalities and improve quality of life
- Support neighbourhood-led NHS social prescribing
- Empower people to forge their own networks and structures
- Create self-sustaining enterprises targeted at diverse communities
- Support redevelopment or use open green spaces to support the wellbeing of whole communities
- Schemes/projects that fill gaps and therefore increase the options available to community connectors and social prescribers
- Schemes where a grant would help to increase existing capacity, increase volunteering, support collaborative working and opportunities for mutual aid
- Schemes that are innovative: e.g. help mitigate digital exclusion; work across different generations; aspiration building; unlock value in our use of space and place etc
- Schemes that work with local businesses and partners for environmental, economic and social benefit
- Schemes that are intergenerational
- Schemes that support underserved groups that find it hard to find support through traditional services
To find out if your organisation is eligible please read our guidance notes.
Please also read our updated Grants Policy which sets out in detail the criteria that applies to all OCF grant-making.
Beneficiaries must be in Oxfordshire, and we will be prioritising applications from outside of these ten wards Abingdon Caldecott, Banbury Cross & Neithrop, Banbury Grimsbury & Hightown, Banbury Ruscote, Barton & Sandhills, Blackbird Leys, Littlemore, Osney & St Thomas, Northfield Brook and Rose Hill & Iflley. Organisations working in these wards may still apply but are unlikely to get funded due to the volume of applications expected. The Oxfordshire Place Inequalities fund has been established for 2023-2025 to cover these 10 wards and will operate through the Well Together Programme funded by Oxfordshire County Council.
The target beneficiaries must be over 18. For intergenerational schemes, it is acceptable for under-18s to be involved but the target beneficiaries to report on must still be over 18.
- Costs incurred from grant award (December 2024) until 30 November 2025*
- Ongoing running costs, including full cost recovery
- Project costs
- Capital costs
- Promotional costs
*Applicants can choose 12 or 24 months to spend the grant from date of award (December 2024). If the applicant chooses the 24 month option, they cannot apply for additional funding from the Community Capacity Grants during this period.
- Grants round opens – 16th September
- Grants round closes – midday on 14th October
- Funding decisions announced – w/c 2nd December
- Successful applicants provide required financial and governance evidence – by 9th December
- Grants paid – by 31st December (contingent on financial and governance evidence being received)
** NOW CLOSED **
Please take a look at the following documents before completing your application form:
- Read about the full criteria and further information about the grant in the Guidance document
- See what other people are asking in the Frequently asked questions
- Know what to expect on the application form with this full list of questions
- See an example of a completed application form to see what types of information we typically like to see
Please don’t hesitate to contact us on ocf@oxfordshire.org or 01865 798666 with any questions. The team is available to provide support with your application.
In addition, we are offering these advice sessions to answer any questions you may have about the grants round and your application – no need to register:
- Monday 23rd September, 2pm – 3.30pm: virtual drop-in session. Join the Zoom meeting (Meeting ID: 852 2937 5145 Passcode: 963873)
- Monday 30th September, 5pm – 6.30pm: in-person drop-in session at the OCF office in central Oxford.
We welcome:
- Collaboration between groups on joint or linked proposals
- Schemes which are led by the community and build on existing networks for mutual aid
- Social enterprises, and schemes which work with local businesses and partners, to provide financially sustainable solutions
- Schemes which fill gaps and therefore increase the options available to social prescribers
Oxfordshire County Council has made a further £175,000 available through the Connected Communities Fund administered by Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA) and Community First Oxfordshire (CFO). This separate fund, offering a package of support and funding up to £5,000 to small grassroots organisations, focusses on increasing activities that provide opportunities for older people, and/or adults with additional needs, to connect within their communities.
Organisations may only receive funding from either Community Capacity grants or the Connected Communities Fund – please consider which of these two schemes is best suited to your work.
For further information and to apply to the Connected Communities Fund please visit https://ocva.org.uk/connected-communities-fund/