Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF) has just published its annual accounts for the financial year 2023-24. £1.9 million of grants were made during the year to support grassroots charities across Oxfordshire where the need for philanthropy has never been more strongly felt.
2023-24 has seen OCF invest to be a responsive, creative and expert grant-maker all focused on better serving the smallest groups while providing our donors with bespoke care and advice. The year saw us publish the second edition of Oxfordshire Uncovered which uses robust data to highlight the hidden needs in Oxfordshire and make the case for effective philanthropy.
We are pleased to report that we generated income of just over £1.8 million in a year when general giving rates declined and the exceptional public funding from the COVID years ceased. Grants made totalled £1.9 million in FY23-24, our fourth consecutive year of giving around £2 million. Our unrestricted reserves continued to be healthily above OCF’s minimum six months policy.
Need-led grant-making
Oxfordshire Uncovered highlighted four key themes of need, and we used this to analyse our grant-making. Highlights from our grant-making show:
- Unaffordable essentials: We delivered a second year of our Cost of Living Fund, helping charities to cope with continuing high inflation affecting people in the county as well as the charities themselves to stay afloat. We gave out almost £275,000 towards food and supplies, warm spaces, homeless support, mental health groups and enrichment activities.
- Countering lack of opportunity: Didcot Powerhouse Fund is held by OCF and gave over £110,000 in grants to 21 charities and community groups in 2023-24 thanks to donations from local companies and people.
- Alleviating loneliness and fear: We were proud to deliver a second year of the Community Capacity Fund on behalf of the Adult Social Care directorate at Oxfordshire County Council. 24 organisations received a share of the initial £325,000.
- Addressing poor health: We also concluded our awarding of grants on behalf of the NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) to raise awareness of cancer symptoms. More than £45,000 was given in 2023-24.
- OCF is also privileged to host the Step Change Fund to support charities to grow, across the sector. In 2023-24, the fund supported the sector with awards amounting to almost £455,000 in vital infrastructure funding.
Committed philanthropic support
The number of long-standing and new donors who work with us, ranging from individuals to large corporates, gives us real hope for future. We were delighted to develop new OCF-led funds as well as those initiated by individuals that reflected their charitable interests.
Highlights include:
- Our new Thriving in Nature fund was developed with a small group of committed donors who were inspired to be part of this fund, building a pot of £0.5 million. The fund will help more people prosper by engaging with green spaces and the rural environment.
- The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, Sally Scott, kindly sponsored our Giving Tuesday event as well as funding the development of our Oxfordshire Uncovered report. The High Sheriff used the event to raise £45,000 through her High Sheriff’s Fund, hosted by OCF, which will go towards supporting our grant-making to grassroots charities around the county.
- We worked with local restauranteur Aziz Rahman in the summer of 2023 to launch the Komorun Nessa fund in memory of his mother, to support the friends and family of people experiencing poor mental health in East Oxford and beyond.
- We have been pleased to continue working with a number of statutory bodies during the year, where we are able to use our knowledge of the local charity sector to target public funding where the support was most urgently needed.
We look forward to the coming year where our robust plans will continue to put us in good stead to deliver our mission. We firmly believe that together, we can make Oxfordshire a better place for all its residents.
Read our full, audited accounts and our 2023-24 impact report.
Find out how you can get involved and help us to transform lives in Oxfordshire.
Contact our Head of Development Kate Parrinder to set up a conversation or meeting about your giving.