Oxford-based charity, St Michael’s and All Saints’ Charities has partnered with Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF) for its 2024 grants awards, donating £30,000 to benefit people with the most pressing needs
We are pleased that the trustees of St Michael’s and All Saints’ Charities (also known as the Feoffees) have chosen to partner with OCF and entrust their 2024 grant-making to us. The charities are based in central Oxford, and their aims are to support the Church of St Michael at the North Gate, and to provide funding to charitable organisations in Oxford. The charities have a long and fascinating history dating back hundreds of years, and their primary objective is the relief of individual hardship.
Wanting to streamline their grant-making processes, and recognising that OCF had very similar aims, the Feoffees allocated their 2024 grant-making funds to OCF’s Living Essentials Fund, which awarded grants to charitable organisations in December. Funding will help to tackle unaffordable essentials such as homelessness, food insecurity and warmth as well as debt advice. In doing this, the Feoffees are pooling their funds with other donors and funders to make a bigger difference together. Other funding partners include Oxfordshire County Council, several other local trusts, and individual philanthropists who are supporters of OCF’s work.
One of the groups funded was Rose Hill and Donnington Advice Centre, which received a grant of £10,000. They provide expert advice on debt, benefits and housing to the community in the Rose Hill estate and surrounding areas. Their grant has enabled them to increase the hours of three experienced staff, as well as moving them from a fixed-term contract to permanent members of staff, ensuring they can continue to provide high-quality advice and support to their clients.
The Porch also received a grant totalling £9,900. They support people who are homeless and vulnerably housed through their day centre provision in East Oxford, providing free freshly cooked breakfasts and lunches, hot showers, clothes bank, laundry service, internet access, welfare advice and social activities. The grant will also help to keep their doors open during winter weekends, giving the people they support a place to go during the weekend when most other services are closed.
OCF offers a grant-making service to charitable trusts and statutory funders that would like to outsource part or all of their grant-making. We often work on behalf of other funding bodies, enabling them to support many smaller local Oxfordshire-based projects that often go under the radar of funders. OCF takes pride in the way that funding is delivered, aiming to be the kindest and most helpful funder in the county. The Grants Team enable a straightforward and transparent funding process, including being clear about funding criteria, simplifying the application process, holding drop-in sessions and giving feedback for those that not successful.
Zoe Sprigings, Chief Executive of OCF said:
“We’re so pleased that the Feoffees have chosen to work with OCF to get their funding to the people that need it most, whilst still holding true to their charitable purpose. Through research such as our Oxfordshire Uncovered report, and our relationships with the thousands of grassroots charities in the county, we are well placed to deliver funding to tackle priority issues. Thank you for trusting us to deliver your mission.”
Find out more about how your charitable trust or statutory organisation can make use of our grant-making service.