Your donation will help people with homelessness, food insecurity, fuel poverty and debt.
Having a place to call home, which is warm and with readily available food, is something many of us take for granted. Yet for the most vulnerable in our county, these essentials are unaffordable.
In Oxfordshire, general affluence hides deep inequality, and the need for advice and urgent support continues to be high across the county. For example, a recent survey found 30% of East Oxford residents can’t cover rent, and half can’t afford healthy food. Witney CAP Debt Centre told us recently that people are hand-washing clothes in the bath as they can’t afford to run a washing machine.
You can take action to support your local communities by donating to OCF’s Living Essentials Fund. In January, this fund will make a second round of grants to grassroots charitable organisations that enable access to housing support, debt advice, warm spaces and, perhaps most importantly, human connection.
Thanks to a small group of generous funders, we already have £220k to fund our next round of grants. However, we have received applications totalling £450k from 56 small charities. Every donation we can secure over the coming month will help us provide more support.
One applicant working with families across North and West Oxfordshire tells us: “Our families face complex challenges. In every case, there is a parent and child at risk of losing those special moments important to a child’s development. When these moments are missed, it is very difficult and expensive to make up for lost ground when that child reaches adulthood.”
Building on our experience with the first round of grants from this fund earlier in 2025, these grants will prioritise the smallest organisations working at a neighbourhood level, run by people who have the trust of those most in need. They are the beating heart of our communities, and they deserve our support.
We know that our donors have the compassion and kindness to help us fund even more of the applications we have received. If you are in a position to, we urge you to spread a little hope and care, and give what you can to the Living Essentials Fund today.
How to give
- ONLINE via our trusted Enthuse donation platform, which will collect Gift Aid (maximum £5k)
- BY BACS – please contact Sophie for our bank details, and complete this Gift Aid form
- WITH CAF by selecting charity number 1151621, reference “Living Essentials”
Thank you.