Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF) is launching it’s second grants round in spring/summer to continue its support in alleviating the cost of living crisis. We would really appreciate the input of local charities and community organisations to help us design this grants round.
Sadly, since the opening of OCF’s grant funding in September 2022, the huge rise in energy and food costs continues to affect the most vulnerable in our community who still need help. It is expected from April that households will need an additional £200 per month to cover increased bills. The ongoing cost-of living crisis is also impacting grassroots charities who are faced with an increased demand for their service, whilst also having to manage rising costs.
We want to work with local charitable organisations to ensure our funding targets the most pressing issues being faced now. The evidence from this consultation will also help us raise more money from our donor community, to contribute to this round of funding. What has changed since we last consulted local charities and organisations? How could a grant from OCF enable charitable organisations to help communities most at need from the ongoing rise in the cost of living? What type of costs or activities do charitable organisations need us to fund? How can our funding make the biggest difference?
To help answer these questions, we are running both a survey and an online workshop to consult with the local delivery organisations working directly in our communities. Once completed, we will publish a report drawing conclusions about what our funding priorities should be. We will then use this feedback to finalise the eligibility criteria for the cost of living grants round, which open in late May.
We are continuing to work with local organisations to ensure our funding has impact and remain aware of current challenges linked to the cost of living, which are key for designing our second grants round. The evidence from this survey will also help us raise more money from our donor community to contribute to this round of funding.
We would be grateful for any local charities and organisations to take part in our consultation. The short survey will only take a few minutes to complete. It closes on Friday 28th April at 9am. The follow-on workshop will be held online on Wednesday 3rd May at 1pm.