Page 3 - OCF - Pandemic Year Impact Report

Introduction
March 2020 was a confusing time when people across the world had to adapt rapidly to the frightening prospect of a global pandemic.
At OCF we were humbled to see communities
responding immediately, from the most local street level in neighbourhoods across Oxfordshire, to a UK-wide appeal from the National Emergencies Trust (NET) that has distributed over £68 million via our national network of community foundations.
Thanks to the trust placed in us by our donors – in particular The Indigo Trust locally, and the NET, Co-Op and DCMS nationally – OCF was in a strong position to rapidly open the Coronavirus Community Resilience Fund, which has been the bedrock of our activity since then.
This report covers OCF’s pandemic response from March 2020 to April 2021.*
Our first priority was to get money to the grassroots fast. We dubbed this phase “Respond Better”, and it was enabled by phenomenal community organising by the thousands of ordinary people who stepped up to volunteer. It would also not have been possible without the dedicated, expert, adaptable local charitable sector, made up of hundreds of small charitable organisations with which we already had strong networks.
However, very early on in the crisis, OCF started to think about long-term recovery and legacy, and committed to
a series of more substantial grant investments to help communities Recover Stronger. These priority projects continue, and we hope that, alongside our other long-term
£1,014,469
in COVID-19 grants distributed between March 2020 and April 2021
*Other grant-making during this time, such as the Step Change Fund and other donor-advised funds, is covered in our Annual Summary, and will also be explored in our wider annual impact report later in 2021.
initiatives, they will form the foundations for communities to build back better.
The effects of the pandemic are emphatically not over. Here we look at what we have learnt during this pandemic year, and reflect on our priorities moving forward, as we understand more about the fallout of COVID-19.
Adrian Sell, Chief Executive
adrian@oxfordshire.org
“It was crucial for us to give to OCF, within the first month of the crisis, because speed was going to be critical. We had total confidence that by giving the money to OCF, it would go where it was most needed.”
Fran and Will Perrin, The Indigo Trust
277
COVID-19 grants awarded so far, reaching around 138,000 beneficiaries
Adrian Sell
Oxfordshire Community Foundation 1