Oxford City Council agrees another £1.4m of funding for Oxford community groups

In 2014, the City Council agreed to set aside £4.2m over three years, from 2015/16, to help fund community groups, support services, advice centres and art projects across Oxford.

Last night (11/2), the Council’s City Executive Board agreed how £1,430,970 of the pot would be spent in 2016/17 – agreeing funding to 44 organisations.

The funding includes:

• £518,379 to organisations providing advice and money management, including £200,000 to Oxford Citizens Advice Bureau, £85,290 to the Agnes Smith Advice Centre and £122,611 to Oxford Community Work Agency
• £442,279 to groups providing services to Oxford’s homeless population*
• £235,262 to encourage inclusion in arts and culture, including £25,000 to Film Oxford, £28,128 to Fusion Arts, £70,000 Modern Art Oxford, £32,134 to Arts at the Old Fire Station and £25,000 to Pegasus Theatre
• £61,082 to community safety projects, including £35,082 to A2 Dominion to support those experiencing domestic abuse and £15,000 to Oxford Sexual Abuse & Rape Crisis Centre to provide a telephone helpline service

Other recipients include Asylum Welcome (£10,000), Thrive Barton (£8,000), South Oxford Adventure Playground (£8,000), Blackbird Leys Adventure Playground (£7,500), Donnington Doorstep Family Centre (£7,000),  Rose Hill Junior Youth Club (£7,500), Wood Farm Youth Centre (£7,000), Restore (£3,099), Oxford City of Sanctuary (£5,000), Community Emergency Food Bank (£5,000) and the Archway Foundation (£7,500).

Despite being a relatively affluent area overall, Oxford has pockets of deprivation. Eighteen of Oxford’s 83 small areas were defined as deprived by the Government in September 2015, with part of Blackbird Leys and Rose Hill named as amongst the most deprived 10 per cent of areas in England.

Councillor Christine Simm, Board Member for Culture and Communities, said: “I am very proud that we have been able to support these invaluable groups. These grants show how a local authority can contribute to strengthening communities and supporting community groups.”

For more information about the grants available from Oxford City Council, please visit our Grants page.

Notes to editors

* The budget was agreed last night (11/2) but the allocation of the funding will not be agreed until the City Executive Board meeting in March.