Oxford City Council agrees £1.4m of funding for city’s community groups

The City Council provides the community grants programme funding to Oxford’s community and voluntary sector every single year.

The 2017/18 funding, which totals £1,430,970, was agreed at a City Executive Board meeting in February.

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. Councillors will decide how to allocate the funds, based on officer recommendations, at the City Executive Board on 9 March
• £235,262 to encourage inclusion in arts and culture, including £25,000 to Film Oxford, £28,128 to Fusion Arts, £70,000 to 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 Dovecote Voluntary Parent Committee (£10,000), Good Food Oxford (£7,200), Asylum Welcome (£7,500), Thrive Barton (£8,000), Wood Farm Youth Centre (£7,000), Ark T Centre (£4,470) and more.

During the past financial year Oxford City Council has provided a total of £2,454,113 in grant funding. This includes the £1.4m community grants programme, £941,000 of grants to homelessness organisations (in addition to the £442,279 of funding provided through the £1.4m community grants programme), £32,000 to Oxford Citizens Advice Bureau for money advice on behalf of the City Council’s Welfare Reform Team, and £50,107 from councillors, who are given money to spend in their wards.

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, Executive Board Member for Culture and Communities, said: “Oxford’s community and voluntary sector is a lifeline for families all across the city. I am delighted that Oxford City Council has agreed another £1.4m to help their crucial work.”

For more information about Oxford City Council’s grants programme, please visit: www.oxford.gov.uk/grants.