In response to the Covid 19 pandemic, Oxfordshire County Council allocated funding from the Department for Health and Social Care Contain Outbreak Management Fund to support grassroots organisations across Oxfordshire with the aim to deliver activities that would help to reduce COVID-19 outbreaks and the spread of infection.

Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA) and Community First Oxfordshire (CFO) jointly administered  the £256,000 pot of funds, using their reach into the voluntary and community sector to distribute funds to 26 groups and charities. The funding also came with dedicated support from a Community Development Programme Officer who adopted a ‘Grants Plus’ approach, providing capacity building as well as funds.

The projects covered a wide range of themes from support for refuges, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants; digital inclusion; under fives provision for children and families and youth activities; community food and transport; befriending and information/ guidance to Covid 19 type support which included elements of the other themes such as befriending, community transport, prescription/ food deliveries and exercise.

Have a look at the report to find out all about what happened and…

• Why a ‘grants-plus’ approach is important for supporting groups and charities in Oxfordshire
• What the grantees learnt delivering projects throughout the pandemic
• The impact of the projects on the people they supported
• Recommendation for what needs to happen to effectively support grassroots organisations and charities to continue to make a difference

Supporting Communities Through Covid 19 Report