Press Release announcing Fund is open for grants
A new Fund with Didcot at its heart, The Didcot Powerhouse Fund will formally launch on 26th January 2022 by inviting community focused organisations inside the Didcot Garden Town Area of Influence to apply for grants. The theme for 2022 is ‘Supporting Children, Young People and Families as we Emerge from the Pandemic’.
The Didcot Powerhouse Fund is a Donor Advised Fund and was founded to address inequality in Didcot, a town that has a mixed profile of neighbourhoods where affluent areas adjoin those with greater need, placing some of Didcot’s wards in the top 20% of the Index of Multiple Deprivation in England which encompasses seven key social measures.
Fuelled by financial donations from an initial core group of businesses and individuals in 2021, the Fund is managed by Oxfordshire Community Foundation. An annual Grant-giving process will be used to help community support bodies sustain their important work, sharing £80,000 across eligible organisations in 2022.
The Fund is keen to attract many more local business donors, churches, and individuals to help fundraise, either by making donations or by offering their services or fundraising efforts in support. Donors already committed to the project are Didcot First who host the Fund; MEPC Milton Park, Soha, Evotec, Hachette UK Distribution, Harwell Campus, Ipsen, Asda, CTS, Diamond Light Source, Infinium and Reef Group.
Williams Jones Estate Agents in Didcot celebrate their 10th anniversary in 2022 and William Peddie, Director said “We immediately saw the advantages of becoming a sponsor for the Didcot Powerhouse Fund as an opportunity to return the incredible goodwill we have received from Didcot people during our last decade of business here. We were unaware of some of the issues locally and want to do something proactive to help.”
Richard Kennell, Director of charity SOFEA said “Even though SOFEA is now too large to apply, we welcome this new source of funding for Didcot. We provide education, employment, and wellbeing programmes for vulnerable youngsters as well as tackling food insecurity. Funding is always a primary concern for charities such as ours to be able to plan forward.”
Ann Middleton, President of the Didcot Chamber of Commerce said “This is really positive news for Didcot and very soon we will be reaching out to invite Didcot businesses to engage with The Didcot Powerhouse Fund. I am confident there will be a willingness to support these collaborative efforts to build a better town for everyone to enjoy.”
Charities and community organisations can go to https://oxfordshire.org/the-didcot-powerhouse-fund to make an Expression of Interest and the closing date for applications is 17th February 2022.
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Notes
E-mail Didcotpowerhousefund@btinternet.com
Website: www.didcotpowerhousefund.co.uk
There were 3044 visits to the Didcot Foodbank in 2020, up by 45.6% year on year.**
2.5% of households lack central heating and 16% have no car*
Almost 1 in 5 people have no educational qualifications*
There is inequality, with neighbouring areas ranking in the top 20% and the bottom 20% of key statistics for England. *
Children from the Didcot South and West wards are more likely to be referred to social care, face domestic abuse and become a victim of crime than in the wider district**
Didcot Health Centre and Oak Tree Health Centre have high rates of patient depression, one reporting double the national average in 2016-17 ***
Sources of statistics
*Oxfordshire Community Foundation Local Insight Report for Didcot, Sept 2021 Statistics measure 7 domains of IMD (Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering employment; income; health and disability; education, skills and training; crime; living environment; and barriers to housing and services.
** Didcot Food Bank Statistics for 2019/2020
*** Didcot Community profile of Health and Wellbeing evidence October 2018 - A report from the Oxfordshire Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) for Didcot.
Oxfordshire Community Foundation
The Didcot Powerhouse Fund is held and managed by Oxfordshire Community Foundation, Charitable Incorporated Organisation no 1151621 (England & Wales).