Current Projects

The following are projects to which we have committed funds, as well as providing strategic and organisational advice and support.

Community Larders

Strengthening communities, relieving food insecurity and reducing food waste

‘Community Larders’ is a community-based membership programme, developed and operated by SOFEA, the food and education charity. Individual larders operate weekly, providing savings on a range of food and groceries, as well as a space where people can find advice, support, opportunities and companionship.

Our inputs

• Initial strategic input and organisational support in late 2019

• 1:1 coaching and mentoring of CEO and key staff

• 2020 grant funding of £25k to pay for:

  • Business development support, including with the launch of the Milton Keynes-based larders

  • Brand development

  • Collation of standardised, replicable and scalable operating processes and procedures

  • Development of a back-end CRM platform to manage membership across all Larders

• Further and ongoing strategic planning and organisational support inc. facilitating a session with Board of Trustees.

Outputs and outcomes to date

• 16 Larders operating as at Spring 2021

  • Pipeline of a further 19 Larders

• Total membership of c. 1,550

• Planning for 6,500 members by 2023

• Additional funding raised:

  • £298,000 from Fareshare, the national food waste and food poverty charity

  • £50,000 from Oxfordshire Community Foundation, for infrastructure and operations (ie. building sustainable capability and capacity)

  • £15,000 from Oxford City Council

  • c. £30,000 from local housing associations, Councillors and others

• Validation of the Larder model leading to early stage discussions with the Local Enterprise Partnership to include Larders as part of their inclusive economy strategy

• Savings on monthly food bills of up to £74 (for individual members) and £152 (for family members).

“SOFEA began working with OCG in 2019. The commitment of OCG to support our ‘Community Larders’ has helped us to build the resources and organisational capacity to develop the model and get it to scale. The insight and expertise, as well as the financial support, that OCG has provided has enabled our team to grow confidently and to design a solution that has the potential to reach many more people than we could have done alone. We enjoy working with OCG for the value that they bring and for the effective manner in which they provide it.”  Richard Kennell, Founder and CEO, SOFEA

Growing Minds

Tackling inequality in education so that every child is ready to start school.

Growing Minds is a ground-breaking initiative, bringing ten voluntary and public sector organisations together with donors, improving primary school readiness and tackling educational inequality from the earliest age. Over its course, the pilot aims to support 800 children and their families, across two of the most deprived areas of Oxfordshire, from birth through to primary school.

Click here for a short video.

Our inputs

• Conceived jointly by Our Common Good and Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF) 

• Made possible by initial investment of £40,000 from Our Common Good to fund feasibility study, research and the appointment of a project manager within OCF

• Ongoing strategic and development support.

Outputs and outcomes to date

• Over £400,000 funding committed against a total requirement of £900,000 for the seven-year project

• Since the project was launched in January 2020, and despite the challenges posed by Covid:

  • 128 families are now receiving support from Growing Minds

  • 89 of those families have babies, 39 have toddlers

  • 17 local professionals across the two communities have been trained through Growing Minds

• Developing insight and learning through a partnership with Oxford University

• Early-stage discussions with Suffolk Community Foundation to establish Growing Minds in the county.

“Our Common Good have been invaluable in helping get Growing Minds from a stage where there was clear identification of a need to one where we have been able to develop the project, enlist partners, secure support and get implementation underway. The early investment from OCG was catalytic in helping give us, and other potential backers, confidence and capacity to make the idea real. The sustained interest of OCG means we know that their support, networks and expertise are part of the programme’s ongoing development and growth.” Adrian Sell, CEO, Oxfordshire Community Foundation

The Armitage Foundation

Inspiring the doctors of tomorrow from all walks of life

The Armitage Foundation “envisions an NHS workforce that reflects the diverse society it serves and where any student possessing the capability and passion for becoming a doctor is able to, irrespective of their background”.

See www.armitagefoundation.com

Our inputs

• October 2020:  Invested £5,000 which was then matched as part of a Funding Network fundraiser that generated over £20,000 in total for the Armitage Foundation 

• Ongoing strategic and development support, including joining a Trustee meeting.

Outputs and outcomes to date

• Pilot programmes with two universities and five schools started Spring 2021

• Introduction made to additional medical school – exploring potential for partnership and further roll-out of programme

• Plans developing for accelerated, large-scale roll-out of concept, including development of digital platform to support scaleability

• Initial conversations re. how model might be applied to medical careers more widely (eg. nurses, dentists, physios etc) as well as other professions.

Getting Oxfordshire Online

Tackling digital poverty

Digital poverty and exclusion have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis and whilst there have been lots of short-term measures put in place to help schools and other groups these will likely disappear once the pandemic subsides.  Our Common Good is working with Oxfordshire Community Foundation to 'Get Oxfordshire Online’. Through working in collaboration with a range of organisations, our vision is to create a sustainable partnership to allow for the recycling of equipment, provision of connectivity, and the necessary education and training to enable the most vulnerable and financially challenged access to the on-line world. Whilst this project will focus on Oxfordshire, it is being designed and developed so that it has the potential to replicate elsewhere.

Our inputs

• £20,000 funding, matched by Oxfordshire Community Foundation, to pay for project manager to lead and coordinate development of plan, including formation of Steering Group.

Outputs and outcomes to date

• Project manager recruited and came on board in January 2021 (full-time from February)

• Initial development underway, including pilot scheme, due to commence Summer 2021.

Homelessness Research

Giving a voice to those experiencing homelessness

Homelessness is a critical issue in every major city, but despite a plethora of solutions there exist relatively little current and actionable research around the drivers and potential solutions for this key issue. This will be necessary to engage stakeholders in a new dialogue and to find innovative solutions to a long-standing problem.

Our inputs

• We have provided £5,000, as part of a consortium of funders, to support a research project, conducted by an award winning research agency

  • Project will focus on the ‘at risk’ population (those on the verge of falling into homelessness) and ‘sofa surfers’, the hidden population of homeless, many of whom currently go unsupported

  • Will take a participatory approach, drawing on the insights of those with ‘lived experience’ and front-line staff

Outputs and outcomes to date

• Project started in February this year.  Initial findings from desk-research phase due early March

• Full project report due July/August 2021.