The Head of  Community Services has submitted a reportto inform Cabinet of the findings from the monitoring of the 2018/19 grants programme.

Recommendations: That  Cabinet resolves to:

Note the results of the grant monitoring and the positive impact the community and voluntary sector is making in the city.

Marie Tidball, Cabinet Member for Supporting Local Communities, introduced the report. She was proud to see the scale and breadth of the programme illustrated by the report and its undoubted positive social impact. She drew attention to the fact that while the investment cost of the programme to the Council was £1.5m, that, in turn, secured a further £4.2m, or almost £3 for every £1 spent. Innovation has been an important element of the programme, with, for example, the introduction of the Oxford Lottery, and use of “The Good Exchange” fundraising platform.

Cabinet members were appreciative of the value added by the programme. It was agreed that the use of case studies in these reports was helpful in bringing the programme to life.

Cabinet resolved to:

Note the results of the grant monitoring and the positive impact the community and voluntary sector is making in the city.

At its meeting on 11 September 2019, the Cabinet will consider a report on Monitoring the Community Grants Programme for 2018/19. This item provides an opportunity for the Committee to comment on the report and make recommendations to the Cabinet if it wishes.

Julia Tomkins, Grants & External Funding Officer, will attend for this item.

The Cabinet Member for Supporting Local Communities, Councillor Marie Tidball,   introduced the report which would be considered by the Cabinet at its meeting later in the month.  At a volatile and challenging time for the charitable and voluntary sector, grants from the City Council provided vital support which had a significant social impact. It was particularly noteworthy that the £1,515, 043 awarded  by the council leveraged a further £4,264,575 of funding for the sector, or nearly £3 for every £1 invested. This support benefited some 200,000 people in one way or another (this would include some people who benefitted from more than one opportunity as well as some from outside the City). Particular attention was being paid to ensure that the programme supports those with protected characteristics in an equitable fashion. An event was being held later in the year, intended to alert the BAME community in particular to the opportunities available via the grant programme.

The introduction of the Oxford Lottery in March 2019 was an innovative means of securing additional funding to support local voluntary and community groups in the city.

Simplifying the process for applying for funding had encouraged applications from organisations which might otherwise not have done so.  Support for social enterprises was something that could be looked at (they were generally not eligible). It was difficult to quantify the extent to which the help provided by grants supported statutory and other services which had been cut (e.g. loss of Children’s Centres). Julia Tomkins, the  Grants & External Funding Officer, said that there was however a discernible increase in both  demand and support for those experiencing multiple difficulties.   Councillor Tidball agreed to take this question to the Children’s Trust. Similarly, it was difficult for grant holders to measure and for the Council to aggregate data relating to the returns on investment of the programme arising from negative outcomes avoided.

The Grants & External Funding Officer agreed to find out how much funding was directed to supporting those who are homeless and rough sleeping.

The Committee were very appreciative of the contribution made by the grants programme and agreed to make the following recommendations to Cabinet:

1. That the Council produces a plan of action to raise the profile of the Oxford lottery, particularly through promotion to residents, large local businesses and within the Council itself.
2. To consider how the grants programme eligibility criteria may be altered to enable  social enterprises in the City to access and deliver grant funded projects.

The Chair thanked Councillor Tidball and the Grants & External Funding Officer for their contribution to this important discussion.