What is an Oxbow Channel?
An Oxbow Channel is a donor or benefactor. Channels will make a donation to Oxbow and then typically oversee the disbursement of this money via Oxbow grants.
Oxbow seeks to create a community of benefactors or Channels who want to take an active role in deciding how their charitable donations are spent. Oxbow will assist Channels identifying potential grant recipients in their local area. However, Channels are encouraged to take stewardship of the funds they donate to Oxbow. Depending on how hands-on a Channel wants to be, he or she will usually assess a potential beneficiary first-hand before proposing a grant is made.
What is the process to award an Oxbow grant?
Oxbow’s network of Compasses proposes potential grant beneficiaries. Channels then assess the proposed beneficiaries and decide which grants they would like to fund out of the monies they donated to Oxbow.
In deciding which grants to support, the Channel may decide to meet with the proposed beneficiary. The Channel may choose to do this without revealing his or her involvement in Oxbow. Once a Channel and a Compass agree to co-sponsor a grant proposal, it is passed to the Oxbow Executive Committee for final approval.
Answers to commonly asked questions
Oxbow is established as a charitable trust. The organisation is registered with the Charity Commission and HMRC. Oxbow is not affiliated to a faith or interest group.
Donations from higher rate UK taxpayers will normally qualify for significant tax breaks under the UK Government's gift aid scheme. This currently means that for every £1 donated under gift aid, Oxbow can claim an additional 25p from the UK Government. Furthermore, higher rate UK taxpayers should normally be able to offset a portion of their donation against their income tax bill.
How can I contact Oxbow to learn more about becoming an Oxbow Channel?
If you are interested in potentially becoming an Oxbow Channel and would like more information on how Oxbow works, please fill in the contact form below and an Oxbow Executive Committee member will contact you directly. Once your enquiry has been successfully submitted, you will be returned to the Home Page.