Didcot Powerhouse Fund Surpasses Half a Million Pounds in Grants to Local Charities
“You are genuinely changing lives”, says Deputy Lieutenant as Didcot Powerhouse Fund Surpasses Half a Million Pounds in Grants to Local Charities.
The Didcot Powerhouse Fund has announced its largest ever annual grant round, awarding £132,000 to 18 local charities and community groups in 2026 — bringing its cumulative total over five years to more than half a million pounds.
In its fifth year of grant-giving, the Didcot Powerhouse Fund has set a new record, surpassing its previous annual high of £108,000 to direct £132,000 into 18 organisations working across health, education, youth services, community wellbeing and more.
Since launching just over five years ago, Powerhouse has made a total of 88 grants worth £515,000 — directly benefiting 26,927 local residents across Greater Didcot and the surrounding villages, from Culham in the north to Blewbury in the south, including the science campuses of Harwell, Culham and Milton Park.
An Innovative Local Model
The Didcot Powerhouse Fund operates a distinctive model: it channels donations from local businesses and individuals - including companies based at Didcot’s world-leading science and business campuses - directly into grant funding for community organisations tackling inequality and deprivation in the area. At least 90% of every grant’s beneficiaries must be local.
The Fund is held by Didcot First, hosted by Oxfordshire Community Foundation, and run entirely by volunteers. Grants are awarded annually by a panel that draws on deep local knowledge, with a different community theme chosen each year. The theme for 2026 grants is “Powering a Healthy Didcot.”
Chairman of the Powerhouse Fund, Deputy Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Elizabeth Paris DL said: "Reaching over half a million pounds in grants is a proud moment for everyone connected to the Didcot Powerhouse Fund — but what truly moves me is the extraordinary breadth of what that money is doing in our community. This year, we are supporting young people navigating the care system, men facing mental health crises, babies in their earliest days of life, children struggling to read, and older residents who simply need some company and fresh air. That range tells you everything about the complexity of need in our area — and about the generosity of the local businesses and individuals who make it possible. To every donor and every volunteer who has believed in this model from the start: thank you. You are genuinely changing lives in Greater Didcot, one grant at a time."
2026 Grant Recipients
This year’s 18 funded projects span a wide range of community needs:
• Cycling Without Age Oxfordshire (NEW): Free trishaw rides for older residents and those experiencing loneliness, improving wellbeing and reducing isolation.
• Bee N Spired CIC (NEW): Monthly social and creative STEAM gatherings for care-experienced young people aged 14–25 in and around Didcot.
• Aureus School Parents & Carers Association (NEW): Two ‘Spini’ sensory chairs to support neurodiverse students with autism, ADHD and sensory processing needs.
• Friends of Sutton Courtenay Primary C of E School (NEW): Food technology equipment to teach pupils how to cook healthy, home-prepared meals.
• Oxfordshire Discovery College (NEW): The ‘Big Feelings’ programme: small-group emotional wellbeing sessions for primary-aged children experiencing anxiety and mental health difficulties.
• All Yours Period Box: Stigma-free period education workshops in Didcot primary and secondary schools.
• Assisted Reading for Children (ARCh): Training and supporting 10 new volunteer reading helpers to work with disadvantaged primary school children in the OX11 area.
• Bright Sparks Science CIC: Fully-funded science and healthy lifestyle workshops for Year 3–4 pupils, making learning fun through ‘Edu-tainment’.
• Didcot Baby Monday: Open-access groups and evidence-based support for expectant and new parents, building community in the critical first 1,001 days.
• Dorcas Dress Project: Community sewing sessions targeting those in financial hardship, supporting mental health through skills and social connection.
• Home-Start Southern Oxfordshire: Home-visiting volunteer support for families with young children facing difficult circumstances.
• Justice in Motion: CODE 2026: county lines prevention education reaching every Year 7–9 student across all three Didcot secondary schools, with live outdoor performances.
• Oxford Parent-Infant Project (OXPIP): Free specialist parent-infant psychotherapy to help parents form secure bonds with their newborns, with lifelong health benefits.
• Quest for Learning: Specialist reading tuition for nine disadvantaged children through the 10-week BookQuest programme at All Saints Primary School.
• Survivor Space Oxford: Free, specialist support services for survivors of sexual violence in Didcot, alongside school-based consent and relationships education.
• Sustainable Didcot: Community activities connecting people with nature and each other, supporting mental and physical health through sustainable living.
• The Cornermen CIO: Men’s mental health support and male suicide prevention, combining professional workers with peer-friendly environments.
• TRAIN: Year 5, 6 and 7 Transition Project: weekly youth clubs, mentoring and holiday support for around 100 young people at risk of exclusion.
Explore more about each of these organisations in our 2026 Grant Summary here.
How to Get Involved
Businesses and individuals wishing to support the Didcot Powerhouse Fund can donate at didcotpowerhousefund.co.uk.