“We like to find strategic solutions, not provide sticking plasters.”

“We have been supported by your organisation since I started the club 22 years ago. You have helped us in hard times, keeping the kids on the straight and narrow. I would like to thank you for all your support - without groups like you we would struggle to survive.”

“It is so uplifting to meet so many people blessed with generous hearts and a deep sense of community.”

“I really appreciate your work on what for my parents is such an important project. I am glad that the fund has been developing so positively and swiftly.”

“Personally I would just like to say a massive thank you for your wonderful donation towards our wheelchairs. Without it it would have taken much longer to get this project off the ground. For that I will be eternally grateful for your wonderful support.”

“I give for a mixture of motives: I do it to make my life more interesting; I do it to make myself feel a better person. I do it because I can; to have the pleasure associated with mixing with the people whose fields I support. I do it for the dream of actually achieving something!”

“I would never have known about many of the causes I’ve helped if the community foundation hadn’t told me about them. They are doing vital work and they need our support.”

“I’ve lived in Oxfordshire for many years, and feel I’ve benefited greatly from being in such a thriving and interesting place. Leaving a legacy to OCF in my will is my way of repaying this – and I also trust that they will understand exactly where funds are needed in years to come. Having seen small voluntary sector groups come and go, I find this longevity very reassuring.”

“The huge satisfaction to be gained from spending one’s time in giving in your later years far outweighs any pleasures that you can possibly gain on the golf course, on the beach or on the back of the yacht in the Mediterranean sipping martinis.”

“Much of the council's work would be impossible were it not for the contribution that the voluntary sector makes to almost everything that goes on in the county.”

“I can’t get over it; I’m still shaking when I talk about it. It’s just incredible… I feel a bit guilty about getting so much pleasure out of giving!”

“You should focus. You can't change the whole world, but you might want to focus on one little piece of the world that you can change, and I think if you put a lot of time and energy into that one thing, you're going to be much more effective.”