Help Aspire to transform our local communities from “Empty” to “Plenty” this summer

Aspire has launched its new fundraising appeal and we need YOUR help to achieve our goal of raising £200,000!

“From Empty to Plenty” will see Aspire sustain and scale up an ambitious programme of activities across Oxfordshire in the coming months, in response to the challenges and desperate circumstances many people in our communities are experiencing today. 

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With match-funding in place from a local donor, every pound donated to our appeal up to £100,000 will be doubled. If successful, this campaign will transform Aspire’s capacity to tackle empty homes and the labour market shortage, maintaining and expanding programmes which go beyond sticking plasters on problems.

Aspire confronts broken systems with new and empowering models, delivering hopeful, personalised, and prevention-focused solutions. With increased demand on our support services, and government funding more uncertain than ever, this appeal will also help to give our team the financial stability to sustain support that makes a lasting difference - and we look forward to sharing some of our outcomes with you in our Social Impact Report later this year.

Find out more

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Which problems are we tackling?

Aspire is taking action on two vital fronts: 

Housing - scaling up and sustaining our supported housing activity for people experiencing homelessness, including to bring more empty property and land into use as secure, dignified homes in Oxfordshire.
 
Work - scaling up our employment support activity for hundreds more people facing barriers to paid work, turning hundreds of empty vacancies into rewarding, plentiful jobs in Oxfordshire.

What is Aspire going to do?

Donate today

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An important CEO announcement

After over 11 years at Aspire, Chief Executive Officer Paul Roberts will be stepping down and leaving the organisation in August, to be succeeded by Nicci Marzec.

Paul says, "Leading Aspire has - without question - been the greatest privilege of my career so far. I want to thank everyone for their support to me and Aspire over these years. I will leave with an utmost sense of pride in what we've achieved in my time here, in spite of the many challenges the organisation has faced. I also leave with an absolute faith that Aspire's charitable mission and the social impact it can create, are more relevant and vital in our communities now than they have ever been. Nicci is a highly credible leader and will bring so much to the charity; I'm sure she will thrive in the role and lead Aspire into its next exciting chapter."

Nicci was most recently the Director for Early Intervention at the Northamptonshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office for six years. Starting her career in housing and benefits, Nicci has also been a Regional Director for Family Action, led delivery of the Troubled Families programme and held strategic roles in community safety, working closely with partners like health, probation and the Department for Work and Pensions. Nicci has considerable experience of commissioning and delivering services to support people with challenging circumstances and complex needs, offering an impressive track record of supporting organisations to deliver effective impactful services and attract and secure funding for new initiatives. 

Nicci says, “I am thrilled to join Aspire to continue their remarkable work. My background has reinforced my belief in the transformative power of strengths-based support to enable lasting change in people’s lives.” 

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Other ways to support Aspire this summer

• Set up a regular gift with Aspire
• Raise funds for Aspire through a fun event or activity
• Volunteer with Aspire to get to know your local community, build knowledge, skills and experience, be part of a team and make a real difference
• Nominate Aspire as your chosen charity, and get your team involved with our journey
• Leave a gift to Aspire in your will