Neighborhood Philanthropy: LOFT

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow, better known as LOFT, serves our community by helping improve and invest in the well-being of the community by supporting the arts and cultural, civic, educational, health and human services, and municipal activities that improve the quality of life for all Lafayette County and Oxford residents.

Founded in 2002, former Oxford Mayor Richard Howorth and community leaders Claiborne Barksdale and Don Fruge, Sr. partnered with the CREATE Foundation to establish an endowment for Oxford and Lafayette County. The LOFT endowment serves as a “savings” account for Oxford and Lafayette county residents. The LOFT Board of Directors, comprised of local business and community leaders, maintains local decision-making regarding how funds are raised, and to whom it makes awards through its annual grant cycle. 

Since 2005, LOFT has awarded nearly $515,000 in grants to many deserving non-profit, charitable organizations across Oxford and Lafayette County to fulfill the LOFT mission. LOFT’s five areas of interest for awarding grants are arts and cultural, civic, educational, health and human services, and municipal initiatives. The 2024 LOFT grant application is now available. Executive Director, Jody Holland shared, “We are excited that the 2024 grant cycle is upon us and look forward to nonprofits applying for funding. This year, we will grant over $30,000 to local nonprofits, working to improve the outcomes in the Oxford and the Lafayette community. Our community is such a treasure because of the efforts of the local nonprofits.” Applications for the 2024 LOFT grant cycle shall be accepted by email to Loftdirector@gmail.com by May 31st, 2024 at 5pm to be considered. The application and guidelines are on the website.

As with any non-profit, LOFT is always looking for donors. They have many different ways to give: Estate Planning, Matching Gift Program, Memorial or Honor Gifts or Ongoing Monthly/Annual Gifts. You can find out more information on how to give here. They also host a Night for Non-Profits in August. This is a fun event where local non-profits set up booths, share about their programs and compete special prizes/donations.

We are so fortunate to have LOFT (Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow) provide grant opportunities for our local non-profits so that they can do the work to better our local community!