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Help us make Summertown Arts a reality

We're going to save the former Summertown URC building and turn it into an independent, inclusive, accessible, and affordable community arts centre for everyone in Oxford. 

​We started our main fundraising campaign in June 2025, and thanks to so many of you - we have raised £850,000 to buy the space! Whilst we go through all the legals to complete the purchase, we can now safely begin fundraising £25,000 to get going with our vision for Summertown Arts. Please can you help us? 

Summertown United Reformed Church was built by Oxford builder Thomas Kingerlee in the 1890s with funds raised by the local community. A decade later the hall and back rooms were added, and these spaces have ever since accommodated a wide range of community, arts and educational activities. It is our home and it is your space. This is why it's so vital to save it - we can preserve history and create the future. 

Why does this matter to us all and for generations to come? Imagine it: a permanent, affordable, and fully accessible arts hub for everyone in Oxford. A welcoming space that is open morning to night, and inclusive to all. Where there is always dance, art, music, film, comedy, theatre and all forms of arts for everyone to enjoy. Where students and student groups can have a space to practice the arts whilst also reaching a community audience. Where professionals can enrich their dancing, and all who want to dance, from small children to the over 80s, can learn and pursue their dreams. Where an 11-year-old can practice the violin to nail that life-changing audition, while a grandparent paints watercolours in the class one room away. Where theatre companies can rehearse and put on shows that they couldn’t find space for anywhere else in Oxford. Where writers can workshop future classics. Where new art forms can be brought to life and shared. Where new bonds are formed for life. The arts should be for everyone and we're going to make it so. 

See below for more information about our plans.

Help us raise £25,000

1. Volunteer as a fundraiser
Can you spare time to talk to people about our campaign and help us fundraise £1,000 to £5,000 as your target?  If the answer is yes - thank you! Please email us at [email protected] and we'll talk you through it all.

2. Donate money (Charity Number 1213117)
You can give in 3 ways: 

1. Major gifts - please join so many who have helped us on this journey to creating a legacy for everyone in Oxford to benefit from. ​If you can gift £10,000 or above - we would be so grateful. Also remember, with Gift Aid, it will all add up quickly for us, and it also tax beneficial to you too. 

Get in touch with Darshan at [email protected] - we’ll chat things through with you, give you a tour, answer any questions you may have, and you can see how your gift will benefit so many. 

2. Individual donations - you can give in the following ways:

Donate to us via our JustGiving page (Please remember JustGiving's unfair tip feature can be set to a lower % or even be set to zero by hitting 'enter custom amount' on the blue box when you see it. If you do that 100% of your donation will come to us, AND you won't lose any money to JustGiving. They should not be allowed to profit from donors at all but sadly they're the most known fundraising platform - so for now, until we can replace them - we have to use them. However, if you do the above - you can donate anything you like to us without them taking a cut on top of that kind donation.). 

Donate via bank transfer: Send us an email at [email protected] and we'll give you the details. 

Donate by cheque: Please make it out to "Summertown Arts Community" and send it to: FAO Darshan, 28 Victoria Road, Oxford, OX2 7QD.

3. Sponsor us as an Oxford based business - be part of this amazing community story - local businesses are getting involved by sponsoring us, would you be up for joining them? If so, email us at [email protected] and we can chat. You'll be joining some brilliant Oxford businesses - Xi'an, The Practice Rooms, Candid Zoomies, Super Being Labs, Popham Hairdressing, Shaw Gibbs, Mark Barclay Wealth Management, Magnet Kitchens, Summertown Barbers, Pen To Paper, All Souls College, St John's College, The Cluster, and many more. 

How we're making the dream a reality with your help...


We've approached all of this in phases - we want to be responsible and do things in stages. 

Phase 1 - June to December 2025 - was about rescuing the space and thanks to so many supporters - we raised £850,000 to secure the purchase. All of that is now in the legal purchasing process, and as a result we can now move on to phase 2 - bringing things to life! 

Phase 2 - now to March 2026 - now we can fundraise to get going - to cover fees, start-up costs, and do some basic works so that we can begin turning Summertown Arts into a thriving community arts space. For this we need £25,000 and are hoping we can raise through a new campaign.

Phase 3 onwards - from March 2026 onwards - we want to preserve the building and also bring it up to scratch to help it thrive - so everything from sustainable energy to seating to acoustic, and beyond. All of this will done in carefully structured ways so that we only do work when we have the capital. In the meantime, we will execute our sustainable income model from space hire and other streams of revenue - and that will mean we go into 2027 with a solid and sustainable foundation to build on. 

Can you please help for Phase 2 or 3? Contact Darshan on [email protected] if you would like a tour and to chat. Thank you. ​
​Please help by supporting Summertown Arts. 

Thank you from all of us at SAC.