History of Ormiston Trust

The Trust was founded in 1969 in memory of Fiona Ormiston Murray who tragically died on her honeymoon in a car accident in Africa. Fiona was the much loved daughter of George and Ethel Murray and sister of Peter Murray.

The initial input was a modest £500 donation. The expectation was however that this amount could be substantially increased by an imaginative investment strategy. The objective was to build funds to a level high enough to establish a project for children in East Anglia. This proved to be a reality when after a period of ten years, a strong capital base was built up.

The trustees made a decision to be pro-active grant makers and rather than make small grants on application, they would take an active part in the organisations they funded. They also wished to work in partnership with stakeholders jointly developing strategies each inputting their own expertise and resources. To achieve this they formed an operational trust: Ormiston Charitable Trust, now known as the Ormiston Children & Families Trust (OCFT).

The first project was a family centre in Ipswich - The Robert Milne Family Centre - which was created from a Barnardo’s day centre which was due to be closed. The parents who were campaigning to keep the centre open joined forces with the Ormiston Trust, Suffolk Social Services and Barnardo’s. Representatives formed a steering committee and later served on the Management Committee. The building was large enough to include other community groups whose activities complemented the family centre function. Barnardo’s generously granted a 10-year rent-free lease, which ensured sustainability.

The Ormiston Trustees were encouraged by the success of the first venture and thus decided to fund further projects. They decided that the geographical area should be East Anglia, that they should seek partners with both expertise and resources and that they should focus on children, their parents and their local communities. They believed in the importance of quality provision provided by dedicated staff caring intensively rather than superficially with larger numbers. This meant limiting the number of children in projects to manageable levels. Gradually the number of projects increased due to the demand and reputation of OCFT into Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Bedfordshire.