The Oxford Community Foundation will launch its Sweet 16 Fund at its 16th annual meeting at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21 at Miami University’s Marcum Hotel and Conference Center.

The Sweet 16 Fund is an unrestricted fund that allows the greatest flexibility to support grant requests that increase the quality of life in the Greater Oxford area, the Foundation pointed out in a news release.

The buffet dinner will be preceded by a social hour and followed by a keynote address, ”From Vision to Reality: Launching a Great Community Endeavor,” by the Foundation’s founder, Jim Robinson, Esq. of Robinson, Lipnickey, & Jones, LPA.

Robinson started the public nonprofit in 1996 with donations from the people, businesses, and organizations in Oxford to create an endowment dedicated in a belief that Oxford-area residents want a way to give back to their community for the long term.

In the 16 years since then, individuals, families, businesses, and organizations that have established more than 100 charitable funds that have enabled the Oxford Community Foundation to award more than $2.4 million in grants to support the work of charitable organizations locally and beyond.

As Oxford celebrates the Foundation’s 16th birthday, the importance of building private resources to provide for future generations never has been greater, the news release said. That was the reason for the creation of the Sweet 16 Fund “which not only is a way to celebrate the generosity of the Greater Oxford Area but a way to grow the endowment in order to increase our never-ending support of Greater Oxford.

“By donating to the Sweet 16 Fund people can help create a legacy,” the release said. “By making a gift in multiples of $16, the goal of $64,000 can be reached. For example, donors could give $16 times the number of people in their family. Or they could give $16 for each year they have lived or worked in Oxford.”

Donations to the Sweet 16 Fund can be sent to the Oxford Community Foundation, 22 E. High St., Oxford, OH 45056; or donors can go online to the Foundation website www.oxforfdn.org and donate online by clicking “Just Give.”

Invitations to attend the celebration have been mailed; however, reservations may be made by contacting the Oxford Community Foundation at (513) 523-0623 or judypeck@oxfordfdn.org. Tickets are $45 per person, of which $16 is a tax-deductible contribution to the Sweet 16 Fund. Deadline for RSVPs is Oct. 15.

For a complete listing of the various funds, visit the Foundation’s website.To learn how to establish a fund, contact Catherine Hollins at (513) 523-0623 or catherine@oxfordfdn.org.