Supporting small charitable organisations to amplify their impact
We work with a range of businesses, stakeholders and individuals, partnering them with small, innovative non-profits to deliver positive social impact.
£ Donated in 2024
£ Donated since 2011
Causes Supported
Race Ready
Free medical advice for runners
Spurn Nature Reserve
Habitat conservation, restoration, and education.
Walking 4 Hope
Providing solace and support during challanging times
Outkast Panda Crew
Improving the lives of young adults.
Reef World
Helping to protect coral and marine environments.
Sailors' Children's Society
Dedicated to supporting children of seafarers
Donated in 2024
Donated since 2011
Causes Supported
Empowering Small Non-profits
Thousands of innovative local charities and non-profit organisations make a huge difference to society, yet many need help securing the funding and support they need to deliver the impact they are capable of.
With over a decade of harnessing the power of business to be a force for good, we make it easy for a company to find and fund small charities and not-for-profits in a meaningful way by delivering flexible charitable giving programmes that create personal connections, engage employees in decision making and empower small non-profit leaders.
Some of the good causes we have supported
Empowering Small Non-profits
Our experience of working closely with small charitable organisations has highlighted that despite making a significant impact on the world around them, there is a funding gap that can be difficult for them to bridge as they take their next steps to growth.
Our range of support packages target unrestricted funding at small organisations, but we also make sure that we are helpful to work with, keeping things as simple, easy and supportive as possible for funding applicants who are often working alongside their day-job, in a voluntary role, or new to funding applications.
More Meaningful Giving
We partner with businesses who have a genuine desire to make a difference to people, planet, and their communities. Our tailored charitable giving programmes accommodate different needs and budgets, and we tailor our packages to deliver our partners’ unique charitable objectives.
Our Business Partners
Latest
impacts at home and abroad
Emmie’s Kitchen
Emmie's Kitchen supports parents and carers of seriously ill children at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. Founded from lived experience, the charity provides free meals, snack bags, and wellbeing sessions to families facing some of the hardest moments of their lives. With around 100 meals and 80 snack bags delivered every week, Emmie's Kitchen ensures parents feel seen, nourished, and cared for, because a child's recovery depends on their parents too.
Billy & Beyond
Billy & Beyond CIC delivers free drug education workshops in schools, youth groups, and community settings. Founded after the tragic loss of Billy Mullin in 2020, the organisation educates young people about the real risks of recreational drug use. Through interactive sessions, real-life stories, and a powerful animated film, Billy & Beyond helps young people make safer, more informed choices, and gives families the tools to have honest conversations that could save lives.
Kinship Carers
Kinship Carers is a national charity supporting families where children are raised by relatives or close family friends instead of their parents. Operating UK-wide, the charity provides practical advice, emotional support, advocacy and peer connection to kinship carers navigating complex legal, financial and social care systems. Kinship care is the most common form of alternative care in the UK, yet carers often receive little recognition or support. Kinship Carers UK is working to change that.
Wild Plant Paper
Wild Plant Paper CIC is a Wales-based social enterprise making handmade paper. Founded by botanist Dr Bryan Collis, they turn invasive weeds and waste materials into beautiful handmade paper, while creating flexible, inclusive work and volunteering opportunities for people excluded from traditional employment. From their converted shipping container studio to their outdoor Himalayan Balsam clearances, their work connects creativity, conservation, and community in equal measure.
Breaker Breaker
Lorry drivers and transport workers keep the country moving, yet for many the road is hard and lonely, and too often they reach crisis point before asking for help. Breaker Breaker is a mental health charity in Northern Ireland dedicated to the haulage industry, founded after Leanne Lyons lost her husband David to suicide. It provides a 24/7 confidential helpline, face-to-face wellbeing support, and a mobile welfare hub visiting truck shows, depots, and rest stops across the UK and Ireland. Since March 2024, it has funded over 200 counselling sessions, and demand is still growing.
Gussies Pantry
Gussies Pantry, part of Gussies Community in Chesterfield, supports local residents experiencing food insecurity while fostering connections and community engagement. Through its pantry shop, jumble shop, and community events, the project reaches households in need, providing access to affordable food, social spaces, and practical resources. Volunteers drive much of this work, ensuring that support is both consistent and personal.
Pathways
Pathways is Chesterfield’s primary centre for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of losing their home. The service provides housing advice and support, access to essential services, mentoring, and activities to support wellbeing. Each year, Pathways helps around 880 people in need, including around 280 individuals who secure housing, leaving a lasting impact on the local community. The centre combines practical support with empowerment, ensuring people get the help they need while building confidence and independence.
Wildlings
Wildlings is a nature-focused early years setting that combines indoor and outdoor learning to support children’s development. Set across a bright hall and ancient woodland, it provides a safe space where children can explore, play, and grow at their own pace. The setting’s ethos encourages curiosity, resilience, and care for the natural world, creating a collaborative community that benefits children and the planet alike.
Fight Forward
Domestic abuse affects 1.7 million women in the UK each year, leaving long-lasting emotional, psychological, and physical scars. For many survivors, traditional therapy alone isn’t enough to rebuild confidence, reconnect with their bodies, or overcome trauma-related anxiety, disassociation, and isolation. Fight Forward was founded to change that. Created by GB Boxer and Gold Medallist Lesley Sackey, the organisation uses the healing power of boxing to support survivors in reclaiming strength, autonomy, and hope.
The Civet Project
The Civet Project is a UK-based conservation charity protecting civets, a small cat-like carnivore found in Asia, their habitats, and the people who share these environments. They tackle the cruel and risky trade driven by “civet coffee,” a luxury drink made from civets’ droppings. Through research, education, and community engagement, they reduce exploitation, protect communities from health risks, and work toward sustainable futures for people, wildlife, and the planet.
Emmie’s Kitchen
Emmie's Kitchen supports parents and carers of seriously ill children at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. Founded from lived experience, the charity provides free meals, snack bags, and wellbeing sessions to families facing some of the hardest moments of their lives. With around 100 meals and 80 snack bags delivered every week, Emmie's Kitchen ensures parents feel seen, nourished, and cared for, because a child's recovery depends on their parents too.
Billy & Beyond
Billy & Beyond CIC delivers free drug education workshops in schools, youth groups, and community settings. Founded after the tragic loss of Billy Mullin in 2020, the organisation educates young people about the real risks of recreational drug use. Through interactive sessions, real-life stories, and a powerful animated film, Billy & Beyond helps young people make safer, more informed choices, and gives families the tools to have honest conversations that could save lives.
Kinship Carers
Kinship Carers is a national charity supporting families where children are raised by relatives or close family friends instead of their parents. Operating UK-wide, the charity provides practical advice, emotional support, advocacy and peer connection to kinship carers navigating complex legal, financial and social care systems. Kinship care is the most common form of alternative care in the UK, yet carers often receive little recognition or support. Kinship Carers UK is working to change that.
Wild Plant Paper
Wild Plant Paper CIC is a Wales-based social enterprise making handmade paper. Founded by botanist Dr Bryan Collis, they turn invasive weeds and waste materials into beautiful handmade paper, while creating flexible, inclusive work and volunteering opportunities for people excluded from traditional employment. From their converted shipping container studio to their outdoor Himalayan Balsam clearances, their work connects creativity, conservation, and community in equal measure.
Breaker Breaker
Lorry drivers and transport workers keep the country moving, yet for many the road is hard and lonely, and too often they reach crisis point before asking for help. Breaker Breaker is a mental health charity in Northern Ireland dedicated to the haulage industry, founded after Leanne Lyons lost her husband David to suicide. It provides a 24/7 confidential helpline, face-to-face wellbeing support, and a mobile welfare hub visiting truck shows, depots, and rest stops across the UK and Ireland. Since March 2024, it has funded over 200 counselling sessions, and demand is still growing.
Gussies Pantry
Gussies Pantry, part of Gussies Community in Chesterfield, supports local residents experiencing food insecurity while fostering connections and community engagement. Through its pantry shop, jumble shop, and community events, the project reaches households in need, providing access to affordable food, social spaces, and practical resources. Volunteers drive much of this work, ensuring that support is both consistent and personal.
Pathways
Pathways is Chesterfield’s primary centre for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of losing their home. The service provides housing advice and support, access to essential services, mentoring, and activities to support wellbeing. Each year, Pathways helps around 880 people in need, including around 280 individuals who secure housing, leaving a lasting impact on the local community. The centre combines practical support with empowerment, ensuring people get the help they need while building confidence and independence.
Wildlings
Wildlings is a nature-focused early years setting that combines indoor and outdoor learning to support children’s development. Set across a bright hall and ancient woodland, it provides a safe space where children can explore, play, and grow at their own pace. The setting’s ethos encourages curiosity, resilience, and care for the natural world, creating a collaborative community that benefits children and the planet alike.
Fight Forward
Domestic abuse affects 1.7 million women in the UK each year, leaving long-lasting emotional, psychological, and physical scars. For many survivors, traditional therapy alone isn’t enough to rebuild confidence, reconnect with their bodies, or overcome trauma-related anxiety, disassociation, and isolation. Fight Forward was founded to change that. Created by GB Boxer and Gold Medallist Lesley Sackey, the organisation uses the healing power of boxing to support survivors in reclaiming strength, autonomy, and hope.
The Civet Project
The Civet Project is a UK-based conservation charity protecting civets, a small cat-like carnivore found in Asia, their habitats, and the people who share these environments. They tackle the cruel and risky trade driven by “civet coffee,” a luxury drink made from civets’ droppings. Through research, education, and community engagement, they reduce exploitation, protect communities from health risks, and work toward sustainable futures for people, wildlife, and the planet.
Coordinated Effort by Arthur Smith and DAN Shipping directs £6,500 to Local Women’s Aid Charity
A group of employees at John Good Group Maritime companies – Arthur Smith and DAN Shipping – have banded together to nominate Women’s Aid Northeast Lincolnshire for grants worth £6,500 pounds, through the John Good Group Employee Giving Programme.
Coordinated Effort by Arthur Smith and DAN Shipping directs £6,500 to Local Women’s Aid Charity
A group of employees at John Good Group Maritime companies - Arthur Smith and DAN Shipping - have banded together to nominate Women’s Aid Northeast Lincolnshire for grants worth £6,500 pounds, through the John Good Group Employee Giving Programme.
Supporting the people behind change: leadership bursary now open
The Matthew Good Foundation has partnered with Embercombe to offer the Changemaker Bursary, providing five fully funded places on The Twin Trail — a six-month, multi-faceted leadership mentoring programme for grassroots leaders and emerging changemakers. Residential retreats, coaching, peer learning, and online modules combine to help participants grow confidence, resilience, and impact. Applications close 16 February 2026.
Minorfern Foundation launches second year with three local charity grants
The Minorfern Foundation begins its second year of charitable giving, awarding grants to three grassroots charities nominated by SDL Car Parts employees, supporting people-led projects making a local impact.
Holderness Hedgehog Hospital Completes Major Upgrade with Grant from John Good Group
Holderness Hedgehog Hospital, a volunteer-led hedgehog rescue in Hull and the East Riding, has completed a game-changing upgrade of its facilities thanks to a generous grant from The John Good Group.
Annual Review 2024: Another record year sees over £377k granted to non-profits
In 2024, the Matthew Good Foundation granted over £377,000 to charities, small non-profits, and social enterprises. Discover how employee giving, Grants for Good, and long-term support programmes are making a real impact locally and nationally.
Grants for Good 2025: Five More Small Charity Grants Awarded
The John Good Group has awarded £15,000 in small charity grants to five exceptional UK non-profits through the second round of Grants for Good 2025. Discover the inspiring projects making a real impact in local communities.
CIC vs CIO: Which Structure is Right for Your Good Cause?
Thinking of starting a good cause? Many people begin as a community group, local fundraiser, or volunteer project. As your activities grow, you may want to formalise your organisation. This guide offers beginners information on CICs and CIOs, explaining their key differences, benefits, and considerations for social enterprises and charities.
Employee Giving Programme Triples Funds Raised for Bridge to Bridge Cyclists
Now in its third year, the Bridge to Bridge cycling challenge saw 13 riders including three from John Good Group and 10 from other Hull businesses complete 212 miles and raise over £30,000 for Sailors’ Children’s Society. The Matthew Good Foundation boosted the total by £8,000 through the employee giving programme, with £6,000 in double-matched fundraising and £2,000 in Champion Grants.
Grants for Good Awards Another £15,000 to Grassroots Charities
Discover the latest winners of the Grants for Good programme, awarding £15,000 in small charity grants to grassroots organisations making a difference
Charity Bid Writing Tips: What Makes a Standout Application
Kirsty Clark, Executive Director of the Matthew Good Foundation, shares insider tips on what makes a standout application for the Grants for Good programme – from telling your story with clarity to showing real impact. Whether you're new to charity bid writing or refining your approach, this article offers practical, honest advice from a funder who reads hundreds of applications a year.