The results of the members’ vote for the top donation of £3,500 are in! Find out who won the last round of Grants for Good in 2022.
Since it’s launch in 2021, The Grants for Good fund, which is funded by John Good Group donations has distributed £70,000 to small charities and community projects, £40,000 of which was donated in 2022.
In the final round of Grants for Good this year, five finalists chosen by a panel at The Matthew Good Foundation have shared £10,000, with the largest donation of £3,500 going to the winner of a vote by John Good Group employees.
The Grants for Good fund sees £10,000 shared quarterly between just five charities, and in this round, the foundation received over 400 submissions from small charities and projects, so it was really challenging to pick just five finalists!
During the process of choosing the finalists, our panel get to know the people behind these fantastic initiatives, which are often very innovative grassroots causes formed in response to the quickly changing needs of communities. The final five that were chosen all have fantastic leadership, and we’re confident a small grant will go a long way to helping them achieve their goals.
The finalists were:
Clean Planet – Awarded £3,500
Clean Planet are a team of trained divers using their skills to remove and recycle lost and abandoned fishing equipment, termed “ghost gear” from their local coastline around Redcar – near Middlesborough. Ghost gear can be deadly to marine wildlife and the team regularly save trapped and injured animals. In winter the gear often gets washed on to the beach, so the team also run beach cleaning sessions. Having removed 126 miles of fishing line in two years, they have recently become a registered charity, with ambitions to train more divers and expand their operation further out to sea. Read more
Diversified – Awarded £2,500
Diversified was founded by Kaydi when she was 14 years old. Having being recently diagnosed with Autism and not had the support she needed, she did not want other young people to struggle in the same way she had with social isolation. Now 16, Kaydi is running a dynamic and successful neurodivergent led charity which helps hundreds of people. As well as running a range of social groups, the charity sells sensory toys online at reasonable prices to increase accessibility and raise funds, has a young persons board, trains youth mentors, and advocates for change so that the education system can better help neurodivergent people. Read more
Outkast Panda Crew – Awarded £2000
Outkast Panda Crew are a team of volunteers improving the lives of young adults in the Hull area who are at risk of becoming involved in anti-social behaviour and crime by offering them a route to positive engagement and success in their community, through a subject that is interesting and accessible to them – cars. As well as finding a positive focus for their time, members gain a range of employability skills with tangible routes into further training and employment, whilst building the soft skills and community links that can help them to improve their self-esteem. Read more
NaariSamata – Awarded £1000
NaariSamatā is a UK-based charity working to improve safety of women, children and underprivileged marginalised communities in India. Started by Anita Rajan, an IT professional based in London who’s passion for the cause led her to build a team and start the charity in 2021, they have already completed projects such as providing shoes and meals for school children and educational courses on gender equality for schools. They have recently introduced an “adopt a village” project that sees women and girls’ life chances improved through holistic support for the villages they grow up in. Read more
Menai Straits Heritage Sailing – Awarded £1000
Not only does this North Wales non-profit aim to preserve the oldest complete fleet of seventeen 1937 “One-Design” yachts in the world, but they are doing so whilst providing training and employment opportunities in an area of the country with high youth unemployment, and also contributing to the wellbeing of vulnerable people by providing NHS Social Prescription services. Set up in 2021 by a group of volunteers with rich experience not only in sailing but also in disability services, law, business and engineering, it is proving to be a highly successful force for good in the local area. Read more
It’s always a pleasure to help small organisations like these get their initiatives off the ground and we look forward to seeing how their projects and charities develop in the future.
To find out more and apply, visit: https://www.matthewgoodfoundation.org/grantsforgood.