The results of the members’ vote for the top donation of £5,000 are in! Find out who won the first round of Grants for Good in 2023.
In the first round of Grants for Good this year, five finalists chosen by a panel at The Matthew Good Foundation have shared £15,000, with the largest donation of £5,000 going to the winner of a vote by John Good Group employees.
2023 saw the Grants for Good fund increased to £60,000 a year, with £15,000 to be shared quarterly between five charities, and in this first round of 2023, 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, the Matthew Good Foundation 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:
Men in Sheds (Hull) – Awarded £5,000
Men in Sheds (Hull) is a thriving charity that reduces social isolation for older men in the Hull area. The charity provides new personal connections, a positive focus, and a foundation from which to improve physical and mental health. In doing so, they also help their wider community, regularly contributing their woodworking skills to valuable community projects. They also have activities that are open to other local residents. As an oversubscribed organisation with the overheads of the workshop to maintain – they are looking for funding that will help maintain and replace old workshop tools.
UK Wild Otter Trust – Awarded £3,500
The UK Wild Otter Trust is a Devon-based charity dedicated to protecting and promoting a positive understanding of the European Otter and its conservation. As well as rescuing and rehabilitating otters from all over the UK, they also raise awareness, educate and campaign to help ensure the welfare and conservation of this much-loved native species. Despite being a small charity, they are a highly respected authority on the rehabilitation of otters, and a grant from the Matthew Good Foundation will enable them to significantly increase the capacity of their rescue centre.
Access the Dales – Awarded £2,500
Access the Dales is a newly formed charity providing free wheelchairs to help more people access walks across the Dales. Founded by a teacher from Leeds and her husband – a couple who simply wanted to keep doing what they loved after Debbie became a wheelchair user – they soon realised that there was lots of work to be done to help a wider range of people, and particularly children, access the countryside all over the UK.
9Trees – Awarded £2,000
As an average UK citizen we each need to plant nine trees every year to balance our carbon consumption. 9Trees’ main aim is to improve UK biodiversity and mental health through access to woodlands as well as balancing carbon footprints for businesses and individuals. Their model has the potential to be not only a sustainable solution, but a large-scale successful Community Interest Company (CIC) that connects businesses and landowners from Lands End to John O’Groats, working together to meet these aims. With 10 sites across England and Wales, they are currently looking for funding for a site in Llandeilo, Wales.
Sanitree – Awarded £2,000
Sanitree is a social enterprise based across Scotland and India. Not only are they making menstruation more sustainable by manufacturing and selling reusable pads, they are also providing employment for women in Jaipur, India, who make the pads. They also have an outreach programme helping girls in Rajasthan to stay in education by tackling stigma and providing free and subsidised products, as well as campaigning at home in Scotland.
Since it’s launch in 2021, The Grants for Good fund, which is funded by John Good Group donations has now distributed £85,000 to small charities and community projects.
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.