The Minorfern Foundation has completed its second year of charitable giving, awarding £40,000 in unrestricted grants to eleven organisations across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and Yorkshire. This brings the total distributed since the Foundation’s launch in 2024 to £80,000 – supporting twenty-one organisations across the regions where SDL Car Parts operates.
Established by family-owned vehicle parts distributor SDL Car Parts to support local charities nominated by its 320 employees, the Minorfern Foundation is delivered in partnership with the Matthew Good Foundation. All eleven organisations supported in 2025/26 were put forward by SDL Car Parts employees, so funding reached causes with a genuine connection to the people and communities behind the business.
The eleven organisations supported this year reflect a broad range of need, spanning four themes: community and social support, education and youth development, health and wellbeing, and animal welfare. Ten received an unrestricted grant of £3,800. A further £2,000 was donated to the Matthew Good Foundation to support its wider work with small charities.
The charities supported
Among those supported was Pathways, Chesterfield’s primary centre for people experiencing homelessness. The grant funded essential starter items – from sleeping bags to basic household supplies – for people moving into temporary accommodation.
Gussie’s Pantry, also based in Chesterfield, supports local residents facing food insecurity through a community pantry model that grew out of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Elm Foundation, which provides specialist domestic abuse support across Derbyshire, used its funding for enrichment activities for children in refuge and the renovation of an outdoor garden space.
YMCA Barnsley, which has served children, young people and families in the borough since 1857, received funding for new equipment and trips for its group of young volunteer leaders. Wildlings, a nature-focused early years setting in Derbyshire, combines indoor learning with time spent in ancient woodland. Its grant supports the charity’s work helping young children build confidence, resilience and a connection with the natural world.
Further grants went to Treetops Hospice, which provides palliative and end-of-life care to adults across central and southern Derbyshire; Forever Stars, a Nottingham-based charity supporting families affected by stillbirth, neonatal death or infant loss; and PACT, which supports families of children with cancer at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
Footprints for Pollie, a cause put forward to support a young Doncaster girl living with cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus and epilepsy, received a grant to fund physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and movement therapy as she recovers from a major operation. Ashbourne Animal Welfare Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Derbyshire also received funding towards veterinary treatment, rehabilitation and day-to-day care for animals awaiting rehoming.
Supporting YMCA Barnsley further
Alongside its direct programme of grants, the Foundation’s £2,000 donation to the Matthew Good Foundation is enabling a charity film to be produced for YMCA Barnsley through the Amplify Charity Films programme. Because of this, the organisation will be able to raise its profile and communicate the difference it makes to young people’s lives more effectively.
Julie Salter, People and Culture Director at SDL Car Parts, said:
“This year has been another important step forward in supporting charities that make a real difference to people’s lives in areas closest to where we live and work. Through our funding, we have helped organisations continue delivering essential services, invest in resources, and provide support to those who need it most. We would like to thank all our charity partners for the incredible work they do every day.”
Julie Salter – People & Culture Director, SDL Car Parts
Kirsty Clark, Executive Director of the Matthew Good Foundation, added:
“Reaching £80,000 across two years is a real testament to what happens when a business puts its people at the heart of its giving. Every one of these grants started with an employee nomination – someone saying ‘this charity matters to me’ – and that personal connection is what makes this programme so special. Local charities across the region are doing extraordinary things with limited resources, and this funding helps them keep going.”
Kirsty Clark – Executive Director, Matthew Good Foundation
Since its launch, the Minorfern Foundation has now supported twenty-one organisations with a combined total of £80,000 in unrestricted grants. As a result, those organisations have been able to sustain essential services, invest in resources, and reach the people who need them most. The Minorfern Foundation will continue its charitable giving programme in 2026/27, with further grants set to be awarded to local organisations across the regions it operates in.
To learn more about the Minorfern Foundation and the charities it has supported, visit the SDL Car Parts website, or read the annual review below. You can also follow updates on social media using #MinorfernFoundation.
