About the Oades Family Trust
The Oades Family Trust is a private charitable fund, set up to bring family members together around a shared purpose: giving back to the communities that matter to them. Rather than focusing on a single cause, the trust wanted a way to involve younger generations directly in decisions about where support goes, helping philanthropy become part of family life for years to come.
Partnering with Grants for Good
The Matthew Good Foundation has run Grants for Good since 2021, in partnership with the John Good Group. In 2026, the Oades Family Trust became the programme’s first external partner, setting up a dedicated fund to direct their own giving through it.
Grants for Good gave the family a ready-made, accessible route into structured philanthropy, without the cost or complexity of running a programme from scratch. The Matthew Good Foundation manages the shortlisting process on their behalf, bringing forward a small group of vetted charities each round for the family to consider.
Because Grants for Good’s core costs are already covered by the John Good Group, every pound the Oades Family Trust contributes goes directly to charities, with no admin fees or programme costs to absorb.
Giving So Far
Figures correct to: July 2026
Round completed
Non-profits supported
Awarded
In Their Words
“As a family we were keen to make a contribution to small local charities that we could identify with and which were making a difference to people’s lives in local communities. The Matthew Good Foundation has helped us to realise that ambition by identifying and screening legitimate organisations that meet the criteria we proposed and thereby simplifying the whole process.”
How the Programme Works
Focus Areas
The Oades Family Trust supports charities working in areas the family feels strongly about: children and babies, education and learning, community projects, mental health and wellbeing, and protecting nature and the environment.
Timing
Charities are chosen twice a year, with rounds normally held around Easter and Autumn Half Term.
Shortlisting
Each round, the Matthew Good Foundation puts forward five shortlisted charities. The family reviews a short summary of each one and discusses them together before voting.
Scoring
Each family member scores the five charities individually, giving 5 points to their favourite and 1 point to their least favourite. The points from all family members are added together to rank the charities.
Awards
The three charities with the highest scores receive a grant:
- 1st place: £3,000
- 2nd place: £2,000
- 3rd place: £1,000
Oades Family Trust Grant Recipients
Bees & Refugees
Bees & Refugees is a Community Interest Company based in Otford, Kent, using beekeeping and nature-based activities to support the mental health and wellbeing of refugees, asylum seekers, and marginalised communities. Founded from lived experience, they combine environmental conservation with therapeutic practice - protecting native black honeybees while creating
Bearded Fishermen
Bearded Fishermen Charity is a grassroots suicide prevention and mental health organisation based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Run entirely by volunteers, they operate crisis response teams, a weekend street outreach, and a 24/7 peer support helpline reaching people across the UK at their most vulnerable. Now they are expanding their
Barefooted
Barefooted is a Midlands based arts organisation, supporting health, wellbeing & quality of life through participation and engagement the arts. They deliver innovative creative programs designed to transform the well-being of communities facing social, financial, or health-related barriers. They use movement, music, puppetry, and storytelling to enhance quality of
News from the Oades Family Trust
Oades Family Trust Forms Strategic Charitable Partnership Through Grants for Good
A new partnership is helping expand the reach of the Matthew Good Foundation’s Grants for Good programme, bringing another £12,000 each year to small non-profits making a vital difference across the UK.