Many employee benefits can be costly to run and difficult to measure. Grants for Good is different. It takes just a few minutes of an employee’s time each round, and it consistently delivers some of the strongest engagement scores we’ve seen.
Grants for Good is a corporate employee giving programme run by the Matthew Good Foundation. Businesses set up a funding pot, and their employees decide how £15,000 is distributed between five carefully vetted grassroots charities each funding round. Unlike many corporate giving programmes that focus on large national charities, Grants for Good helps small grassroots organisations that often struggle to access funding elsewhere.
We recently surveyed the 200+ employees across the John Good Group who take part in the programme. Here’s what they told us – and why it might be worth bringing to your own business.
1. It shines a light on charities employees would never otherwise find
The most common theme in our survey was discovery. Employees repeatedly told us they enjoyed how the programme introduces them to causes they’d never have come across on their own. Because the programme is aimed at small, grassroots organisations, many of these charities struggle to get funding or attention elsewhere. For employees, that makes every vote feel like it’s going somewhere it’s genuinely needed.
“Grants for good opens your eyes to charities and causes you may have never even heard of before.”
An employee at John Good Group
“Worthwhile as it allows smaller charities that are often overlooked to receive vital funding.”
An employee at Good Travel Collective
2. It gives employees a real say, not just a donation
Unlike many corporate giving schemes, Grants for Good empowers employees by putting the decision in their hands. They don’t just contribute – they have a direct say. This distinction matters. Employees consistently explained that without this real involvement, “any donations feel very performative.” Being able to vote changes that entirely.
“It helps employees feel included in the processes of the company.”
An employee at Arthur Smith
“It’s good that we can influence these donations.”
An employee at TEPS
3. It takes minutes, not hours
Time is often the biggest barrier for employees when it comes to taking part in employee engagement schemes. Grants for Good is built to remove that. The Foundation prepares short, clear summaries for each shortlisted charity, so employees can make an informed choice quickly. Several respondents specifically highlighted how little time it takes, and how that means the process fits easily around a normal working day.
“The time commitment is minimal, but the impact can be significant.”
An employee at John Good Group
“All you need to do is answer a couple of quick questions and put your vote forward. It’s so simple but has a massive impact.”
An employee at John Good Group
4. It makes employee giving deeply personal
For many employees, the programme goes beyond a simple transaction. Several respondents shared very personal stories about why a particular charity mattered to them, from family experiences to causes close to their hearts. This emotional connection is difficult to build through traditional corporate giving, yet Grants for Good achieves it consistently.
“Being able to vote on which charities receive funding felt deeply personal. It ensures that the money goes to causes that genuinely matter to the employees.”
An employee at Good Travel Collective
“A broad spectrum of charities to choose from, enlightening to read the information given and to choose what you have empathy for.”
An employee at DAN Shipping
5. It builds pride in the business itself
Finally, employees told us the programme makes them proud of where they work. For some, it’s one of the first things they mention when describing their employer to others. This kind of advocacy is hard to buy, yet it appears naturally thanks to the Grants for Good programme.
“It’s one of the things that really attracted me to work for John Good Group.”
An employee at Nothing But Padlocks
“I’m proud to work for a company that provides this programme. It’s often the first thing I’ll tell somebody when talking about John Good Group.”
An employee at Good Travel Collective
The results speak for themselves
We asked employees one simple question: “On a scale of 1-10, how likely is it that you would recommend Grants for Good to other organisations, as a programme to run for their own staff?”
The answer, from 108 employees across the John Good Group, was an average score of 9.3 out of 10. That gave a Net Promoter Score of 72, with 84 promoters (9-10) and just six detractors (0-6).
For context, NPS is typically used to measure how customers feel about a product or service, and most established benchmarks place a “good” score between 30 and 50. Grants for Good isn’t a product in the traditional sense, but the underlying question is the same: is this worth bringing to your own business? Employees overwhelmingly said yes.
More than an employee giving programme
While employee giving and engagement is one of the clearest benefits, it’s far from the only one. At its core, Grants for Good is a way for your business to reach further into communities and make a genuine impact – safely, and at no extra cost to you.
Identifying and vetting small, grassroots charities takes time and expertise most businesses don’t have in-house. The Matthew Good Foundation does this for you, managing the impact and risk assessment behind every charity on the shortlist. That means your business can support grassroots causes with confidence, without the administrative burden of running due diligence yourselves.
Want to bring Grants for Good to your business?
We are currently accepting new partnerships into our Grants for Good programme. Visit our Partnerships Page to find out how the programme works and what this kind of employee giving programme could look like for your team.
The John Good Group team present cheques to just a few of the 100+ Grants for Good winners since 2021