We are incredibly proud to share that the Matthew Good Foundation, established by the John Good Group in memory of our director Matthew Good, has reached a remarkable milestone: £2 million granted to non-profits since it was founded in 2011. It is a number worth celebrating, not just for what it says about the Foundation’s growth, but for what it represents for the hundreds of small charities and community groups who have received that support along the way.
The Foundation was set up by Matthew’s family and colleagues at the John Good Group following his sudden death at the age of 32, while running the Humber Half Marathon to raise money for a cause he cared about. Matthew was a passionate charity fundraiser, and the Foundation was created to honour that spirit, putting employees at the heart of charitable giving and focusing support on small, grassroots non-profits.
From the first year of grants, which totalled just over £2,000, the Foundation has grown into an organisation that delivered more than £400,000 of giving in 2025 alone. Much of that growth has been driven by a significant increase in commitment from the John Good Group in 2022, and by the launch of Grants for Good, a programme that has since directed over £250,000 to more than 100 small non-profits, with funding decisions made by John Good Group employees themselves.
Adam Walsh, CEO of the John Good Group, reflected on what that model has made possible, “Reaching the £2 million milestone matters because it proves a family business can be a genuine force for good at scale. Grants for Good has been at the heart of that journey. By putting real funding decisions in the hands of John Good Group colleagues and focusing on smaller, high impact charities, we’ve built a programme that our teams feel they own. That ownership has translated into support for hundreds of grassroots organisations, with each receiving unrestricted funding – the lifeblood of small charities. It’s no coincidence that as employee engagement in Grants for Good has grown, so has the scale and reach of our giving. I’m excited to see the Matthew Good Foundation take this model into other businesses that want their social impact to feel just as personal and meaningful for their employees.”
Alongside the growth in giving, the Foundation has built the team and governance to match its ambitions. What began with volunteer trustees giving time around their day jobs now has five dedicated members of staff and a board that brings together family and business connection with expertise from across the charity, conservation, and funding sectors. Earlier this year, that hard work was recognised nationally when the Foundation won the Best Corporate Foundation Award at the Third Sector Business Charity Awards, beating some of the UK’s largest corporate names to take the prize.
The Foundation Team, left to right: Vicky Mulligan – Charity Assistant, Kirsty Clark – Executive Director, Tracy Keenan-Smith – Admin Assistant, Kathryn Biggin – Strategic Partnerships Manager, Jennifer Duck – Head of Operations
The Foundation has also maintained a long-standing commitment to race medicine, funding research and helping to establish the International Institute of Race Medicine, which has since become part of World Athletics. Matthew’s death was avoidable, and reducing the risk of cardiac events in runners remains a cause the Foundation continues to invest in.
Grants for Good is now open to businesses outside of the John Good Group who want to connect their employees with grassroots causes in a structured and meaningful way. Kirsty Clark, Executive Director of the Matthew Good Foundation, describes what the Foundation is working towards, “By spreading our philanthropic model across more businesses, we want to create a self-sustaining culture of giving. Our true legacy is not just the grants we give. It is the shift in how businesses and people think about their shared responsibility for social impact.”
£2 million is a milestone we are genuinely proud of, and it would not have been possible without the generosity of John Good Group colleagues past and present, the dedication of the Foundation’s trustees and staff, and the grassroots organisations who put every penny to work. Here is to the next chapter. If your business would like to find out more about Grants for Good, get in touch with the Matthew Good Foundation at matthewgoodfoundation.org.