Benefact Group provides transformative awards to 22 UK and Ireland charities

16 OCT 2023

As part of its Movement for Good Awards, Benefact Group has donated over £480,000 to charitable causes leading the change in key sectors across the UK and Ireland.

Six charities working to reduce the impact of climate change have been awarded £143,000, while six working in education and skills have received £108,100. A further £165,500 has been donated to six causes operating in heritage and arts, and £66,000 has been given to four charities in the rural and community sector.

The awards are designed to help charities make a real difference in their communities. More than 900 charities applied for the funding which is being put towards the advancement of education and skills, rural and community development, heritage, arts and culture, and climate change and environment. The winning projects were selected against four criteria: impact and effectiveness, sustainability, innovation, and care and compassion.

The charities set to benefit include the InterClimate Trust, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, The English Heritage Trust, Child Bereavement UK, The Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Greener and Cleaner, The Historic England Foundation and more.

From supporting families dealing with the loss of a child and educating young people to make safer choices about drugs, through to protecting National Heritage sites and restoring UK wetlands and its wildlife – the grants will fund essential projects and initiatives that will benefit many thousands of people across the UK and Ireland.

The Movement for Good Awards large grants provide charities with flexible funding that can be used within three years and for a blend of capital and running costs for their projects.

Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive of Benefact Group, said: “Benefact Group is a family of award-winning companies and the third largest corporate donor to charity in the UK. We are delighted to be able to announce another series of transformational grants and are grateful to all our supporters, including the customers of the trusted insurer, Ecclesiastical, and the boutique responsible and sustainable asset manager, EdenTree. On behalf of the new beneficiaries announced today, we offer them our sincere thanks – whether they realise it or not, they are transforming lives.

Benefact Group understands the importance of longer-term funding for charities, especially when trying to bring ambitious new ideas to life and get larger transformative projects off the ground. Through our large grants, we are actively championing innovation, giving charities the backing they need to propel their plans forward and turn creative ideas into practical solutions that benefit society. Owned by a charity ourselves, charitable giving is at the heart of what we do and all of our available profits go to good causes.”

Ruben Brooke, Chair of the Board of Trustees at InterClimate Trust, said: “Our mission is to engage, educate, and inspire the next generation of climate leaders. We have a strong track-record in creating opportunities for young people to join critical climate debates; and providing positive encouragement, resources and skills-development to enable their sustainable climate actions. We are delighted to have been awarded this grant and excited to be able to widen the reach of our work.”

Andy Reeves, Head of Learning Development at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, said: “Thanks to the generous support of the Benefact Group we will be able to bring Shakespeare ‘off the page’ for children in a unique way. By developing our new teaching resources that support the Children’s Folio, we will help teachers to make the wonderful language of Shakespeare accessible in the classroom.”

Benefact Group has donated over £200million to charitable causes since 2014 and has been recognised as the third biggest corporate giver in the UK¹. The organisation aims to reach £250million in donations by 2025.

Movement for Good is funded by EIO plc, part of the Benefact Group.

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