Wates Family Enterprise Trust

The charitable trust set up by the Wates family, the owners of the Wates Group

When we founded the Wates Family Enterprise Trust, a priority for us was to provide a way to back the personal causes that Wates people support so passionately with their own time and resources “

Andy Wates

WFET Chair

Launched in 2008, the Trust is integral to the Wates family’s approach of being responsible business owners and its vison of being a force for good.

Alongside its strategic grant making, the Trust runs an award programme to empower Wates employees to make a real difference to their local communities and helps them to support those organisations close to their hearts.

Open solely to Wates employees, the programme includes:

• Matched Funding for individual and team fundraising initiatives from cake sales to marathons and abseils and everything in between
• Community Awards in support of the organisations Wates people volunteer for tirelessly in their own time from school PTAs to sports clubs to community groups and charities
• Group Grants for initiatives and projects proposed and championed by Wates people through their local Wates business unit from funding food banks to supporting local skill-building programmes
• Thinking Differently, a fund that brings the Wates Family Enterprise Trust and the Wates Group together in a shared goal of supporting smaller organisations in their pursuit of a key strategic change.
• Sport sponsorship awards for employees (or a direct family member) who are competing in sport at a national or elite level.
• Charitable donations through the  Give As You Earn scheme

Since the Trust was set up in 2008, Wates employees have raised over £1.74m for charities boosted by funding from WFET. This has resulted in support to over 2,000 organisations.

With the pandemic impacting the ability for Wates employees to support the causes they care about through normal fundraising and volunteering routes, WFET introduced specific schemes to help. This included a campaign for employees to nominate small, local charities for a £500 award.

Building communities and improving lives beyond tomorrow.

Alongside its award programme for Wates employees, the Wates Family Enterprise Trust has three themes that structure its grant making.

• Housing
• Life opportunities for Young People, and
• Sustainability.

Through these themes the Trust funds new ideas, ground breaking research and charitable projects that make a difference to people’s lives and support its goal of building communities and improving lives beyond tomorrow.

Please visit the Trust’s website to discover more about its work.