The Garfield Weston Foundation is a grant-giving charity based in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1958 by Canadian businessman
W. Garfield Weston
Willard Garfield Weston (26 February 189822 October 1978) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist who was a member of the prominent Weston family. He led George Weston Limited and its various subsidiaries and associated companies, includin ...
(1898–1978), who during his lifetime contributed to numerous
humanitarian
Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...
causes, both personally and through his companies. His philanthropic works continue through the Garfield Weston Foundation in London and the
Weston Family Foundation
The Weston Family Foundation (formerly The W. Garfield Weston Foundation) is a Canadian charitable foundation committed to making grants in Canada for the benefit of Canadians. At the end of 2016, the foundation had over $324 million in assets. ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Ontario, Canada.
The Garfield Weston Foundation is one of the
largest charitable foundations in the world, with assets of £9.7billion at 5 April 2017, of which a majority was attributed to the foundation's majority holding in
Wittington Investments.
Since Sir
Guy Weston
Sir Guy Howard Weston (born 3 July 1960) is a British businessman and philanthropist.
Biography
Weston was born on 3 July 1960 in Sydney, Australia. He is the eldest son of Garry Weston and Mary Weston, and brother of George G. Weston. His pate ...
's appointment as chairman, the Garfield Weston Foundation has become the largest family grant-making foundation in the UK, with total grants exceeding £1billion.
Projects
The Garfield Weston Foundation gave
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
£25million for the refurbishment of the New Library (built originally in the 1930s as part of the
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...
), which re-opened to the public in March 2015 as the Weston Library.
The foundation has given grants to a number of schools, including St Michael's Primary School and Brackenbury Primary School for new classrooms and outdoor play areas for sport, and is a sponsor of Baker Dearing Educational Trust which promotes
university technical college
A university technical college (UTC) is a type of specialist secondary school in England that is led by a sponsor university and has close ties to local business and industry. These university and industry partners support the curriculum developm ...
s.
In 2019 the foundation gave £5million towards the £31million restoration of the walled garden at
RHS Bridgewater in
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
, Greater Manchester.
Controversies over political donations
In 2010, the
Charity Commission
, type = Non-ministerial government department
, seal =
, seal_caption =
, logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg
, logo_caption =
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, ...
found that between 1993 and 2004 the charity had given donations to the UK
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
that totalled £900,000, which were in breach of UK charity law; as were similar donations to the
economically liberal
Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberali ...
think tank the
Centre for Policy Studies
The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) is a think tank and pressure group in the United Kingdom. Its goal is to promote coherent and practical policies based on its founding principles of: free markets, "small state," low tax, national independ ...
, and to
Eurosceptic
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...
European political lobby groups such as the
European Foundation and the Labour Euro-Safeguards Campaign.
['']The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'', 12 April 2010
Westons breached charity law over Tory donations
/ref>
Tax avoidance controversy
In 2011, companies owned by Wittington Investments were targeted over tax avoidance
Tax avoidance is the legal usage of the tax regime in a single territory to one's own advantage to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law. A tax shelter is one type of tax avoidance, and tax havens are jurisdi ...
by the protest group UK Uncut. ''Private Eye
''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised for its prominent critici ...
'' linked the Garfield Weston Foundation's political donations with the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
's decision to grant tax breaks for the kind of offshore arrangements used in the tax avoidance.
See also
* Garfield Weston Merit Scholarships for Colleges Garfield Weston Merit Scholarships for Colleges (GWMSC) was a scholarship program that recognize exemplary college students who were passionate about their field of study and were interested in helping their communities. The program ran from 1998 ...
* Weston family
The Weston family is a prominent Canadian-origin family of businesspeople with global interests primarily in food and clothing ventures. The family operations began with the purchase of a bakery in 1884 by American-born Canadian George Weston in ...
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Foundations based in the United Kingdom
Foundation