Weston Family Foundation / Fondation de la famille Weston

About This Cause

The Garfield Weston Foundation was established in 1958 by Willard Garfield Weston, a Canadian businessman who arrived in the UK with his family in 1932. He was the creator of Associated British Foods and the Foundation was endowed with the donation of family-owned company shares. As a result, the Foundation is today the ultimate controller of the company. Garfield Weston senior was succeeded as chairman of both Associated British Foods and the Garfield Weston Foundation by one of his sons, Garfield Howard Weston (Garry), who in the second half of the 20th century successfully developed the company into a major international organisation and at the same time became one of the UK’s most well regarded philanthropists. During Garry’s time as chairman over nearly twenty-five years the annual donations grew from less than £1 million to over £30 million and he made a positive impact on numerous projects, both large and small, throughout the United Kingdom. The trustees today are all lineal descendents of the founder and they remain committed to continuing the ethos that has made the Foundation one of the largest and most respected charitable institutions in the country. It gives them as much pleasure to help a small local community as a major national organisation and they are prepared to consider applications covering a wide range of charitable activity.