# Garfield Weston funds Cranfield Trust leadership

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2026/09/23/garfield-weston-funds-cranfield-trust-leadership/
- Published: 2026-09-23T08:02:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Cranfield Trust has been awarded a grant of £450,000 over three years from the
Garfield Weston Foundation to expand its leadership development support for small
charities and not-for-profit organisations across the UK.**

The funding builds on nearly a decade of support from the Garfield Weston Foundation
and will allow Cranfield Trust to combine its established [mentoring](https://fundraising.co.uk/tag/mentoring/)
and peer support with practical training and a new UK-wide leadership community.
Cranfield Trust says it will deliver more than 8,000 free learning and support opportunities
for charity leaders by 2029, aimed at strengthening leadership capability and confidence,
reducing isolation, improving succession planning and increasing organisational 
resilience.

Support will be available through several routes, including mentoring partnerships
for current, new and emerging leaders, facilitated peer support groups, charity 
essentials workshops covering governance, finance and strategy, and expert-led webinars.

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Research by Cranfield Trust has highlighted growing concern across the voluntary
sector about leadership capacity, succession planning and wellbeing. Small charity
leaders, it notes, often manage strategy, governance, finance, people and compliance
alongside day-to-day service delivery, frequently without access to affordable leadership
development.

Charity leaders who would like to hear more can register their interest by emailing
[Ta******@************st.org](https://fundraising.co.uk/2026/09/23/garfield-weston-funds-cranfield-trust-leadership/Ta******@************st.org)
with the subject line ‘Supporting and developing leaders’.

![Dan Francis](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2026/09/Dan-Francis-CEO.png)

Dan Francis

**Dan Francis**, Chief Executive of Cranfield Trust, said:

> “We are incredibly grateful to the Garfield Weston Foundation for this significant
> investment and for their longstanding confidence in our work. Small charities 
> play a vital role in communities across the UK, but their leaders often have fewer
> opportunities for leadership development than those in larger organisations. Yet
> leaders are multipliers of impact: when they become more confident, capable and
> resilient, the benefit strengthens their teams, their organisations and, ultimately,
> the communities they serve.”

> Sophia Weston, Deputy Chair of the Garfield Weston Foundation, said:
> “We believe in supporting a diverse range of charities across the UK. From local
> community initiatives to large national projects, the common thread is that all
> our grantees make a real positive difference, improving lives and strengthening
> communities throughout the country.”

![Cover of Cranfield Trust's 2026 report "RIght support, right time"](https://wfay6x.
infiniteuploads.cloud/2026/09/Right-support-right-time-Insights-from-across-the-
sector-cover-Cranfield-Trust.png)

The Cranfield Trust’s June 2026 report ‘Ri[ght support, right time’ highlighted the type of support leaders](https://www.cranfieldtrust.org/articles/human-led-and-relational-support-crucial-for-small-charities)
and charities need.

The Garfield Weston Foundation made grants totalling nearly £130 million to 2,967
charities in the 2024-25 financial year, and has donated **nearly £1.7 billion**
to UK charities since it was established in 1958.

 * **[Weston charity awards winners announced for 2025](https://fundraising.co.uk/2025/07/07/weston-charity-awards-winners-announced-for-2025/)(
   7 July 2025)
 * **[Cranfield Trust launches charity management month to support sector leaders](https://fundraising.co.uk/2024/04/23/cranfield-trust-launches-charity-management-month-to-support-sector-leaders/)(
   23 April 2024)**
 * **[Project identifies lack of training opportunities for upskilling emerging leaders of smaller charities](https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/08/01/project-identifies-lack-of-training-opportunities-for-upskilling-emerging-leaders-of-smaller-charities/)(
   1 August 2023)**