Goldsmiths’ Foundation

Philanthropic giving - which is first mentioned in the Company’s earliest minute book of 1334 - is at the heart of who we are and what we do, and in the last 12 months has enabled our charity partners to support the development of skills and progression for more than 250,000 people.
 

The tradition of passing silversmithing and jewellery making tools from one craftsperson to another spans millennia, but what happens when you have no one to pass your tools on to? In the case of Mia Walker, who’s father passed away in late 2024, she has donated them to LandWorks, and an award-winning resettlement charity that the Goldsmiths’ Foundation has supported since 2023. Fiona Thompson takes up the story of a facilitated donation, which has helped to bring jewellery making to LandWorks.

This week we brought together our initial cohort of Landmark partners (St Giles, St Paul's Cathedral, National Literacy Trust, Aston University Engineering Academy) to share their collective knowledge, experience, and insights at the first annual Learning and Evaluation Day for the Goldsmiths’ Foundation Landmark Programme.

The Goldsmiths’ 500 Writers programme is an ambitious three-year writing initiative that aims to improve the literacy skills of over 1,000 children living in disadvantaged communities across 21 primary schools in Bradford, which is being funded through a Goldsmiths’ Foundation Landmark Grant. Ki-Li Watkins, the National Literacy Trust’s Programme lead, shares how partnership, place-based approach and research has shaped their latest children’s writing initiative.

For International Women's Day 2025 we spoke with Wubedel Asfaw, a recipient of the Mansion House Scholarship Scheme (MHSS) - which supports the education of the next generation of finance and professional leaders from around the world - about her career in Ethiopia’s financial sector, what she learned from the MHSS, her drive to increase opportunities for women in professional services, and to create a more equitable financial ecosystem.

The Goldsmiths’ Foundation has proudly supported the Mansion House Scholarship Scheme for more than two decades.

The Goldsmiths’ Foundation has appointed a new Board of Trustees to lead the charity as it renews its focus on support for vocational skills, the crafts of jewellery and silversmithing, and the wider creative industries.

One Small Thing is a charity that works to meet the needs of women in the justice system and their children. Their vision is a justice system that can recognise, understand, and respond to trauma, which has led to opening their residential community Hope Street. Writer Fiona Thompson learns how grant funding from The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity is helping them to realise their mission.

Beyond advancing the understanding of precious metals for the jewellery industry, three PhD students in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy funded by the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity have generated research findings applicable in fields as diverse as textile production and biomedical implants.

In a quiet Central London studio space, an art class is in full flow. Paint brushes and oil pastels are being drawn across paper and canvas and beautiful combinations of colour brought to life. Art is being made. And it is being made by a group of people who are largely ex-prisoners, supported through charity 2Makeit’s creative rehabilitation programmes. 

In 2017, the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity became a founding partner of the new London Museum, pledging a donation of £10m that would go towards the museum’s plans to create a spectacular new home for the history of London and its people in the beautiful and historic market buildings of Smithfield. This year, the Charity made the first of three payments honouring this pledge.

A career in the City of London can seem a daunting and perhaps unattainable prospect, particularly for those who cannot see people of their gender or socio-economic background fully represented. The Lord Mayor’s Appeal is working to change that by creating ‘A Better City for All’–one that is inclusive, healthy, skilled and fair.

Cambourne Village College, Cambridge has been awarded a Gold Medal, and Fir Vale School, Sheffield a Silver Medal, in the finals of the 2024 Goldsmiths’ Awards for Community Engagement.

For International Women's Day 2024 we spoke with former prisoner Jules Rowan about her experience with The Prison Radio Association - the world’s first national radio station for people in prison - and her role as co-host of the Life After Prison podcast, which offers advice, inspiration, information, support and entertainment to people who have experienced prison and the criminal justice system.

For International Women's Day 2023 we spoke with prison officer Ellen Larby about her experience with Unlocked Graduates - a programme that aims to end the reoffending cycle by training exceptional people as frontline prison officers.

For International Women's Day 2022 writer Fiona Thompson reflects on the vital work of Goldsmiths' Company Charity Grantees: Anawim Women's Centre, Birmingham

In November 2018, the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity announced that it would support three new PhD studentships at the University of Cambridge in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy to help further the UK's position as a leader in precious metals research. Now entering the second year of their studentships, Owain Houghton at Queen’s College and Ayush Prasad at Robinson College, provide some insight into their research so far.

The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity has awarded a grant of £436,000 to fund pioneering new research into precious metals, used for jewellery and silverware through the Goldsmiths’ Company programme at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy. The funding includes three new PhD studentships at Cambridge that will help develop expertise in the field.

A grant from the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity to support three new PhD studentships at Cambridge will advance research in precious metals and help develop new technical expertise. The Goldsmiths’ Company programme in precious metals research - which will be based at Cambridge’s Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy - will build on the University’s strengths in the study of materials. The Department is one of the world’s leading centres in the study of materials and metals.