Smiths Group Foundation launches second round of charitable donations

Grants totalling £675,000 awarded to seven charities in 2025, with total grants of £1.675m awarded since the Foundation’s inception two years ago

Smiths Group plc, a leading industrial technology company, today announces the second round of grants to be awarded to charities around the world through its charitable foundation. The Smiths Group Foundation (the “Foundation”) is awarding grants totalling c.£675,000 to charities in six countries in 2025.

The Foundation has now awarded a total of over £1.675m in grants to 19 different charities across 11 countries since its inception two years ago. This year’s charities were selected because each aligns with Smiths Group’s purpose of ‘engineering a better future’, through committing to Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) education, or sustainability and safety initiatives, which promote equity for local communities.

One of the Foundation’s chosen charities in this second round is FIRST UK, which supports 12–18-year-olds in schools and community groups across the UK to design, build and code robots to compete in a global game – while developing essential skills along the way. Their mission is to make STEM less intimidating, more diverse and inclusive.

Ed Cervantes-Watson, CEO, FIRST UK, said: "The Smiths Group Foundation’s investment is building so much more than robots – it’s empowering less-advantaged young people with the technical knowledge and life skills to engineer better futures, whilst harnessing the collective might of Smiths Group employees as role models to help bridge today’s classroom with tomorrow’s workplace."

Other charities receiving grants from the Foundation include:

• Amani Centre for Street Children, Tanzania – A support system protecting vulnerable children from homelessness and abusive environments
• Aviation & Aerospace Education Center, USA – A STEM programme helping the next generation build technical skills to shape the future of flight
• Breaking Barriers, UK – Providing refugees with guidance, education and opportunities to access meaningful, stable employment
• Desafio Jovem de Rio Claro, Brazil – A therapeutic community offering support and solutions to individuals with drug addiction and other life-controlling issues
• Engineering Good Limited, Singapore – Providing assistive technology and digital inclusion and sustainability programmes for disadvantaged communities in Singapore through innovative humanitarian engineering solutions
• Fundación para la Protección de la Niñez, Mexico - Promoting the social development of vulnerable populations, mainly children and young adults, through assistance programmes

The Smiths Group Foundation aims to award grants to organisations to whom Smiths people can offer their time as volunteers. The goal is for financial benefits and hands-on collaboration to come together and enhance outcomes for local communities.

Hannah Constantine, Corporate General Counsel at Smiths and Chair of the Smiths Group Foundation, said: “We are immensely proud to see the Foundation supporting truly inspirational charities, which help improve the lives of so many. We believe in the power of education to connect local communities, and the Foundation continues to harness STEM learning to unlock opportunities for the next generation across the globe.

“It has been an honour to assist in establishing a strong platform from which the Foundation has been creating meaningful impact and building brighter futures over the long term. I look forward to welcoming Ben Macdonald as new Chair to continue this work.”

Appointment of new Smiths Group Foundation Chair

The Smiths Group Foundation announces that Hannah Constantine is stepping down as Chair of the Foundation as part of an orderly and planned succession planning process after more than two years helping to set up and run the Foundation successfully.

Hannah will hand over to Ben Macdonald as the new Chair, who plays a pivotal part in the Smiths drive for sustainability and social impact in his role as VP for Sustainability, ESG & Indirect Procurement. Angela Bruce, HR Director at Flex-Tek, will support Ben as Vice Chair, taking over from Kelly Cole.

Incoming Chair of the Foundation, Ben Macdonald said: “I am inspired to be part of this programme. Running my own charity has given me first hand experience as to how challenging it can be to secure funding, and how hard volunteers work and give up their time to make a real difference. To be part of this from the other side of the fence is an immense privilege and I am excited to see what we can achieve together.”