Social Impact
The Partnership was founded with a powerful ethos: to be a force for good in society. We're passionate about making a difference to people’s lives, using our skills and resources to have a positive social impact.
We appreciate that many of the issues we help tackle are complex, so we always strive for deeper understanding before offering the support that we believe will make a real and lasting difference.
Our Strategy
We invest in our communities to promote a fairer and more inclusive society. This may involve donations, gifts ‘in kind’, strategic relationships with charities, or Partner volunteering and engagement with local communities.
We’re proud of the relationships our shops have built with local charities and community organisations, strengthened by our network of Community Leads and Community Liaison Coordinators.
John Lewis Partnership Foundation
The John Lewis Partnership Foundation is committed to sharing the skills and resources of the Partnership. We’re focused on the social and environmental causes where we can have the biggest positive impact.
Our work is delivered through funds that directly address the areas that we and our customers care strongly about – from helping families in need to conserving habitats for local wildlife. Find out more about our funds and if you could be eligible for support on our Foundation pages.
Our Partnerships and Programmes
We’re proud to be making a positive difference to many causes:
Community Matters
Every year, our John Lewis and Waitrose stores make donations to local charities and community organisations.
Throughout the year we have three rounds of funding, each one addressing a different theme – from health and wellbeing to nature and the environment. We donate over £2m to local causes each year, which are chosen by Partners from each of our branches.
FareShare Go
Our Waitrose stores support thousands of frontline charities through our work with FareShare and their surplus food redistribution programme FareShare Go,
In 2022 we integrated the free sharing app ‘Olio’ into our FareShare Go operation. Now, when FareShare is unable to collect surplus food from Waitrose, Olio Food Waste Heroes can step in and redistribute it instead. To date, Olio has shared 500,000 meals. And since 2017 we have donated over 8,100 tonnes of surplus food through FareShare Go – that’s over 19 million meals.
Home-Start UK
We've delivered a number of life-changing community programmes since we started working with Home-Start in 2020. This includes the Magical Christmas programme, where we provided families with everything they needed for an unforgettable celebration. And we’ve launched our Healthy Happy Home programme. This gives volunteers the skills they need to help families with everyday struggles such as understanding nutrition and basic cooking, support with sleep for infants and children, and how to manage household finances.
The Royal Countryside Fund
Waitrose is one of the founding partners of The Royal Countryside Fund, and we’ve contributed over £1.75 million since they were founded by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2010. Our funding has helped support rural communities and farming families across the UK, including their flagship initiative: the Farm Resilience Programme. Since 2022 we’ve invested £150,000 each year to support two of their core grant programmes: sponsoring projects that promote social cohesion, tackle isolation and rural poverty; and encouraging sustainable farming practices.
The Trussell Trust
Waitrose has worked with the Trussell Trust since 2011 when customer donation points were first installed in stores. These allow customers to easily donate products they’ve purchased in store to local food banks.
There are now around 190 collection points in this network, which provide approximately 600 tonnes of donations each year – a vital and steady supply of food and other essentials. Alongside this, the Partnership also makes an annual donation to support the Trussell Trust’s network of food banks – in 2023, this came to over £500,000.
British Red Cross
We’ve worked with the British Red Cross for over 15 years and are founding members of the organisation's Disaster Relief Alliance.
Through our partnership, we help the British Red Cross to support vulnerable communities, prepare for emergencies and respond rapidly when help is needed. In recent years, this has included those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the crisis in Ukraine, and the flooding in Pakistan.
King Charles III Charitable Fund
Waitrose has supported the King Charles III Charitable Fund since 2010. Each year the fund receives a donation of roughly £3 million, raised from the sale of Duchy Organics products. The fund’s mission is to transform lives and build sustainable communities, awarding grants to UK-registered non-profit organisations in the UK, Commonwealth and overseas.