The Peter Willmott Foundation exists to make a practical difference to people’s lives by supporting charities and community organisations that remove barriers and create opportunity.
Named in honour of our former Chairman, Peter Willmott, the Foundation continues his belief that our purpose should go beyond profit. His commitment to making society better remains deeply embedded in our culture and the way we work.
Through the Foundation, we bring together the time, energy and generosity of our people and partners to support causes that matter in the communities where we live and work.
Over the years, the Foundation has donated more than £1.3 million to good causes, with 80,000 hours of our people's time also volunteered to support thousands of people and hundreds of community projects. Last year, our people raised over £74k for charities through the Foundation.
The Foundation focuses its support around two areas of activity:
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How we make a difference
Through the Peter Willmott Foundation, our people and partners support charities and community organisations that help people overcome barriers and achieve their potential.
Our support includes:
- enhancing the charitable fundraising undertaken by our people and partners
- supporting high-impact projects nominated by our people
- providing practical support to help schools and their communities thrive
We focus on activity that can make a practical and measurable difference, particularly for smaller organisations and community-focused projects connected with the places where we live and work.
Our Impact
Examples of charities and community groups supported include:
Building for the Future, a charity supporting children with disabilities and their families, benefited from fundraising by 12 teams from Willmott Dixon, all sponsored and backed by our supply chain partners.
The 2026 event (pictured below) was a one-day adventure inspired by Race Across the World - raising £39,920 in total for the Wokingham-based charity.
Jane Holmes, CEO of Building for the Future, said:
“Once again Willmott Dixon have completely amazed us by raising a phenomenal sum for Building for the Future. We are so grateful for the efforts of everyone who took part in the challenge and those who worked hard with all the arrangements. With our new building almost complete, we are forever indebted to this incredible company for all their help. Not just with the huge sum raised from the challenge but from the enormous help and support they have given us with our refurbishment project. Thank you Willmott Dixon for all your support. We quite simply could not have achieved our success without you."
People for People were able to provide supermarket vouchers for families in need. Founder Kenny Arnold said:
“Many thanks to Willmott Dixon who supplied us with £500 of Aldi vouchers to feed ten families here in Stevenage over Xmas and the new year. It’s vital local businesses are involved with their communities, and helps so many people struggling."
Chilvers Coton Heritage Centre (below) where we supported a small community museum. Chairman John Burton said:
"We are hugely grateful to you and we intend to spend the money enhancing our family history research facilities by putting it towards purchasing a new laptop and printer."
Helping every school thrive
The Peter Willmott Foundation extends our support to schools beyond project completion, helping the teachers, pupils and families who use the schools we build to thrive.
At handover, every completed school is offered two forms of support:
- Helping Hands: a £1,000 donation to help pupils facing practical barriers to learning, including poverty, with costs such as uniform, learning resources or basic hygiene items.
- Leadership development: a fully funded development day for the school's senior leadership team, focused on a non-teaching priority identified by the Headteacher, such as team dynamics, performance management, budgeting and supply chain. This recognises the vital role strong leadership plays in helping schools navigate challenges and improve.
Continuing Peter’s vision
The causes we support reflect Peter Willmott’s values and his longstanding commitment to making a positive difference in our communities. We support organisations that help people overcome challenges, increase their independence and achieve their potential. We prioritise support that can make a direct and measurable difference, particularly in communities connected with our people and projects.
“It is easy for the company to concentrate solely on its proclaimed activity, with little or no reference to the environment and society of which it forms a part. At Willmotts we have, for a long time, recognised our responsibility to help wherever the advice or services of our employees can be of use. To this end, we provide aid, not only in financial terms, but also in the service of our employees to many organisations.”
- Peter Willmott, company report and accounts 1978.
All support is nominated by Willmott Dixon people and considered by the Foundation’s Board. The Peter Willmott Foundation is not open to direct applications or funding requests from external organisations.