Q5 reflects on year of impact with 2025 foundation report

Following a year of impact above and beyond the business world, Q5 has shared its annual Q5 Foundation Impact Report. The study reflects how the foundation aims to create positive impact both inside the firm, and across the organisations and communities it supports.

First launched in 2009, Q5 is a global management consulting firm that specialises in organisational health. With offices in London, Leeds, Cardiff, New York, Sydney, Melbourne, Oman and Houston – as well as joint ventures in place in France, Sweden, Italy and Germany, Q5 is able to serve a range of businesses; from multinational players to small, family firms. It also supplies a host of pro bono services to non-profits around the world – supported through its Q5 Foundation.

Founded in 2010, the Q5 Foundation aims to tackle economic inequality and poverty. It extends our charitable work beyond our core consulting business, with a dedicated team working each year to drive initiatives to assist vulnerable people entering the workforce, start business initiatives, and provide executive coaching services free of charge in the third sector.

Q5 Foundation operates through four key pillars: Pop Up Consulting, Community Partnerships, Young People, and Research Collaborations. After another successful year of purpose-led consulting, Q5 has released its report into the 2025 activities of the foundation in each area.

Pop Up Consulting

Q5 Foundation works to deliver strategic and operational support through pro bono consulting projects, bringing our organisational expertise to charities, social enterprises, and community groups around the world.

According to the annual report, Q5’s Pop Up Consulting initiative helped 18 different organisations throughout the year, spanning education, health and wellbeing, economic empowerment, equality and diversity, and sport and cultural initiatives. Among those supported by the pro bono advisory service were the Big Issue, Leeds United Foundation, and Literary Pirates.

Community Partnerships

Throughout the firm’s global offices, Q5 staff partner with local causes to provide expertise, volunteering, ad hoc support, helping them to grow, thrive, and sustain their impact. In 2025, this saw Q5 mentor charity leaders in London, support positive pathways for young people in Leeds, and partnering with charities in Houston, USA to promote financial stability and youth development.

Q5 also further partnered with The Big Issue. Spotlighting the engagement, Q5’s work with the organisation centred on The Big Issue’s vendors, a network of inspiring entrepreneurs based across the UK, who earn their income selling The Big Issue magazine, while also building local community relationships and building skills, confidence, and independence. In partnership, Q5 also provided a safe and creative space for collaboration, running workshops and brainstorming sessions to review the vendor experience, including a Generation Z focus group and targeted marketplace insights to inform future strategy.

Young People

Through Q5 Foundation’s flagship youth programmes, mentoring and outreach activities, the group aims to equip the next generation with the skills, confidence, and opportunities to shape a better future. This year the pillar of programmes reached new milestones, including a reimagination of how it nurtures budding university consultants through a refreshed Emerging Consultants brand.

Coming at a time when larger consultancies are kicking away the ladder to new joiners, reducing their graduate headcount, Emerging Consultants officially launched as the refreshed identity of Q5’s long-standing partnership with 180 Degrees Consulting. Through this initiative, Q5 supports student consultants from the University of Bath and the University of Nottingham as they lead and deliver high-quality consulting to social impact organisations. Since 2018, this has supported over 200 students by providing mentorship, skills training and funding, as well as hosting an annual Q5 Consulting Hackathon.

Research Collaborations

Q5 often combines research, data, and insight to provide insights into what society needs to flourish, working with partners to tackle systemic challenges and influence change at scale. In 2025, the Q5 Foundation supported two major research initiatives designed to drive long-term societal impact.

First, it continued an ongoing partnership with Prospect Magazine, to host the “What’s Next?” series: forward-looking conversations on the issues shaping society, from AI and the future of work to climate resilience and mental health. These events convene leaders from the business, government, the third sector and academia to explore how organisations can act as a force for good. Second, Q5 was part of 2025’s Elevate event. Featured on a panel of inspiring women sharing their life stories and lessons were Joyce Idoniboye (Oxfam), Malebogo Mpugwa (De Beers), and Gill Weekes (Q5). It sparked open dialogue about lived experience, leadership, and equity in the workplace, reinforcing our belief that inclusion drives healthier organisations.

Annabel Tonge Associate Partner, Q5 Foundation, concluded, “2025 has been another outstanding year as we’ve celebrated over 80 Q5ers supporting the Foundation, contributing over £1.2 million worth of consulting time and expertise. Beyond the tangible impact, these initiatives continue to bring us closer together, living our purpose, working cross-functionally, and uniting around a shared goal of creating positive change.”