IoF launches strategy to improve diversity in fundraising
Melanie May | 3 July 2019 | News
The Institute of Fundraising has today launched a new strategy aimed at improving diversity within the fundraising profession.
Released at Fundraising Convention on 3 July, the IoF’s Change Collective strategy sets out why change is needed including the business case for equality, diversity and inclusion and the approach that needs to be taken by the Institute, its members and partners, to ensure that individuals from all backgrounds are recruited into the sector as well as retained and progressed.
The IoF and the Board of Trustees has identified four key inequalities to be addressed in the strategy:
- Underrepresentation of BAME fundraisers
- Underrepresentation of disabled fundraisers
- LGBT+ fundraisers not always able to be open in the workplace
- Women form the majority of the profession but are not proportionately represented at a senior level
The strategy takes forward the commitments set out in the IoF’s Manifesto for Change, identifying 16 initial activities to deliver a more equal, diverse and inclusive profession.
These include:
- Commissioning research on the under-representation of BAME fundraisers in the profession, including on the barriers to entry and progression, and research on women in leadership roles
- Developing an EDI Recruitment Toolkit to help organisations recruit more BAME, disabled and male fundraisers
- Developing IoF’s approach to Affinity Network and role models for BAME, disabled and LGBT+ fundraisers
The IoF has formed a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, chaired by IoF Trustee Carol Akiwumi. This will offer oversight from fundraisers with lived experience and policy experts to advise the IoF and evaluate and monitor progress on this agenda.
Amanda Bringans, Chair of the Institute of Fundraising said:
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“As Chair of the Institute, I am very proud to launch the first ever Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy for the fundraising profession, developed by the Expert Panel, and fully endorsed and adopted by the IoF Board of Trustees. I’d like to thank Sufina and the Expert Panel for the time, expertise and commitment they have dedicated to this vital work for the fundraising community. This strategy is a significant landmark in the history of the fundraising profession and of the Institute.”
Sufina Ahmad, Chair of the Expert Advisory Panel on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion also commented, saying:
“To have in one place a succinct but ambitious way forward for making the UK fundraising profession more equal, diverse and inclusive is a huge achievement. Individuals and organisations that champion this strategy are showing that they, like the Institute of Fundraising, are committed to working together to take an inter sectional approach to addressing the well-known and well-evidenced inequalities that exist in the fundraising profession.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.