# Research findings see Commission called to publicly commit to antiracism & antiracist practices

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/11/10/research-findings-see-commission-called-to-publicly-commit-to-antiracism-antiracist-practices/
- Published: 2023-11-10T10:22:04+00:00
- Author: Melanie May

**The Charity Commission is being urged to report on diversity data in the charity
sector, and to publicly commit to antiracism and antiracist practices after research
highlighted a number of diversity issues both at the Commission, and more widely
in funding practices and at charities.**

[Money4You](https://www.money4you.org/) launched [#OperationTransparency](https://www.money4you.org/operationtransparency/)
in January 2022 as a call to the Charity Commission to make diversity and equalities
data part of the Register of Charities.

As well as campaigning on the issue, Money4You spent two years researching various
aspects of discrimination in the sector, with a particular focus on racism after
finding no data in the Charity Commission’s Register of Charities on diversity at
individual charity level.

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Its #OperationTransparency report launched at the House of Lords on Wednesday. It
covers representation and transparency around diversity in the Charity Commission’s
workforce and senior leadership, funding parity for organisations led by people 
of colour, the inclusion of lived experience in senior leadership at the UK’s largest
and most influential charities, and the regulation and enforcement of equality duties.

#### Charity Commission & diversity

Among its findings, Money4You discovered that, as far as it can tell:

_“no person of colour served as Chief Charity Commissioner between 1853 and 2006,
nor Chair of the Charity Commission from 2006 onwards, and it is possible that only
one person of colour has ever been shortlisted. It is also possible that no person
of colour has ever served on the interview board for shortlisted candidates. We 
have not been able to obtain definitive answers on these questions from DCMS, which
oversees the appointments process.”_

It also said that it is difficult to judge whether the Charity Commission’s current
efforts to encourage charities to recruit a diverse range of trustees are effective,_“
because the Commission does not monitor diversity in the sector in a sufficiently
systematic way.”_

#### Grants & board diversity

When comparing grant amounts with board diversity, it found _“a ‘triangle effect’”_–
while small grants go to a diverse range of organisations, the larger the grant,
the more likely the grantee board is to contain a large proportion of white people
and men.

And, within a sample of grants from the UK’s 10 largest grant funders, Money4You
found that _“the average amount awarded to organisations with a majority of white
men on the board was £1,226,754.78. The average awarded to organisations with a 
majority of people of colour on the board was less than a third of that, at £406,333.33.
The overall average grant amount was £1,119,983.20.”_

#### Lack of lived experience in senior charity roles

Looking at charities, it found that while large UK-based organisations often try
to draw on the expertise of people with lived experience, lived experience is rarely
embedded in their leadership or governance, and none of the five super-large charities
it looked at had a dedicated executive, board member, or senior committee for lived
experience.

#### Recommendations

Among its recommendations, Money4You is calling on the Charity Commission to collect
and report on diversity data in the charity sector, and to make a public commitment
to antiracism and antiracist practices. It is also asking the Charity Commission
to publish a review of diversity and inclusion in appointments to the post of Chair,
and says charities should be asked to describe and explain the level of lived experience
in their leadership structures when they publish annual reports.

Commenting, Money4You CEO and Founder Carol Akiwumi said:

> “Reporting diversity data isn’t just a checkbox; it’s a strategic move toward 
> building a stronger, more representative sector. Just as we track metrics in other
> areas, diversity metrics should be no exception. When we measure and report, we
> signal a collective commitment to creating an inclusive space for all.”