# Why ‘Asian’ and ‘Chinese’ tick-box categories don’t tell charities enough, says nfpResearch

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2026/08/17/why-asian-and-chinese-tick-box-categories-dont-tell-charities-enough/
- Published: 2026-08-17T16:40:45+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Treating minoritised ethnic communities as a single, static group not surprisingly
risks charities building their work on outdated assumptions, according to nfpResearch.**

A blog post by nfpPublic Minority Ethnic Lead **Leiyuan Tian** argues that broad
ethnic categories such as “Asian” or “Chinese” mask significant differences in identity,
generation and relationship to charitable causes within those communities.

Writing from her own experience as a Chinese migrant to the UK, Tian notes that 
British-born Chinese people tend to engage more readily with mainstream UK charities,
having grown up with fundraising appeals and school giving, while more recent migrants
often make their first contact with the sector through volunteering at university
before moving to regular giving once they enter paid work.

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Generational and geographic differences matter too, she suggests. Older generations
may be more drawn to causes connected to their heritage, while waves of migration
from different regions, Hong Kong compared with mainland China, for example, bring
different languages and starting points for engagement with UK civil society. Tian
cites a 2019 report from the Chinese Welfare Trust in support of this pattern.

## How nfpResearch is changing its methodology

The blog sets out how nfpResearch is changing its own methodology in response. For
2026, the nfpPublic Minority Ethnic research moves from one aggregated “non-White”
sample to two dedicated samples, Asian/Asian British and Asian Mixed communities,
and Black/Black British and Black Mixed communities, with results reported separately
and community dynamics explored within each.

The organisation is also investing in sample quality to reach people usually missed
in fieldwork, and offers qualitative interviews for charities wanting a deeper dive
into lived experience.

“Minoritised ethnic communities remain under-researched and under-served by charities
and civil society organisations,” Tian writes. “Without genuine and continuous efforts
to understand their evolving role in society, organisations risk building their 
work on assumptions and further reinforcing existing inequalities.”

Read [Leiyuan Tian’s full blog post](https://nfpresearch.com/blog/2026-08-06-we-need-deeper-research-minoritised-ethnic-communities),
and find out more about the nfpPublic Minority Ethnic 2026 research at [nfpresearch.com](https://nfpresearch.com).

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