Funders are increasingly taking steps to reach, share power and support organisations and groups who are led by and for the communities they serve. At the same, these groups are not receiving enough support to deliver their work or advocate for a fairer future.
To name but a few examples:
- Only 1.8% of grants go to the women and girls sector.
- In 2020, 87% of groups led by Black or racially minoritised communities didn’t have funding to last more than three months.
- 40% of groups in LGBT Consortium’s membership have an income of less than £1k a year, and 32% have no income at all.
- For Deaf and disabled people – only 10% of Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) responding to a survey were from a region where they hadn’t seen DPOs close in the last five years.
- Looking at the equity and justice funding picture overall – according to data analysed by the Civic Power Fund, only 5.7% of UK foundation giving went towards work tackling injustice last year and the funding is not focused on “shifting power to a specific community”.
And it’s not just about a lack of funding – it’s also about who is making the decisions about where funding goes. Research from the Association of Charitable Foundations on the Trustee Boards of Trusts and Foundations found they were 99% white, that male trustees outnumber women by two to one, that 58% of Trustees are over the age of 64, with just 3% under the age of 45.
Could participation help address these problems? Can we build a fairer city by being more participative in the way we fund?
As part of London Funders’ learning programme on participation, we’re spending our April insight meeting together with members to share learning, ideas and insights about how participation might help funding flow more equitably to communities. To help us think about these questions, we’re delighted to be joined by:
- Yvonne Field, Ubele
- Anne-Marie Twumasi, Global Fund for Children
- Cameron Bray, Barking & Dagenham Giving
- Gabrielle Allen, Impact on Urban Health
There will also be opportunities to share your own learning and reflections with other attendees, so please come prepared to share!
Please note, this event is open exclusively to London Funders members. If you would like to become a member, please email our Membership Manager Nasyah at nasyah.bandoh@londonfunders.org.uk