At The Fore, as a non-profit grant maker, we are committed to promoting justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of our work. We believe that promoting a culture of anti-racism, removing barriers and improving accessibility, supporting smaller charities and continuously tracking our progress are vital components of our efforts to achieve a just, fair, healthy and sustainable society.
Our commitment to anti-racism
We believe that racism, discrimination, and prejudice have no place in our society. We stand firmly against all forms of racism and bigotry.
We recognise that systemic racism and inequality exist in our society, and we are committed to actively working towards dismantling these structures. We believe that everyone deserves equal opportunities and access to resources regardless of their race, ethnicity or background.
We are committed to promoting justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout our grant-making process. We are also committed to ensuring that all individuals and communities have equal access to funding and resources. We actively promote our services to organisations that are working towards racial justice and equity.
We will continue to educate ourselves and our community on issues of racism and discrimination. We will work towards creating a more just and equitable society for all. We stand in solidarity with all those who are fighting against racism and discrimination. We will use our platform to amplify their voices and support their efforts.
Removing barriers and improving accessibility
Rather than offering ring-fenced funding to specific groups, we aim for an accessible assessment process. This process is specifically designed to identify visionary leadership and effective solutions regardless of how much experience or confidence an individual charity leader may have.
All registered non-profits in the UK with turnover under £500,000 per year are eligible to apply to The Fore. We are open to applications from all sectors. We do extensive outreach to find those who most need our support, and who will use our investment most effectively. We also encourage applications from organisations that have struggled to access trust and foundation funding in the past.
We’re also working on improving access to our processes for d/Deaf and disabled people. In this we are grateful for the generous work of CRIPtic Arts, who’ve provided feedback on our website.
We have already implemented:
- A longer, week-long window for application rounds
- Better accessibility and clearer language on our website
- More video content, with downloadable transcripts
- Alternative application methods, including audio, for those who request them
By the end of 2023 we’re committed to providing:
- Audio descriptions of all our application processes
- Captions on all new video content
- Providing alt text on all imagery
Supporting smaller organisations
We place particular emphasis on nurturing micro-organisations, meaning those with a turnover of under £100,000 per year. Research shows that organisations working with, and led by, the most marginalised people are often smaller in size. For example:
- The income of Black, Asian and Minority Ethic led charities is 45% lower than average
- The average income for UK charities is £142,439
- For Black, Asian and Minority led charities, this falls to £78,960
We provide support before and during the application process. This is to ensure that those with less fundraising experience can build confidence. Our long-listed applicants are given the opportunity to talk their funding requirements through with our Strategic Applicant Consultants. We also offer feedback to everyone, so that all applicants can learn from the experience of applying to us.
Tracking our progress
Leadership data from our 2022 funding rounds:
- 23% of applicants for our programme were Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic leaders
- 24% of our funded charities were led by individuals from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds
- This is compared to 5.3% as a sector average
- 28% of our funded charities are led by disabled people
- This is compared to 16% as a charity sector average
- 12% of our funded charities were led by members of the LGBTQIA+ community
- This is compared to 3% of the UK population
Download our June 2023 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Update.
We know this will always be a work in progress – that’s why we continue to monitor and evaluate everything we do. We engage with a wide range of sector organisations to ensure we are learning from others.
We will continue to research how well we are reaching marginalised charity leaders, including but not limited to; Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Groups, disabled people, refugees, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
We are committed to transparency: we publish our data in reports, on our website, and with 360Giving. We encourage others to do the same.