Why do we invite applicants and previously funded groups to decide who gets funded? This is why:

“Compared to other charities, foundation boards were disproportionately homogeneous, being 99% white, two thirds male and almost 60% over the age of 65. Despite many pockets of excellent and thoughtful practice, it was abundantly clear that foundations are not sufficiently diverse or representative of society“. Association of Charitable Foundations (2025)

We all know the charity sector generally has an issue with diversity, particularly relating to trustees, but in the funding world the problem is much more significant. These are the people who decide how hundreds of millions of pounds get used every year by charities and community groups! People who are part of the communities you aim to support are always the ones who know best what the community is facing and what needs to be done.

In Round 7 we had 30 people take part in scoring. 43% were current applications, 37% were from previously funded groups and 20% were both. Each person read and scored 15 of 58 eligible applications. Each application was scored by 6 – 8 people.

When we asked people to complete the form we asked them about any access needs they had but somehow missed off the question about whether they were disabled – apologies!

We are currently working with our scorers to decide which applications to fund. We have enough for 23 of the 58 groups. Please help us support as many as we can by making a donation.