Institute of Fundraising launches diversity strategy

The Institute of Fundraising has launched a new strategy as part of its drive to improve equality, diversity and inclusion within the fundraising profession.

Released at this year’s Fundraising Convention where diversity was a key theme, the Change Collective strategy sets out why change is needed including the business case for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and the approach that needs to be taken by the Institute, its members and partners, to ensure that individuals from all backgrounds are recruited into the sector, retained and progressed.

Sufina Ahmad, Chair of the Expert Advisory Panel on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion commented:

“To have in one place a succinct but ambitious way forward for making the UK fundraising profession more equal, diverse and inclusive is a huge achievement. Individuals and organisations that champion this strategy are showing that they, like the Institute of Fundraising, are committed to working together to take an inter-sectional approach to addressing the well-known and well-evidenced inequalities that exist in the fundraising profession.”

According to a recent by the IoF, Who Isn’t in the Room? report, based on survey data provided by over 400 fundraising charities and almost 7,000 fundraisers, just 9% of fundraisers in the UK are BAME and only 3% have a disability. In addition, 76% of fundraisers are female, while on average men earn 10.8% more than women and 4% of fundraisers identify as LBGT+.

Four key inequalities to be addressed in the strategy are: the underrepresentation of BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) fundraisers, and of disabled fundraisers, LGBT+ fundraisers not always being able to be open in the workplace, and women forming the majority of the profession but not being proportionately represented at a senior level.

The IoF’s new strategy takes forward the commitments set out in its Manifesto for Change, which launched last November and sets out what the IoF plans to do to create a more equal, diverse and inclusive profession.

Initial activities identified in the strategy include commissioning research on the under-representation of BAME fundraisers, the barriers to entry and progression, and research on women in leadership role. The IoF will also develop an EDI Recruitment Toolkit to help organisations recruit more BAME, disabled and male fundraisers.

The IoF has also formed a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, chaired by IoF Trustee Carol Akiwumi to advise the IoF and evaluate and monitor progress on this agenda.