Equity, diversity and inclusion
It starts from the top.
We recognise the utmost importance of equity, diversity and inclusion, both for our organisation, our membership, and for truly effective charity boards.
Learning from each other, and from those with lived experience, is vital to enable greater diversity and inclusion among chairs and trustees.
This page gives an overview of some of the work we’re doing in this area, and the organisations and resources you may find helpful as a chair looking to learn and do more when it comes to EDI for your board.
You can also read our equity, diversity and inclusion statement to find out more about our current plans and commitments.
A new guide to equip chairs and boards to focus on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
‘It starts from the top’ is written by people with lived experience and packed with practical tips from chairs, trustees, and charity leaders.
Our EDI survey in September 2024 revealed that many chairs and boards don’t feel equipped or confident to focus on EDI. While around half of respondents said they felt “enthusiastic” and “motivated” about EDI, only 29% said they felt “confident”. 15% of respondents said they felt “unsure”, 11% felt “worried”, 9% felt “out of date” and 5% felt “fearful”.
40% of our survey respondents also said they had experienced barriers to inclusion to being on a charity board, showing there is much work to be done when it comes to making charity boards more diverse and inclusive.
Our guide acknowledges the challenges and provides practical actionable steps that any non-profit, no matter how big or small, can take.
Feel more informed and confident.
EDI practices on charity boards – survey, segmentation, and analysis from nfpResearch
Our guide ‘It starts from the top’ pulls from data collected and analysed by nfpResearch.
You can now read the data behind the report and find out more about the process.
What we’re doing
Resources
We are developing our own resources which will enhance chairs’ and boards’ understanding and awareness of EDI. We also share resources by other organisations who work in this space, to ensure their advice and guidance can be found and shared among as wide an audience as possible.
Events
We held several events in 2024 focusing on EDI for chairs and boards. These included webinars in conjunction with New Ways, a behaviour change consultancy that works with leaders to create progressive, anti-racist and equitable organisations that people choose to belong to. We also run EDI-focused events as part of our London peer support programme.
Collaboration and partnership
We are pleased to partner with a number of organisations that work to promote EDI for chairs, trustees, and boards. We’re delighted to learn from them and work together to ensure EDI is an ongoing conversation for our members and wider audiences.
Useful
resources
Useful resources on equity, diversity and inclusion for chairs, boards, and charities:
- Getting young people on your trustee board (Young Trustees Movement)
- How to diversify your board (Getting on Board)
- From here to diversity (Getting on Board and Action on Trustee Racial Diversity)
- Equity, diversity, and inclusion at board level (NCVO)
- How to carry out a diversity audit for your board (Reach Volunteering)
- The Charity Governance Code – Principle 6 – Equality, diversity and inclusion
- Disability Rights UK recently won the Charity Governance Award for Board EDI. They have a number of resources on their website for Disabled People’s Organisations which are interesting reads. In particular, their resource on recruiting staff, volunteers, and trustees has a section on key considerations for creating an inclusive board.
- Shaping Our Lives, a Disabled People’s Organisation, has some excellent practical tips on making meetings and events inclusive which can be used for planning board meetings and away days:
- How do we get more Disabled people on charity boards? – an article by Getting on Board
- The report Finding a Balance by More in Common contains some useful insights about the public’s attitudes towards EDI and also some helpful practical tips for organisations.
- You can also check out our blogs on EDI topics.
Organisations
Action for Trustee Racial Diversity provides charities with knowledge, resources, and networks to enable them to take practical steps to increase the racial diversity of their boards. The founder, Malcolm John, is also a trustee of the Association of Chairs and we’re delighted to support their Black and Asian Future Chairs’ Academy (BAFCA).
The Young Trustees Movement was set up to double the number of trustees aged 30 and under on charity boards by 2024. They offer training, resources, support, and trustee vacancy advertising. We were delighted to have their Chair, Amelia Ireland, recently attend one of our London peer support group sessions to talk about diversifying boards.
Queer Trustees is run by CharitySoStraight. They have a LinkedIn group for LGBTQIA+ trustees, allies and charities/recruiters looking for support to advertise trustee vacancies, and promote inclusive boards.
Getting on Board sadly closed its doors in 2024, but its resources are still available on its website, and several of them focus on board diversity. They offer lots of advice and guidance, with tools and templates, to help you recruit openly for diverse trustee candidates.
Other
relevant pages.
Building your board
Information and resources on chair, trustee and treasurer recruitment.
Resources
More resources available to members and non-members.
Events
All our upcoming events, including events on EDI-related topics.