Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust: Strategy for addressing dynamics of power and privilege

At JRCT, we support people who address the root causes of conflict and injustice, in order to further our charitable purposes. As an organisation guided by Quaker values, we have a responsibility to critically examine our own practices. We need to recognise and be open about our own power and privilege as a funder in order to work towards changing inequitable systems.

We are sharing our initial action plan.

Power & Privilege: priority actions (April 2021)

Dimension Commitment Agreed actions
Governance and leadership    
1 An inclusive Trust board For each of the next two intakes of board members, at least one trustee will be a person of colour.
2 Diverse and inclusive Trust staff team Improve the diversity of the staff team and engage consultants to support work on inclusive and equitable practice
3 Ensure culturally diverse committees or panels for grant application reviews Recruit larger number of co-optees from more diverse backgrounds, including those with lived experience of conflict and injustice
4 Deeper whole-organisation understanding of anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice Programme of training and learning for trustees and staff
5 Increased scrutiny of and input into Trust strategy and priorities by civil society actors Establish a sounding board of diverse civil society actors
6 Consider options for giving further powers to grant committees Significantly raise the maximum grant amount awarded by committees
7 Trial practice of participatory grant-making Operationalise recommendations from a report on supporting social movements, which include using collective and movement-centred decision making for a pilot fund.

 

Dimension Commitment Agreed actions
Origins of the endowment    
8 Share information about the origins of the endowment, alongside the other Rowntree Trusts  
9 Work to begin programme of restorative justice.

Recruit staff and external advisory group to guide work.
10  

Develop process of engagement with communities who have been harmed to identify appropriate restorative actions.

 

Dimension Commitment Agreed actions
Investment    
11 Work with a culturally diverse group of analysts and fund managers to manage our portfolio Develop a statement of expectations of our fund managers in relation to ethnic diversity in the same way as we have done for gender

 

Dimension Commitment Agreed actions
Grant-making    
12 Increase the proportion of our funding going to racial justice work and to POC-led organisations Adopt a lens of promoting racial justice across all grant-making programmes
13  

Explore options to address under-representation of POC-led groups within our grant portfolios, including adjustments to our grant assessment process.
14   Applicants requesting a diverse panel of assessors will be able to meet with a JRCT panel that includes at least one person of colour
15   Support the emerging black-led foundation sector.
16   Identify and address barriers that discourage POC-led groups from applying to JRCT
17   Consider approach to data collection on ethnicity and other protected characteristics

 

Dimension Commitment Agreed actions
Operations    
18 Make JRCT’s processes more accessible Review language and accessibility of the website as part of the redesign process
19   Review reporting to ensure it is proportionate and include consideration of aligning with other funders.
20   Prioritise meeting applicants from minoritised groups at their premises, with default of zoom meetings for other groups