• Diversity means acknowledging the full spectrum of individuals’ experiences, cultures and identities that shape our society and recognising that these can overlap. Our funding supports a wide variety of organisations and communities, led by and supporting people with different backgrounds, cultures, experiences, perspectives, characteristics and identities. We aim to reach and provide relief to those who are most disadvantaged and we welcome applications from organisations where those with lived experience shape the work. 

   

• Equity means removing barriers to accessing our charitable resources fairly. We know that some organisations and communities need additional support to access funding opportunities, and, within the guidelines and priorities of our funding programmes, we strive to ensure fair access and equal opportunity for eligible organisations that apply.

   

• Inclusion means treating every organisation we fund on the same equitable basis and making our grant programme accessible to all. We dedicate time to learn about and address the context, challenges and priorities of organisations and beneficiaries, and ensure our funding practices and processes are fully accessible and supportive. Our relationships are built on trust and we strive to create an environment that is open, transparent and supportive to all the organisations we engage. 

We apply a trust-based, relationship-driven and inclusive approach across our four funding programmes: Church & Communities, Older People & Housing, Young People & Education and Heritage & Arts.

Our Philanthropy Framework (2018-2028) was established following initial research on areas of need and levels of deprivation, alongside consultation with the Mercers’ Company’s members on particular issues that they wanted to see addressed. We continue to monitor need and deprivation, both through publicly available data and our grantee and learning partner feedback, to implement a culture of continuous review and improvement in our funding programmes.

Relational Funder: We pride ourselves on being a relational funder. We are keen to have strong relationships with grantees and encourage open and transparent discussions if changes are needed during the course of a grant. We engage with communities and organisations to understand what works best for them – not assume we know best.

Collaborative Working in the Funding Sector: We work collaboratively with other funders and partners to broaden reach and impact. For example, through organisations like Norfolk Community Foundation, Cripplegate Foundation/Islington Giving and London Funders’ Propel, we have received access to applications for funding and supported community programmes that we might not have encountered.

Living Wage: We are a living wage funder and employer, paying employees and supporting grantees to pay the living wage. 

Inclusive Funder: Our three largest funding programmes (Church & Communities, Older People & Housing and Young People & Education) have open application processes. Given the current high demand for funding, we prioritise organisations working within our funding priorities. We are committed to being clear and transparent about these criteria, ensuring that all applicants have fair access to information about how their work fits with our programmes.

Through our Church & Communities and Older People & Housing programmes, we encourage applications from organisations that have a board, staff and volunteers that reflect the people they work with and the communities that they work in. We also support participatory grantmaking initiatives to reach and support smaller, grassroots organisations that serve and represent their communities.  

Evaluation: We self-evaluate our own effectiveness as a funder and hold ourselves accountable when we receive constructive feedback. This includes taking part in the Foundation Practice Rating for four consecutive years to better understand and develop our practices in an accountable and transparent way. 

In 2024/25, we conducted our first Grantee and Applicant Perception Survey led by nfpResearch, an independent research organisation for the not-for-profit sector. The insights reports are published on our website alongside our actions in response to the findings.

We work with leading evaluators, research and learning partners and facilitate collaborative learning with our grantees, which increases our understanding of the sectors we fund and shapes future grantmaking. On our website we publish learning partner reports so organisations within the sector can access and utilise the findings.

As a funder, we are committed to continuously improving data collection and transparency. We only request and collect data that will be utilised as part of our monitoring and evaluation process, reflecting on the types of organisations we support to identify whether there are communities we should be reaching through our Philanthropy Framework. 

Stronger Foundations DEI Pillars: We assess our practices against ACF’s Stronger Foundations DEI Pillars reflecting on improvements made and setting actions for future developments. As a funder, we are committed to continuous improvement and recognise listening to experts in their field supports our ongoing funding approach. 

DEI Data Standard: We utilise the DEI Data Standard in our application forms to understand the mission and leadership of organisations that apply to us and receive funding. When inviting organisations to submit full applications for funding, we engage in open conversations about their target beneficiaries and how the leadership of the organisation reflects those they aim to support. 

Open and Trusting Grantmaking: We have committed to open and trusting grantmaking, a campaign coordinated by the Institute for Voluntary Action Research, and made specific commitments. By focusing on how we make grants matter, who we reach, how we review applications, the kind of funding we give and the relationships we build – we aim to create more equitable funding that enables communities to flourish and thrive.

360Giving: We are transparent about the organisations we fund, sharing our grants data since 2018 on 360Giving and listing grantees in our Annual Review.  

As we approach the next phase of our Philanthropy Framework (2028 onwards), we are committed to keeping good diversity, equity and inclusion practice at the core of our funding approach by ensuring we will:

• Widen our reach to engage organisations not currently in our network;
• Refine our application processes to ensure applicants are able to demonstrate how they embed good DEI practices in their organisation;
• Use DEI insights and beneficiary voices to inform our funding priorities and support our identification of funding gaps and areas of need;
• Improveaccessibility on our website and explore alternative formats for reporting;
• Continue to audit and improve transparency of our funding approach and keep up to date in our language and terminology;
• Conduct a Grantee and Applicant Perception Survey every five years to continue learning from the people we aim to support and shape our funding approach around the findings.