In 2018, the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) published the report ‘Racial Diversity in the Charity Sector’, which identified eight principles for charity organisations. These are to:

• Acknowledge that there is a problem with racial diversity in the charity sector and commit to working to change that.
• Recognise the important role leaders have in creating change by modelling positive behaviour and taking action.
• Learn about racial bias and how it impacts leadership decisions.
• Commit to setting permanent and minimum targets for diversity that reflects the participants, donors, beneficiaries, and the population of the area that my charity operates in.
• Commit to action and invest resources, where necessary, in order to improve racial diversity in my charity.
• View staff as the sum of many parts rather than a single entity and recruit to build a diverse group of talented people collectively working towards a shared vision.
• Recruit for potential, not perfection.
• Value lived experience, the ability to draw from one’s lived experience and to bring insights to an organisation that can develop its work.

Our charity has made a formal commitment to these principles, but we recognise that words are not the same as action. To that end, our Trustees agreed an action plan focusing on these principles. That plan includes:

• Identifying potential barriers to people with lived experience from joining our charity, and what action is needed to remove or lower these.
• Reviewing our recruitment policies to ensure they are relevant and fit for purpose.
• Continuing to monitor and report on our performance in relation to diversity of our service users and clients, identifying any patterns and recommending action as appropriate.
• Source appropriate training and other resources to ensure that Trustees and managers have sufficient knowledge and leadership skills. 
• Promotion and active participation in cultural/diversity events (e.g. Black History Month, Positive Images Festival, etc.).

If you would like to suggest any ways we might improve our equity, diversity and inclusion practice please do let us know.