INCREASING THE FLOW OF CAPITAL FOR GOOD - INVESTING AND GIVING
Widening participation is an established principle of the UK today – but not, it seems, of philanthropy. In a bid to discover how diverse UK philanthropy is and whether it fairly reflects the cultural make-up of our nations we talked to a number of mainstream, diaspora, and Black and minority ethnic (BME) organisations and individuals involved in giving. We discovered that far from actively addressing a need to ensure BME communities are represented in philanthropy and ethnic voices are heard as givers and beneficiaries – ‘colour blindness’ is an easier approach for most.
A quiet revolution is gathering pace across the British philanthropy landscape. Women and men from Black and minority ethnic communities (BME) are making strides to connect to causes and exercise their status in society; to give effectively and have a voice; to be decision-makers in a sector that historically has been dominated by White, middle-aged men.
However, the BME philanthropists who are prepared to lift their heads above the parapet are being met by a mainstream that does little to acknowledge the need for more diversity, and even less to encourage giving within BME communities, or explore the different approaches to giving that exist within these communities, as well as their cultural needs.
Where we did find engagement, the activities and outcomes are heartening. The Funding Network (TFN), in partnership with Coutts and The British Asian Trust (BAT), hosted their first event in March this year to bring together people interested in supporting local organisations that are transforming lives and communities across South Asia. “This enjoyable and inclusive event attracted many donors of Asian as well as British origin and raised over £60,000 for five great charities in India and Pakistan,” explained Sonal Shenai, TFN’s Executive Director. “We were delighted to see such generosity from so many people, who provided wonderful role models for givers of all backgrounds.”
Approximately 10% of TFN’s members are from BME backgrounds; the BME population in Britain is around one in six according to research1. However, there are few statistics to compare this level of philanthropic participation with the rest of the UK, as little to no definitive research into the giving trends of British BME communities and individuals has been conducted.
In researching this feature Philanthropy UK met with, what appears to be either a lack of interest or cautiousness by mainstream philanthropy advisory organisations and political representatives on the issue of diversity, preferring a less difficult ‘colour blind’ stance.
Race could be considered to still be a challenging and sensitive issue, but as few of these organisations felt able to contribute we cannot clarify their position, or interest. The Government commented on giving in general – a Cabinet Office spokesperson told Philanthropy UK: “We want to make it easier and more compelling for everyone to give to good causes if they wish to. This includes working with business and charities to develop new models that will inspire more people to give to charity.”
So, why is there apparently no mainstream interest in researching how to harness the growing wealth of BME communities to philanthropic end?
The non-White British population has grown from 6.6m in 2001 to 9.1m in 2009, while the White British population has stayed the same since 20011. We can only assume that individual and collective giving within BME communities has also grown. This is mirrored in the experiences of the BME philanthropists, advisors and champions we interviewed for this feature. BME representatives we spoke to are galvanising their shared insights and extensive experience and skills to develop this, such as the setting up of the Centre for Black Philanthropy by Communities Inc.
“One of the major challenges, as identified by the Diversity and Philanthropy Action Group for the recent Government Giving Summit (May 2012), is a lack of opportunity to engage with potential philanthropists,” said Shamsher Chohan of Communities Inc who brought the group together. “It was felt that BME organisations needed greater support to make their case but that BME philanthropists also needed to engage more in the discussions to address the funding and support needs of the sector.”
Voice4Change England, whose mission is to ensure public policy meets the needs of BME communities by valuing and supporting them to challenge inequality and strengthen civil society, points to the policy landscape as a reason for the lack of diversity in philanthropy.
Director Vandna Gohil, says: “The current policy landscape is shaped by ideas that view those who seek to advance equality issues with suspicion, and is consumed by 'particularism', leading to greater social fragmentation such as that seen recently in Oldham and Bradford.” She says it has led to the underplaying of the value of multiculturalism and ‘super-diversity’.
Measuring BME philanthropy
The lack of research and mainstream engagement in Britain is in striking contrast to that in the US. As Melissa A. Berman outlines in her quarterly ‘Letter from America’: “Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors recently completed the first comprehensive inventory of these types of giving vehicles (these range in size, scope and structure; often called Identity-Based Funds or Population-Focused Funds or Affinity Funds), showing that the strength of philanthropy in these communities far exceeded all expectations” with “more than 400 culturally-specific funds or giving vehicles where donors of colour both raise and grant dollars directly from and for their own populations.”
The recent report by the Kellogg Foundation – Cultures of Giving: Energizing and Expanding Philanthropy By and For Communities of Color – also provides a comprehensive overview of how philanthropy is evolving in the US, specifically the growth in ethnic minority philanthropy. As Berman cites, the Kellogg Foundation report discovered “philanthropy is emerging as a critical expression of a community’s own self-determination”, and, “(US foundations and researchers) are finally realising that solutions, as well as the resources to implement them, reside within the communities themselves.”
The most recent research in the UK that captures diaspora giving was by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), in 2006 and re-issued in 2012, which commissioned qualitative research into understanding the charitable giving amongst the UK Indian Diaspora – British Indian Donors. This reflects the insights of many of the respondents in this feature – that giving is integral within BME communities, both through giving via churches, temples, personal networks and of personal time. However, a distinctive lack of awareness of other approaches to philanthropy also exists – “most middle-income respondents were not aware of any specific services which could be used to make donations, maximise their efficiency or make them tax effective. They were more likely to donate directly to an organisation, often in cash,” says the report.
Bina Rani, who was commissioned by CAF to co-ordinate its 2006 research, is the Chief Executive of iPartner India, an organisation dedicated to encouraging sustainable giving towards Indian development issues. iPartner India was founded following on from the report: “The research showed that high-net-worth Indians were already giving but were not confident in talking about it, as they felt it was not culturally acceptable to do so. They also didn’t know how to access vehicles to make their giving more effective. I wanted to increase donor agency and engagement and build sustainable mechanisms for giving, alongside promoting trust and transparency, and celebrating philanthropic successes,” explains Rani. “We definitely need more research into giving patterns, and philanthropy role models promoted in the media. British Asians may only make up 2% of the population but are significant wealth creators; the community holds vast philanthropic potential.”
Capitalising on traditional Asian approaches to giving, iPartner India hosts intimate philanthropy events with traditional warmth, and well-known, respected Indians as hosts and speakers. The events serve to educate donors on sustainable giving whilst hearing directly from inspirational grass roots leaders and encouraging support for a range of outstanding projects. The outcomes of this approach to giving have great impact; in a recent event, which focused upon child trafficking, the organisation raised an impressive £250,000.
Re-defining philanthropy
What has also become evident in researching this feature is the need to reassess the definition of ‘philanthropy’. Philanthropy UK identifies philanthropy as ‘ the giving of resources in an engaged and strategic way for maximum impact and in a tax efficient manner’. BME giving trends may widen this even further, as all diaspora interviewees for this feature highlighted that there has always been a strong element of giving in their communities, but often this is not seen as philanthropy – “Traditionally and culturally, Black and Asian people have given time and money through their church, temple, communities, personal networks, and from personal experience. They may not even have considered this as philanthropy,” said Kavita Oberoi, Managing Director, Oberoi Consulting, philanthropist and Chair of the Diversity and Action Group at the Government’s Giving Summit.
Oberoi’s view is confirmed by Manoj Badale, Chairman of BAT, who told Philanthropy UK that a survey of 75 Asian business people conducted by BAT in 2007 showed a tendency within the UK’s South Asian community to give to causes through their places of worship, or through religious based organisations; with approximately 50% of giving donated to ‘local’ (typically place of origin) related causes. “Currently the giving is too fragmented, without sufficient focus on the sustainability or measurability of the impact,” he said.
“What has changed is the disposable income available for philanthropy, and there has been a generational shift amongst the donor decision-making base. We see more of the next generation taking the lead, and making decisions about the way the family gives and the causes they give to.”
Organisations such as iPartner and BAT have captured the zeitgeist amongst the Asian diaspora who want to give effectively. Both actively engage with individual and corporate donors to enhance the effectiveness of their philanthropy, but acknowledge the need to promote giving to their communities in more innovative and engaging ways.
“Changing the mind-set that philanthropists are in some way separate from those in need is a challenge. We should be giving, and in order to create the idea of being a part of something much bigger, we should be challenging and discussing these issues with each generation at a much younger age,” says Badale.
As highlighted by the Kellogg Foundation report, self-determination, and drawing upon resources within their communities, is a way forward. BAT is currently developing a schools’ pack for all children that will be rolled out across the UK in the coming year. It will give 9 to 11-year-olds the opportunity to find out what poverty is, what it means to be in poverty and the ways in which they can help.
This trend towards self-determination is also evident within the Muslim community. “I do not have figures, but a significant amount is given to charity every year. The giving is not well-publicised and most giving is done quietly or discreetly without the want of publicity,” explained Dr Yunus Sola of the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists (WCMP) and Director of the Academy of Philanthropy (AoP). “The key issue is that it is not always well-structured, accountable or planned for long-term impact or perceived as an investment for development and growth. It also suffers from negative media and lacks confidence.
“Muslim communities need to see examples and understand the impact of great Muslim giving, and see what accountable giving looks like and learn how it’s done. The Muslim community needs to work with the media to show where good giving has impact, and ensure that extreme or fanatical organisations are not funded by mainstream Muslim giving.”
WCMP has established the AoP to address these issues and strengthen Muslim philanthropy to all communities.
Overcoming barriers
Harnessing the next generation of potential philanthropists in BME communities is a key aspiration for all of our interviewees, while a lack of co-ordination of BME philanthropy is considered a definitive challenge. Resistance to their self-determination by the mainstream is also considered a barrier by some respondents. Several stated they suspect stereotyping and a reluctance to trust BME organisations to organise and engage effectively with donors.
Research conducted by the Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations (CEMVO) in 2002 (the most recent) highlighted that of the top 20 trusts and foundations – at the time – only 2% of grants went to BME organisations. This figure was challenged as being too low, as a result of a methodology that failed to capture the complexity of categorising such giving. Many BME communities had received funding under other headings such as ‘elderly groups’ for example; and the research did not capture grants made to mixed communities.
This highlights two important points: that new research is required and that it needs to be designed to capture the complex landscape of grant-making so that BME community funding is not missed.
It would prove or dispel the general view among our interviewees that there is reluctance from both the mainstream and within BME communities to give to these causes.
“What emerged from the Diversity and Action Group at the Government’s Giving Summit, was the lack of trust and the prejudice towards BME charities’ needs, which exists both within BME communities and for mainstream funders,” explained its Chair Kavita Oberoi. “There are barriers, and a sense of isolation, and we need to help break these down – how do BME organisations make ‘the ask’, and how do we get Black and Asian donors more involved?”
Whilst iPartner and BAT are engaging with the Asian diaspora, Communities Inc is self-funding a piece of research that will identify if the last 10 years have seen any changes in how money flows towards BME causes. “We see the future of the BME sector and the many small frontline groups that provide vital services as bleak and unforgiving and desperately need to consider what else we can do,” says Michael Henry Co-Director of Communities Inc. “We need more informed philanthropy from BME communities, directed at where it is needed most. We need to reach out to those BME communities that are part of a growing middle class, as well as those that have done well in business. The Centre for Black Philanthropy will be a resource with expertise in BME community organisations that will work with those who want to give, but need some support.”
Providing a long-standing commitment to racial justice, The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) has, since 1993, funded the West Yorkshire Racial Justice Programme (WYRJP), which supports projects working for race equality, social justice and civil liberties in West Yorkshire. The Trust believes that the perspective of people from BME communities should be integral to policy development, but sees that gaps are widening.
“BME communities see themselves being further marginalised and this is reflected in the Government’s agenda to push ‘race’ off the agenda,” Maureen Grant, WYRJP Development Officer told Philanthropy UK. “Not wishing to diminish the level of giving that already takes place from individuals within BME communities; however, the prerequisite for more systematic mainstream philanthropy from BME communities comes from a position of strength and a feeling of belonging.”
The WYRJP aims to remove barriers to racial justice and strengthen communities marginalised because of ‘race’. In the autumn, a new approach to the WYRJP will be adopted. In addition to grant-making, JRCT will work with grantees to improve capacity and effectiveness; create and share learning opportunities; build solidarity; and strengthen networking opportunities with other projects at local, national or European levels.
What will the future look like?
So the bar is being raised for giving to and by BME communities – heads are popping above the parapet – BME philanthropy is on the radar but still on the margins. Giving effectively and constructively, despite colour or creed, is a strong imperative. The BME philanthropic organisations and individuals featured here have much energy, knowledge and insights to share, and are getting results. They possess a wealth of experience to be embraced, and engaged with, by all facets of our multi-cultural society.
Self-determinism is an important ambition for BME communities – but in finding their voice they risk isolation. Without the understanding, support and collaboration of mainstream funders and recognition of the distinct issues that face both BME communities and funders, a cohesive society remains out of reach; ‘colour blindness’ in philanthropy may be safe but it could translate as ‘short-sightedness’, with everyone suffering as a result.
Perhaps the last words for this feature, and hopefully, words for the future – to inspire everyone to champion more diversity in philanthropy – should go to philanthropist Ram Gidoomal, who for 25 years has worked to address inequality in the UK: “Philanthropy in the UK cannot continue as a monoculture; it must become more pluralist. Only then can credible and acceptable solutions be found. If we don’t address these issues then society will be the loser.”
Organisations and reports featured in article
Centre for Black Philanthropy by Communities Inc
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)
World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists (WCMP)
Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations
West Yorkshire Racial Justice Programme
British Indian Donors, CAF, 2010
Education to Protect from Human Trafficking in Kolkata, iPartner India
