Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Grant Applications

Questions about equality, diversity and inclusion now appear in many grant applications. Sometimes they come as a short monitoring form, sometimes as an open question about your approach, and sometimes both. They can feel awkward, especially for small groups without written policies. This guide explains why funders ask, what the forms usually cover, and how to answer in a way that is honest and useful. Funders use slightly different wording: some say EDI, some DEI. We use them to mean the same thing.

Why funders ask

Funders ask for two main reasons. The first is to understand who their money reaches. Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, for example, says its DEI form helps it track who its funding is reaching and identify inequities in its own practice. The second is that some funders have made equity part of what they fund. Esmée says it commits to funding more organisations led by communities experiencing racial inequity. Paul Hamlyn Foundation says it wants to support organisations that are actively inclusive and anti-racist.

So there are two kinds of question. Monitoring questions help the funder see its own reach. Assessment questions ask about your approach and can affect the decision. It helps to know which you are answering.

The DEI Data Standard

Several funders use a shared approach called the DEI Data Standard. According to 360Giving, which provides technical support, it was created by an independent working group of UK funders known as the DEI Data Group. The aim is to collect consistent data on whether funding reaches communities facing structural inequity, and to reduce the burden on applicants by asking questions in a similar way.

The framework has three parts:

1. A taxonomy, the set of groups used to describe communities.
2. An approach, which applies those groups to three areas: the people who benefit from your project or organisation, your organisation's mission and purpose, and your organisation's leadership.
3. Guidance, to help funders apply it consistently.

360Giving's guidance notes that the Standard is about understanding equity rather than diversity. The question it helps a funder answer is whether its money reaches communities facing structural inequity, and in particular whether it goes to organisations led by people from those communities.

City Bridge Foundation's application form includes a DEI Data Standard section. Its guidance for the Communities Building Economic Change round says that although it collects percentage-based representation data, it will not use it as a primary decision-making tool. It describes the data as context for understanding how accountable a group is to its community.

What monitoring forms usually ask

Forms vary, so always download the funder's sample first. In general they ask about:

• Your leadership: for example, whether your board or senior team includes people from particular groups, often as a rough percentage or a threshold such as "more than half".
• Who you serve: whether your work focuses on particular communities.
• Your mission: whether your organisation exists to support a particular group.

Esmée asks you to complete its DEI form straight after your Expression of Interest, about the leadership of your organisation and the communities your work supports. Paul Hamlyn Foundation publishes a downloadable diversity, equity and inclusion monitoring form alongside its sample application forms. Our guides to Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation explain where these fit in each process.

Collecting the data

You cannot answer a leadership question without knowing the answer. Ask your trustees and senior staff, with their consent, how they would describe themselves, and keep the answers securely. Many forms offer a "prefer not to say" option. Do not guess on anyone's behalf.

The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination because of nine protected characteristics: age, gender reassignment, being married or in a civil partnership, being pregnant or on maternity leave, disability, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Many monitoring forms use these as a starting point, though the DEI Data Standard uses its own taxonomy, so the groups may not match exactly.

Answering open questions about your approach

Open questions usually ask something like "How do you make sure your work is inclusive?" or "How do people with lived experience shape your work?" These are assessment questions. The best answers are specific.

Instead of "We welcome everyone", describe what you do:

• Access: "We run sessions in the evening and at weekends, offer translation in Urdu and Polish, and pay travel for anyone who asks."
• Leadership: "Four of our seven trustees have used our services. Two joined through our members' forum."
• Decision-making: "Young people on our steering group chose this year's three priorities."
• Learning: "Our monitoring showed few older men were attending, so we started a Saturday morning group with the local bowls club."

Esmée's assessment covers your approach to DEI and what it looks like in how you work, and at proposal stage it reviews your policies or how DEI is embedded in practice. City Bridge Foundation looks for meaningful community representation in leadership and says one-off consultation alone is not enough for its current round. Both point the same way: show practice, not intention.

A clear statement of need helps here too. If you can show who faces the problem and why, it is easier to explain how your work reaches them.

Do you need a written policy?

It depends on the funder and your size. Some funders ask for an equality or EDI policy, and some ask only how you work. If you have staff, you need to follow employment law on equality anyway, so a short policy is good practice. A useful policy for a small organisation:

• states what you are committed to, in plain words
• names who is responsible, such as a trustee
• says how you will check progress, for example by reviewing who uses your services each year
• has a review date

Keep it short and true. A two-page policy you follow is better than a ten-page template you do not.

Being honest about where you are

Most funders do not expect perfection. If your board does not reflect the community you serve, say so and say what you are doing about it, with dates. For example: "Our board is currently all over 60. We are recruiting two trustees through our youth group by March, and have changed meetings to evenings so they can attend."

The Equality Act also allows positive action: things you do voluntarily to help people with a protected characteristic who are at a disadvantage, have particular needs or are under-represented. Targeted outreach and support often fall here. If a funder asks why you focus on one group, explaining the need clearly is usually the best answer. For anything more complex, such as restricting who can benefit, take legal advice.

Pulling it together

Treat DEI like any other part of your application pack. Keep your monitoring data up to date, keep a short note of examples you can reuse, and update both once a year with your monitoring and reporting. Funders that focus on equity, such as those funding disability charity grants or community grants in London, often ask the most detailed questions.

When you are ready, browse funders open to you in our charity grants listings, and read our guide to how funders assess grant applications for how these answers fit the wider decision.