Refreshing Our Commitments to Open and Trusting Grant-Making

“The trust and openness that exists means learnings can be shared, and we can deliver the strongest possible outcomes”.

We are committed to open and trusting grant-making and being a flexible funder for the organisations we work with. In September 2024, we launched an anonymous survey for partners to feed back on their experiences of working with us – with the intention to use this feedback to learn and evolve our grant-making approach.

We are also proud to be one of 100+ grant makers to have signed up to the Open and Trusting Grant-making campaign in 2021, coordinated by the Institute of Voluntary Action Research (IVAR). 

Each year, we review and refresh our progress against IVAR’s eight commitments to funding charities in an open and trusting way.

Here is how we are doing:

Don’t Waste Time:

• We state what we can, and what we can’t fund, clearly on our website. We also have a transparent Expression of Interest process, which has helped to reduce the number of ineligible organisations submitting applications to us.

• We share as much information as possible with organisations that are looking to apply, including detailed funding guidelines, webinars and 1:1 calls for each grant programme. Our two-stage application process also helps to reduce the time burden on applicants.

• We work closely with applicants to reflect on misunderstandings during the application process, and seek feedback where possible to make future funding programmes clearer.

Ask Relevant Questions:

• We review our application forms before every funding programme and test them with sector partners to ensure they are clear and relevant.

• We commit to keeping our application forms under review and seeking feedback from applicants to ensure that our approach is continually improving.

• We only ask applicants for additional information at the shortlisting stage.  

“The Foundation has been a critical friend challenging us to think more strategically to grow and develop and evolve our offering.”

Accept Risk:

• We believe that one of our strengths is our ability to accept risk - funding innovative work, pilot projects, smaller charities and work that is co-produced with communities where outcomes are not always clear from the start.

• We have reviewed and improved our due diligence processes and continue to review how we explain our approach to risk, to help those looking to apply to better understand how we make our decisions.

• Our decision-making processes include funding recommendations from young people and our charity partners

95% of survey respondents strongly agreed or agreed that their organisation is trusted by the Foundation to make the right decisions.

Act With Urgency:

• We have continued to listen to and respond to the needs of the sector, providing additional support to our charity partners during times of crisis and in a timely manner. 

• We are clear about our decision-making timelines and make applicants aware of any changes.

• We try to make decisions as quickly as possible, being mindful of resourcing and the process each application has to go through.

Be Open

• We are open and transparent about our decision-making processes from the outset.

• We aim to provide useful feedback to all unsuccessful applicants, and offer detailed feedback in 1:1 calls with shortlisted applicants.

• Our grant-giving data is publicly available via our website and 360 Giving. We are beginning to make further information about our grant-making available, including success rates, diversity trends and organisational size.

• We strive to make continuous improvements in this area.

89% of survey respondents strongly agreed or agreed that their organisation can have honest conversations with Foundation staff.

Enable Flexibility

• We have strengthened our commitment to flexibility by unrestricting 25% of all new grants and continue to fund a proportion of core costs through all our existing grants.

• We have a strategic commitment to increase the proportion of unrestricted and core funding we are providing, in line with what we know charities need.

• We work collaboratively with all our partners and respond flexibly to their changing needs around project plans and timelines. 

“There is mutual understanding and flexibility when there are changes or challenges; [Berkeley Foundation] supports us to do our best.”

Communicate With Purpose

• We are a relationship-based funder, and each organisation we fund has a dedicated Partnerships Manager. 

• When we make a grant, we jointly agree the expectations from the relationship between us. 

• We aim for a culture of partnership working, which creates the conditions for trust to be built on both sides. 

“Berkeley has always felt like partners as well as funders. They have really developed relationships and got to know us well.”

Be Proportionate 

• We have reduced the reporting requirements for our smaller grants, and have reviewed our monitoring and evaluation approach to ensure that our requirements are proportionate across the board. 

• We provide consistent guidance across our partnerships, with flexibility at its heart. 

• The purpose of reporting is to encourage reflection for our partners and an opportunity for them to openly share their successes and challenges. It also supports our own learning journey to become a more impactful funder.

95% of survey respondents strongly agreed or agreed that the level of grant reporting required feels appropriate and proportionate to the grant provided.