Executive Summary

We partnered with a UK foundation to appoint three paid external members to its Grants & Learning Committee. The goal was to bring in complementary lived and learned experience across disability justice, racial justice, and grassroots campaigning, strengthening accountability to communities and sharpening grant-making under a new five‑year strategy.

The Challenge

The foundation had launched a refreshed 2025–2030 strategy focusing on using and shaping the law to build social justice. They sought independent voices who could provide constructive challenge, centre equity and inclusion, and contribute to decisions on grants over £50,000 while guiding learning across programmes.

Our Approach

We designed a three‑strand search and attraction plan:

Targeted Outreach

Mapped and proactively approached 191 prospective profiles (Disability Justice 60; Grassroots/Campaigning 76; Racial Justice 55) to diversify the field and surface non‑traditional candidates.

Inclusive Promotion

Advertised across sector‑relevant and community‑centred channels (e.g. Guardian Jobs, CharityJob, partner networks) to reach candidates with lived experience and those outside typical trustee pools.

Open Access & Learning

Hosted an open webinar to demystify the process, share expectations, and invite questions; 88 registered and 68 attended.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Methodology

• Co‑designed criteria to value lived as well as learned experience; no expectation to disclose personal narratives.
• Structured, criterion‑based longlisting with A/B/C categorisation to reduce bias and maintain consistency.
• Accessibility commitments (flexible attendance; expenses; reasonable adjustments) communicated upfront.
• Data‑enabled tracking of outreach, engagement and application conversion rates to spot disparities early.

Outcomes

• 161 expressions of interest across channels, converting to 100 formal applications (28 Disability Justice; 41 Grassroots/Campaigning; 27 Racial Justice; 4 multi‑specialism).
• Creation of a balanced A‑list for all three specialisms (e.g. 8–9 per stream) ensuring choice and depth at shortlisting.
• Shortlisting packs prepared for a joint decision‑making session with trustees, including learning questions aligned to strategy.
• Virginia Toy, Ruqia Osman and Tasnim Hassan accepted the offers and they bring complementary strengths across disability rights, racial equity, and community organising.

Impact

The committee benefited from broader perspectives, stronger accountability to communities most affected by injustice, and clearer learning loops into strategy delivery. Members now contribute to grant decisions, advise on strategic direction, and support recruitment and programme design as needed.