Bijal Rama
These days, it is hard to come across a charity that isn’t interested in being more inclusive, equitable, and diverse. But to me it still doesn’t feel like reaching minority communities as supporters is a priority in the sector, perhaps because of the view that they are harder to reach and less likely to engage.
As we plan to run our next wave of Minority Ethnic Audiences Research this summer, I wanted to reflect on my community and the different ways that they give. I am a second-generation British Indian (Gujarati) woman and come from a Hindu community in Greater Manchester.
From a young age, I have always been involved with charities. Being a Girl Guide meant that I was heavily involved in giving time and money, not only to Girlguiding but also to a range of other charities/causes. But my family and community always felt more distant from charities than I was. Giving in the temple has always been a large part of our religion, but alongside that, they only gave to charities in ad-hoc ways. Their connection to formally registered charities was weaker and less a part of our culture than in other communities. In more recent years, this has begun to change. They have started to do things like use charity services, join community groups e.g., Knit and Natter, take part in fundraisers, and set up memorial donation pages. This is great news for the sector because it means that charities are becoming more integrated into our community.
But there is still a way to go. I personally find things like “colour run” fundraisers insulting and a form of cultural appropriation. They take the concept of one of our most beloved and sacred religious festivals, Holi, and monetise it. I’m also sick of the number of times that my religious dietary requirements are not recognised on forms for sector events, and I need to squeeze a note in somewhere. It’s disheartening that there is such low awareness of our culture and community.
Disintermediation and suspicion are also rife. I know people who would rather send a parcel of clothes to someone in need in India than donate it to a charity shop. When I suggest free will-writing services, I am often met with hesitancy and scepticism. Rather than donate to an overseas charity that supports children in poverty, they will contact a school overseas directly and pay for lunch for a day. Although disintermediation like this might not be considered the most impactful way to help, it does show that my community has a strong propensity to give and a willingness to engage with the local community, just not always through traditional charity structures.
It just goes to show, the view that ethnic minorities are not engaged with charities is a myth! I believe everyone has a sense of altruism with them that encourages them to give. They just aren’t engaged with our ideal ways of giving. They are donors we don’t understand, donors who don’t behave in the ways that we would like, so we dismiss them. We focus all our attention on donors who we have primed over generations into behaving in the ways that suits us. My community has the propensity to give, and they do give, but in the ways that they feel comfortable with.
The lack of diversity among donors is a problem that we have created within the sector ourselves. The widespread belief that it’s primarily older white women that give to charities regularly, and that they should be the main target for fundraising has created a void in our knowledge of other groups. If we only target lucrative groups, we are never going to open up to others. All we are doing is reinforcing a stereotype and culture of giving that we know is already weakening among younger audiences.
Just because Minority Ethnic groups are not currently engaged with UK charities in the most lucrative ways, does not mean that they won’t be in the future. At nfpResearch, we are making a conscious effort to better understand their contributions to the sector, as we feel that they need to be acknowledged, understood, and valued. Ultimately, they do give, and their willingness to give can be harnessed by the sector if time and effort are put into understanding their needs, motives, and barriers. Without a deliberate effort to reach these groups, we will never make meaningful steps in engaging them as supporters.
As mentioned earlier, we will be re-running our brand tracking research among Minority Ethnic Audiences this July. Alongside an online survey, we are also exploring qualitative research so that we can pick apart some of the key trends and deepen our understanding of their motives and barriers to charities. For more information, use the download link below.