Funding practice is only as equitable as its outcomes.”
Across the funding sector, there is growing recognition that achieving more equitable outcomes requires attention not only to what and who is funded, but also to how funding relationships work in practice. Many funders are already taking steps in this direction, and IVAR’s Open and Trusting initiative has sought to support this shift by encouraging practices that reduce unnecessary burden and place the needs of funded organisations at the centre of grant-making.
At the same time, wider inequalities continue to shape how resources flow through funding systems. In the shadow of a decade of social and economic crises, increased demand for support has reinforced the importance of organisations rooted in the communities most affected.
At IVAR, we have been exploring how questions of equity connect with our Open and Trusting work. This summary report brings together findings from a desk review conducted in late 2025, drawing on research, learning reports and sector reflections to understand how by-and-for organisations are experiencing funding, what they say they need, and how some funders are responding.
It covers:
- How by-and-for organisations are currently experiencing funding
- The structural barriers shaping access to grants
- What by-and-for organisations say they need from funders
- Examples of how grant-makers are responding through more equitable practices
Without a critical examination of how those legacies shape contemporary grant-making, funding can reproduce the concentrations of wealth and power it often seeks to challenge.”
This report builds on the work of many across the equity, inclusion and diversity space. It marks the start of a conversation about how equity can be integrated into Open and Trusting practice. We would welcome the perspectives of charities and funders with sector knowledge, lived experience, or research on the funding experiences of led-by-and-for organisations to help guide the next stage of this work.
