In 2024, when calls for independence and reparations from former Commonwealth nations are growing louder, Band Aid 40 feels profoundly oblivious. The song, stuck in a framework of Western saviourism, actively undermines the mainstream discourse around shifting power, decolonisation, addressing racism and structural change. It fails to recognise that today’s global movements demand equity, not pity; collaboration, not charity ..read more

Written and edited by the Charity So White team. Survey design and analysis by Humma Andleeb (@HummaAndleeb) and Charity So White. The charity sector continues to fail Palestine and the people of Gaza. In the face of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and its flouting of international law, large swathes of the charity sector remain silent. Instead of standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine and condemning Israel's genocidal action, charity leaders have instead chosen to go after those staff that dare to speak out and exercise their moral rights.  Earlier this year, we c ..read more

How white supremacy and burnout led us to mostly disappear for over a year, and what we are doing to come back stronger. Table of contents A campaign fuelled by personal trauma From movement building to activist burnout White supremacy culture exists in anti-racist activist spaces A fragmented community A non-exhaustive list of our many mistakes So, what comes next for #CharitySoWhite? A campaign fuelled by personal trauma After a year and a half of internal reflection, we are a team of people who have been fractured, humbled, and rebuilt with stronger bonds throughout this proce ..read more

This is a guest blog by Kristiana Wrixon - @KristianaWrixon I am not aware of any statistics to confirm this, but in my experience policy departments in ‘mainstream’ charities are one of the whitest, middle-class, non-disabled, heteronormative parts of the voluntary sector workforce. I think this is in large part because in recruitment and promotion a high value is placed on candidates who have inside knowledge and/or contacts with national or local government. This means that the charity sector is hiring a significant number of people to policy and lobbying job roles using the same experience ..read more

In early April we released an open letter on relief packages for the charity sector, now signed by over 180 organisations and individuals calling to: Ensure that there are at least two individuals on steering or oversight groups for funding set up who have a significant track record of championing race equality in funding.  Ensure 20% of funding is ring fenced for BAME VCS Groups, managed directly by BAME Infrastructure organisations. We made this call due the nature of the crisis and urgency needed to get funding to BAME-led  Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) groups which ..read more

Wrapping up our covid-19 live position paper - 1st June 2020 We know that covid-19 has disproportionately impacted BAME communities. The death risk for people from Bangladeshi ethnicity is twice as high, while people of other Asian, black and Caribbean ethnicity are between 10 per cent and 50 per cent more likely to die from the virus.. Over a period of 8 weeks we have collected and collated evidence, data, and case studies to showcase all the ways that the impacts of this pandemic were disproportionately impacting BAME communities. But it has become increasingly clear that the reason for lack ..read more

A Statement from #CharitySoWhite  We write this statement under the shadow of ongoing state violence perpetrated against the black community in the US. This is a global moment and we stand in solidarity with all those fighting for racial justice. The rush by philanthropists, charities, and brands across the UK to assert their own credentials has resulted in mixed emotions for many of us. If such outrage and expressions of support are reserved solely for deaths in the US, we diminish the pain felt by black communities over the senseless deaths we have seen here in the UK.  At the emer ..read more

In line with #CharitySoWhite’s commitment and policy on transparency and accountability, below is a briefing from the meetings and engagements with infrastructure and funding organisations regarding our open letter which urges funders involved in emergency response funding to take the following action: Ensure that there are at least two individuals on steering or oversight groups for funding set up who have a significant track record of championing race equality in funding.  Ensure 20% of funding is ring-fenced for BAME VCS Groups, managed directly by BAME Infrastructure organisation ..read more

Runnymede invited CharitySoWhite to lead a future-thinking workshop at their inaugural We Move - A Race Equality & Migrants Rights Summit. We were part of 50 sessions focussed on how society can come together to harness opportunities for change and materially improve the lives and conditions of Global South communities in Britain.  As whiteness is a construct, we want to make clear that when we speak of minoritised ethnicities/Global South communities, we include those who are not privileged by the ideology of whiteness. This includes Gypsy, Roma & Traveller communities, Jewish fo ..read more

CSW’s response to the IDC report on Racism in the Aid Sector. Written by Lena Bheeroo and Jon Cornejo It’s finally happened. An official parliamentary report has acknowledged and recognised that the colonial legacy of the UK continues to shape the way the international development sector operates. But is this a radical recognition of how racism operates at the heart of the British state? Or is it just another performative black square moment? Acknowledgement of colonial legacy is good Two years after the murder of George Floyd and published a year on from the Government’s Race and Ethnic Dispa ..read more