Each year, the Foundation Practice Rating (FPR) offers an important moment for reflection across the funding sector.
By independently assessing 100 UK foundations on their approaches to diversity, accountability, and transparency, it provides a valuable snapshot not just of what funders support, but how they do so.
This year’s results show encouraging progress. More foundations than ever achieved the highest overall grade, and there have been measurable improvements across all three domains over the past five years. Notably, every single criterion assessed has been met by at least one foundation.
For us, the FPR is not simply a benchmarking exercise, but rather a tool for learning.
While we were pleased to see our own rating improve this year, moving up to an A overall, we are mindful that a rating is not an endpoint. There is always more to understand, more to improve, and more to do to ensure our practices reflect our values.
What the FPR consistently highlights is that good funding is about more than the outcomes we seek to achieve. It is also about the experience of those we fund and the systems we create around our work. Transparency helps build trust and clarity. Accountability ensures we are responsive and open to challenge. A commitment to diversity strengthens decision-making and helps ensure funding reaches the communities who need it most. These are not static goals and require ongoing attention and a willingness to adapt.
The feedback and insights from the FPR, alongside conversations with our partners and stakeholders, help us to better understand where we are doing well and where we need to focus next. In particular, we recognise that there is more to do in strengthening our approach to accountability and diversity, and we are committed to taking further steps in these areas in the coming months.
One practical change we have recently made is the introduction of the Recite Me accessibility toolbar on our website. This is an important step in making our content more accessible to a wider range of audiences, enabling users to tailor their experience to their needs. Accessibility is a key part of transparency and inclusion, and we see this as one of many actions we can take to reduce barriers to engagement.
Most importantly, the FPR reinforces that how we fund is as important as what we fund. As a sector, continuing to improve together will be key to building funding practices that are not only effective, but also as fair and inclusive as possible.
