Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

We believe in promoting equality, valuing diversity, and working inclusively. We are committed to being fair and inclusive across our whole organisation. Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy highlights the areas we have agreed we need to focus on between now and 2025, and forms a key part of our goal to continuously improve our grant-making for children and young people in crisis.

We understand why it is important to be clear about what EDI means to us all at Buttle UK. This strategy must influence every decision we take. We need to act where we can to enhance diversity in the makeup and skills of our team, ensuring that Buttle UK is somewhere that staff, trustees, volunteers and partner agencies are comfortable to bring their whole selves, and that they always feel confident to challenge the ways in which we work.

A strong EDI strategy, that is lived and breathed by our team everyday, will ensure we challenge ourselves to understand who is not accessing our support and why. We need to make sure we are an accessible organisation for all children and young people experiencing crisis and poverty and respond to their diverse needs, many of whom may already feel marginalised and unheard. We do not have the capacity to help everyone that is eligible for our support but if there is more we should do to improve diversity in our grant making once we’ve asked the right questions, that’s what we will do.

We also need to ensure the wellbeing of our staff particularly when working in demanding roles that deal with complex and difficult issues, and critically, in turbulent times.

We must act as a voice for change.

Please do read our EDI strategy HERE.

Trustee Diversity at Buttle UK

Buttle UK understands that a diverse board of trustees can improve the discussions and decision-making on the board. Our Trustee recruitment mirrors Buttle UK’s staff recruitment process, actively seeking a diverse group of candidates. Applications are anonymized (in particular considering name, age, time spent in organisations and education). An EDI monitoring form is also required for each candidate but this remains separate from any application and is used to monitor the diversity of our applications to ensure we can make improvements to our process where needed. A full recruitment pack is offered including details of the role, the diversity of our board, the dates of all board meetings and our plans for the year ahead.  A mixture of SMT, Trustees and young people interview candidates who are sought from an open application process, and the role/s are advertised across a broad range of publications, websites and social media. A skills and diversity audit is carried out in advance of recruiting any trustee to the Board. Trustees are recruited for a period of three years with an expectation that this would be renewed, so a six-year term is usual. Renewal for a further term is possible in extenuating circumstances but resignation must occur after nine years.

At present, Buttle UK has a team of 14 trustees. The following data reflects the diversity on the board as a whole.