Results Analysed 2024
Number of foundations achieving each rating – both overall, and within each domain.
As with the past two years, practice on diversity continues to be much weaker than practice on other pillars. For the first time though, a foundation scored an A on Diversity, although this is low compared to 63 foundations that scored an A in Transparency.
Overall Rating
This graph illustrates a breakdown of how the assessed foundations faired overall.
11 foundations got an A.
41 foundations got a B. 
34 foundations got a C. 
14 foundations got a D.
Diversity
This graph illustrates a breakdown of how the assessed foundations faired on the diversity pillar.
1 foundations got an A. 11 foundations got a B. 56 foundations got a C. 32 foundations got a D.
Accountability
This graph illustrates a breakdown of how the assessed foundations faired on the accountability pillar.
17 foundations got an A. 35 foundations got a B. 26 foundations got a C. 22 foundations got a D.
Transparency
This graph illustrates a breakdown of how the assessed foundations faired on the transparency pillar.
63 foundations got an A. 18 foundations got a B. 10 foundations got a C 9 foundations got a D.
Foundations which scored A’s overall
The foundations rated A overall in Year Three are very diverse. They include: eight endowed foundations – some large, some much smaller; some long-established, some with living settlors; a corporate foundation (the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales); and two community foundations (Gloucestershire Community Foundation and the Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland).
Diversity
1 10 0 0 Accountability
11 0 0 0 Transparency
11 0 0 0 Foundations which scored B’s overall
41 foundations rated B overall. Most foundations in this bracket had a C rating in Diversity and an A rating in Transparency; Accountability had a mix with 6 foundations rated A, 25 foundations rated B and 10 foundations rated C.
Diversity
0 1 40 0 Accountability
6 25 10 0 Transparency
38 3 0 0 Foundations which scored C’s overall
34 foundations had an overall C rating. Most foundations in this bracket rated C and D in Diversity and Accountability. Practice on Transparency was better with almost all foundations rating A or B.
Diversity
0 0 16 18 Accountability
0 10 15 9 Transparency
14 15 5 0 Foundations which scored D’s overall
14 foundations rated D overall. All foundations had a C or D rating all domains. All 14 rated D in Diversity; 13 had a D rating in Accountability; and 9 had a D rating in Transparency
Diversity
0 0 0 14 Accountability
0 0 1 13 Transparency
0 0 5 9 These graphs illustrate that most foundations are pretty consistent in their practice, especially for those with overall ratings of A and D. Those with overall A rating had a rating of A or B in all domains, while those with D rating had a C or D rating in all domains. In all overall rating brackets, foundations displayed better practice on transparency and worst practice on diversity.
Foundations scoring zero in each domain
Foundations scoring zero in each domain
Diversity – 11 Accountability – 0 Transparency – 0
Questions on which the foundations collectively scored highest
NEW ENTRANT
Can you navigate the foundation’s website using only the keyboard (without a mouse)?
NEW ENTRANT
Does the policy include the following: the scope of its investment powers; the charity’s investment objectives; the charity’s attitude to risk; how much is available for investment; timing of returns and the charity’s liquidity needs; the types of investment the charity wants to make; this might include ethical considerations; who can take investment decisions; how investments will be managed and performance judged; reporting requirements for investment managers (if applicable)?
Questions on which the foundations collectively scored lowest
NEW ENTRANT
Whether the foundation publishes its recruitment policy for staff.
NEW ENTRANT
Whether the foundation publishes some information of what it is doing differently as a consequence of the analysis of its effectiveness.
Examples of particularly good practice