This report is an important reflection of the current landscape for racially minoritised individuals and organisations working within the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector across Yorkshire and the Humber.
Read the full report: Impact Hub State of the Sector 2025
Published by Impact Hub Yorkshire as part of The Pheonix Way programme.
Foreward
By Kamran Rashid, Founder and CEO of Impact Hub Yorkshire:
Understanding is the first step toward change. With this report, we at Impact Hub Yorkshire offer a starting point, an honest reflection of the current landscape for racially minoritised individuals and organisations working within the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector across Yorkshire and the Humber.
This work, delivered as part of The Phoenix Way programme, does not seek to blame or criticise. Instead, it asks: Who is doing what? Where are the strengths? Where are the gaps? And most importantly: How can we collectively do better? Byasking these questions, we aim to inform a path forward, one based on collaboration, shared learning, and long-term commitment.
What we have uncovered so far is a sector full of passion, with public sector bodies willing to co-create long-term solutions. resilience, and lived expertise, yet one that continues to face significant barriers to access, support, and the resources required to become sustainable. The absence of comprehensive data speaks volumes, too little has been documented, tracked, or prioritised when it comes to the experiences and needs of racially minoritised communities in this space. This lack of data is not just a technical gap, it represents missed opportunities, overlooked leadership, and a systemic need for change.
But where there are gaps, there is also potential. Therefore, this report is both a reflection and a call to action. To ensure fairer outcomes for the communities we serve, we must work together. That means working with funders who are ready to listen and adapt, with infrastructure organisations who can offer support rooted in equity, and with public sector bodies willing to co-create long-term solutions.
We welcome everyone, foundations, trusts, local authorities, combined authorities, and others, to join us in building an inclusive and thriving VCSE sector across the region. The Phoenix Way offers us all a chance to contribute to something better, a system where lived experience is valued as expertise, and where no community is left behind. Let this report be a beginning, not an end. We are ready to work with you. Kamran Rashid Founder and CEO – Impact Hub Yorkshire
Recommendations and calls to action
- Better collection and use of data to support greater transparency and evidence-based strategic planning and investment decisions, as well as more effective collaboration with local black racially minoritised organisations.
- Development needs of funders and VCSE infrastructure organisations
- Practical actions to overcome common barriers in the grant funding processes for black and racially minoritised community organisations.
Each of the above recommendations has further detail within the report.
These recommendation set out what the Phoenix Way wants to do next in collaboration with our many partners and stakeholders to ensure communities that need it most will get the support they need.
If you want to get involved in these next steps, or work with us, please do get in touch: https://yorkshire.impacthub.net/enquire/
