Voluntary and community organisations, like other organisations, are bound by the general prohibition of racial discrimination enshrined in the Race Relations Act 1976 (RRA). Unlike public authorities, they do not have a legal duty to promote race equality. However, their connections to the local community, and their ability to stimulate and support community participation, mean they have a crucial role to play in helping public authorities to promote good race relations. In certain circumstances, therefore, voluntary and community sector businesses may have a contractual liability for meeting certain requirements of the race equality duty: principally when working under contract to public authorities.

Voluntary and community organisations often promote good race relations directly in the services they provide, but can also work with or provide services on behalf of public authorities.

Public authorities and the voluntary sector

Voluntary and community organisations depend on funding to carry out work that can help to promote good race relations. Public authorities will therefore need to provide resources for this purpose, and should consider the following:

• service contracts with voluntary organisations to carry out activities or specific projects to promote good race relations;
• resources in kind (such as premises) and/or start-up funding for organisations carrying out racial equality work; and
• funding for racial equality councils, or voluntary organisations doing similar work.

Top of this page

Your role

When you enter into a contract or partnership with a public authority, and the race equality duty applies to that work, the public authority must ensure that you comply with the duty. You will need to understand the legal duties public authorities have under the RRA, and the practical guidance available on how to meet those duties. More information is available in the CRE guides Public Procurement and Race Equality , Race Equality and Procurement in Local Government and Public Authorities and Parterships , which can be downloaded from the right-hand column of this page.

You may also find the guidance given here for local government useful. When working with public authorities, you should follow the guidance given here, as agreed with the particular authority.

• Guidance for local government

Promoting racial equality and good race relations should be seen as a civic responsibility and normal good practice for any organisation. The specific duties under the RRA are also intended to be normal good practice: the necessary steps for a proactive and strategic approach to promoting racial equality and good race relations in all aspects of your work. Although you do not have to meet the specific duties, following them will help you to meet the general non-discrimination provisions of the RRA, which do apply to the voluntary sector.

For these reasons, we strongly recommend that you use the guidance here and apply it, as appropriate, to your own circumstances. Large voluntary organisations with professional staff should be able to follow much of the guidance in the local government section, while smaller organisations should follow the basic guidance in this section.

Top of this page

Steps you can take to promote good race relations

• Advise and support individuals in exercising their rights and obtaining redress.
• Establish standards of behaviour and an ethos of respect, reflecting shared values and promoting racial equality among staff and volunteers, and make provisions for any cultural needs your staff and clients might have.
• Organise or support events and activities to celebrate diversity and promote understanding.
• Make public your commitment to combat and eliminate racism, and put this commitment into practice.
• Respond to incidents of racism and racial harassment in your own sphere of responsibility, including providing advice and support for victims.
• Promote cooperation, shared values and responsibilities throughout your work and in the community.
• Case study: Leading the way
• Encourage people from all racial groups to take part in and support your activities.
• Case study: Volunteering is for everyone
• Work in partnership with public authorities on all of the above points.
• Case study: Self-development through training

Top of this page

How you can help public authorities

You can help public authorities to promote good race relations by directly contributing to the work they do to meet the general duty and any specific duties under the RRA. Practical steps you can take include:

• providing advice on the authority’s vision and understanding of good race relations, and on its plans to meet the general race equality duty and (where appropriate) the specific duties;
• acting as an independent assessor, to provide a community perspective in the authority’s impact assessments and monitoring processes;
• advising on consultations, and acting as the authority’s partner to carry out this work;
• Case study: Examining identity and immigration
• advising the authority on how to make sure people from all racial groups have access to information about opportunities and services;
• contributing relevant information and experience to the authority’s training for staff on the duty to promote good race relations; and
• helping the authority to publicise its commitment to, and plans for, promoting good race relations.

Top of this page

Your organisation

It is important to represent and address the perceptions, needs and concerns of all racial groups in your work. In practice, however, ethnic minority communities have tended to be under-represented in mainstream voluntary sector organisations.

• Case study: A place for everyone

You should therefore try to involve people from all racial groups in your work, to respond to and articulate their concerns, and build alliances with ethnic minority associations where available, to promote participation.

Top of this page

Capacity building

Many people from ethnic minority communities may lack the knowledge, skills and confidence to take part in voluntary and community action. This may also be true for sections of the ethnic majority population – especially in poorer areas with a history of dependency and social exclusion, and in places with no community self-help structures.

You can help to support under-represented groups become more involved in decision-making processes and cross-community networks, by providing information about people’s rights and opportunities; developing skills and building confidence through training and mentoring; and helping people from different racial groups to work together.

• Case study: Greater involvement in local communities

Top of this page

Promoting under-represented groups

Certain sections of larger communities, such as women and young people, may be under-represented in voluntary and community action. You can help by targeting women or young people from those racial groups whose levels of participation are lower than average, and by employing experienced youth and community workers.

• Case study: Catering for all through a common language

You can also help the public by supporting partnerships between public authorities and appropriate community associations. Such partnerships need to have clear agreed aims, and should focus on practical objectives designed to promote racial equality and good race relations. They should also acknowledge the unequal resources of the partners, and involve a commitment by the authority to provide financial and other resources where necessary.

Top of this page

The role of racial equality councils and similar local organisations

The network of racial equality councils (RECs) across Britain is responsible for promoting racial equality and good race relations locally. They advise and monitor public authorities directly on matters relating to the duty to promote race equality, and should make sure that public authorities have access to all relevant practical guidance produced by the CRE.

Other voluntary and community sector organisations can also promote good race relations and work locally in partnership with public authorities. These include:

• ethnic minority associations or networks;
• inter-faith groups and networks;
• anti-racism groups and networks;
• local residents’ and tenants’ associations;
• trade unions;
• local refugee and asylum-seeker support groups;
• groups working with certain sections of the community, such as women, young people and the elderly; and
• groups promoting particular activities, such as sports clubs.

Top of this page