Every year, funders invest billions to drive positive social change. Yet, when harm occurs — whether through neglect, misconduct, or inadequate safeguards, the impact of that investment is undermined.
Our latest research, Safeguarding in Philanthropy: Safer Grant-Making for Greater Impact, explores how funders can create safer, more equitable practices that protect people and communities while strengthening organisations and maximising impact.
The research is part of a multi stage project leading to the co-creation of evidence based safeguarding practice standards for funders.
Summary Report
Full Report
About the Study
In 2025, building on earlier research that identified inconsistent, unrealistic safeguarding expectations and tick-box due diligence, FSC commissioned Accountable Now to conduct the most comprehensive research to date to understand which funder approaches actually support safer organisations. The study looks across the whole grant-making cycle – from due diligence to incident response – to identify what works, what doesn’t, and what this means in practice for funders and grantee partners.
Key Findings
Across all stages of the grant-making cycle, three interconnected insights emerged as critical to safer grant-making.
Clarity & Alignment
Clear, shared definitions and aligned expectations reduce confusion and administrative burden for grantee partners.
Context & Flexibility
Safeguarding is not one-size-fits-all: effective approaches consider context, support grantee ownership and avoid rigid, generic rules.
Trusting Relationships
Open, trust-based relationships between funders and grantees are central to meaningful safeguarding practices and genuine learning when things go wrong.
Did you miss our webinar on Safeguarding in Philanthropy?
Watch the recording to explore key findings from our new research and hear insights from Accountable Now and leading funders, hosted by Steina Bjorgvinsdottir, FSC Executive Director.
What happens next?
Research alone is not enough and the findings will drive a co-creation process to develop safeguarding practice standards for funders – a critical step toward aligning funder practice and maximising efforts to keep people and communities safe.
During 2026 there will be a series of co-creation workshops and consultations with stakeholders leading to the development of draft standards and an assessment framework.
This will be followed by a period of consultation and refinements with a view to launching the final standards and framework in late 2026.
Find out how to become a member of the Funder Safeguarding Collaborative network
Membership is open to private, corporate, public, and community foundations and charitable trusts, who have grant-making as a core component of their mission.
