Feedback and complaints

We welcome feedback about our work. It helps us to understand where we can do better, and where we are making a positive difference.

If you have a concern about any aspect of Joseph Rowntree Foundation's (JRF) work — this could be a decision we have made, a grant we have awarded, something we have published, or something else — we have a clear process to make sure your complaint is heard, investigated, and responded to fairly.

This process applies only to JRF. It does not cover the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT). If your concern is about JRHT, please use the JRHT complaints process.

Our commitment

When you share feedback or make a complaint, we will:

• listen openly and without defensiveness
• respond promptly and keep you updated on progress
• investigate fairly and thoroughly
• acknowledge when we have made mistakes
• put things right when we can
• learn from every complaint we receive.

How to give us feedback or make a complaint

You can contact us in one of the following ways:

• By email: jrf.complaints@jrf.org.uk
• By post: Chief Executive’s Office, JRF, The Homestead, 40 Water End, York, YO30 6WP

Please tell us:

• what your feedback or complaint is about
• any relevant details or evidence
• how you would like us to resolve the matter.

How we handle complaints

We follow a two-stage process.

Stage 1 – Initial investigation

• We record your complaint in our complaints database.
• We acknowledge receipt within 3 working days of receiving the complaint.
• We assign an investigator and let you know who this is within 5 working days of receiving the complaint.
• We aim to respond in full within 15 working days of receiving the complaint.
• If we need more time, we will explain why and give you a new response date.

Stage 2 – Appeal

If you are not satisfied with the Stage 1 response:

• Write to the investigator explaining what remains unresolved.
• A senior member of staff will review the case.
• We will acknowledge your appeal within 3 working days of receiving the appeal and tell you who will be handling it.
• We aim to respond within 15 working days of receiving the appeal or explain if we need longer.
• This is the final stage of our internal process.

If you are still unhappy

If you have completed our internal process and remain dissatisfied, you can raise your concern with one of our regulators:

• Charity Commission for England and Wales
• OSCR (Scottish Charity Regulator)
• Charity Commission for Northern Ireland

Regulators will expect you to have raised your concern with us first, unless there is suspected illegal activity (such as terrorism or abuse), in which case you should contact the police on 101.

Learning and improvement

We review every complaint to see what we can learn and how we can improve our work. An annual report is shared with our trustees summarising the complaints we have received and the lessons we have learned.

How we handle your information

We keep records of complaints and investigations for two years after the process has ended, or after any regulator’s enquiry has closed (whichever is later).

We follow the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 when handling your personal information. Read our privacy notice to find out more.