The Independent Review into the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s handling of responses to historical allegations of sexual harassment/assault that was carried out by an independent organisation, JEDI Consultancy, has now concluded.
The CIOF fully accepts the findings and recommendations of JEDI Consultancy’s Review.
This Review has been a long time coming, and we want to apologise to everyone who has been impacted by the length of time it has taken for this report to be finalised. We are truly sorry for the ongoing distress and hurt this has caused.
We wholly acknowledge that the CIOF failed to protect those who suffered sexual harassment/assault, and those who raised concerns. We did not have enough safeguards in place to prevent it from happening in the first place, our complaints system was inadequate, and we failed in not believing and supporting those who came to us. We understand how deeply distressing this has been for all those involved.
For all of this we are deeply sorry.
This has been an extensive and difficult process, but it was vital that it was done thoroughly to ensure that the CIOF learns from our mistakes. As an organisation we did not do enough to prevent a culture of sexual harassment in the fundraising profession, and we did not put the necessary safeguarding and governance policies and procedures in place to fully protect and support people. We did not prioritise, and we did not move fast enough in tackling fundamental cultural and organisational failings.
Whilst we cannot change what has happened in the past, we can change what happens now, and in the future - and we want our community, members, staff and volunteers to know that we are doing all we can to make sure that this does not happen again. To those who were affected by this; we want you to know that your actions in coming forward have driven our work to ensuring a better and safer future for the fundraising community.
When we started working together as CEO and Chair in 2021, we vowed to understand, listen and learn from mistakes - and to implement change to make sure the CIOF has the right culture, systems and processes in place for many years to come.
The Board of Trustees and leadership team at the CIOF are part of this ongoing change, and they are committed to making the organisation and its events a safe place for everyone in our community. We have listened very carefully to the experiences of those involved in this Independent Review and we are determined that it won’t be repeated.
In recent years we have transformed our safeguarding processes, expertise and culture - but we know we must go further. Harassment and discrimination of any kind is unacceptable, and we are committed to continuing to learn and improve. Safeguarding is a priority for the organisation and our approach is based on three key principles:
- Do no harm first. The CIOF and the fundraising profession has to be a place where everyone is safe.
- Believe all those who come forward. Make it safe, simple and supportive if people disclose. Make that process a fair and balanced one.
- Listen, learn and work to share progress openly, honestly and transparently. We know that this is vital to rebuild trust and also to create systemic change.
We recognise that we won’t always get everything right, but we - as an organisation, our Board of Trustees, and leadership - are dedicated to continuing to develop our culture and systems to ensure the safety of all those in our community.
We cannot apologise enough for the harm and distress that has been caused. We know this is not the end of the journey - in many ways it is the beginning of another. As an organisation, we must lead by example. With the guidance of our Professional Conduct Committee, we will keep learning and working towards continuous improvement in safeguarding.
Finally, we would like to thank JEDI Consultancy for their dedicated work in establishing what went wrong, and their recommendations for our future work.
Katie Docherty – Chief Executive Officer, CIOF
Nadine Campbell – Chair, CIOF