Review found serious safeguarding failures

A failure to respond to allegations of sexual harassment and assault has led the chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising to offer members a fullsome apology.

Katie Docherty said the membership body was committed to changing how it deals with complaints in future after an independent report found failures in how it dealt with serious complaints and allegations.

The investigation by Jedi Consultancy also found new evidence suggesting that the former chief executive of the CIoF, Peter Lewis, had “more likely than not” been told about a claim of sexual harassment or assault at the CIoF’s annual convention in 2014 and failed to act. 

The review itself has been a lengthy process for which Doherty apologised but said the body was determined to change its culture and fully accepted the review’s findings.

Docherty said: “At the very outset, I wish to convey my own apology – both for the length of time this review has taken and for our past failings. I am deeply sorry that we let people down, failing to protect our community and support those who raised concerns with us. I feel strongly that everyone attending our events and activities, and all those working with and for us, are safe and supported.

“Across the organisation, we are committed to learning from our mistakes and ensuring we have the right systems and culture in place to safeguard our community. While we have already made significant changes in our approach to safeguarding in recent years, this is an ongoing journey.

"Our priority now is to take forward the recommendations from this review and to ensure that we continue to listen, learn, and improve each step of the way.

“We are immensely grateful to those who raised their concerns and contributed to this Independent Review and for their patience in enduring such a lengthy process.”

Changes to the CIoF’s reporting and culture are multi-faceted, among them being:

• the introduction of an anonymous reporting tool, Talk to Spot where people can confidentially and anonymously record and report concerns.
• the appointment of a Safeguarding Trustee with oversight of the complaints process and safeguarding work.
• the appointment of a Head of Professional Conduct who is a registered social worker to support those who raise concerns.
• updating the Code of Conduct to uphold the highest professional standards of personal conduct in every professional situation.
• the formation of a Professional Conduct Committee with nine independent members to scrutinise policies and procedures and advise the CIOF’s Board of Trustees on best practice.
• membership of the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, which enables organisations to share relevant information about known perpetrators of sexual misconduct.

Jedi Consultancy said the CIoF was making “good progress” with the plan, with 23 action points fully implemented.

It added that since 2021 the membership body had taken “significant steps in implementing sexual harassment prevention strategies”, as well as the development of additional online training around preventing harassment, discrimination and bullying on all levels.