The chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising said yesterday that she was “deeply sorry for the past failures of the organisation” and that a commitment to change was shared at all levels of the membership body, after a report found it had failed to respond to allegations of sexual harassment and assault. 

The independent review by Jedi Consultancy, which was announced in August 2021 and published yesterday, concluded it was “more likely than not that CIoF did know that sexual harassment/assault was an issue at CIoF (as well as in the wider sector) at material times” and had failed in its responses. 

It also said that new evidence led it to conclude 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. 

Katie Docherty yesterday apologised for the length of time it took to complete the review, saying: “We understand that has continued to cause additional pain to those who had raised complaints and concerns in the past.” 

Docherty told Third Sector the length of the review process was due to the CIoF giving Jedi “the widest scope” of content to examine and people to interview. 

She said that during the review the consultancy decided it needed to speak to a wider range of people, with the CIoF inviting more than 80 people who had been employees, volunteers or trustees during the relevant time period to come forward.

About half of them agreed to speak with the consultancy, according to Docherty. 

“This needed to happen because we needed to know that we had been thorough and rigorous, and to ensure that everything had been fully looked at,” she said. 

The consultancy also examined new evidence, including an email that had not been disclosed by CIoF to previous investigations carried out by the HR consultancy Tell Jane. 

The email showed that the former leader of the CIoF, Peter Lewis, had referred to a third party who had been previously named as a perpetrator of sexual misconduct as having been “inappropriate” at the CIoF’s 2014 convention. 

The charity’s chair, Nadine Campbell, yesterday apologised for the failure of the CIoF to provide the email in 2021, and said the body had “improved its systems to ensure this would not happen again.” 

Asked how the oversight had happened, Docherty said: “Very simply the processes involved for undertaking that kind of search just were not good enough.

"They have been overhauled and we have appointed an external provider with expertise at undertaking that kind of work. So that is a technical process, but also now has an independent check and balance in place.”  

On strengthening its governance processes more broadly, Docherty said the CIoF had appointed a safeguarding and whistleblowing trustee and appointed a professional conduct committee to support the board to shape and guide safeguarding developments. 

She said the membership body also appointed the National Council for Voluntary Organisations to undertake a governance audit of how it performed against the government code. 

“This has now concluded and given us a ‘competent’ rating, as well as some recommendations for future development that we will take forward with our new chair, Harpreet Kondel,” Docherty said. 

She confirmed that the CIoF had raised a serious incident report with the Charity Commission in 2021 that has now closed. Docherty said the organisation had continued to provide the regulator with regular updates on its progress and the approach it has taken, and it was satisfied with the approach of the board. 

Asked whether the CIoF had any plans to provide additional support or compensation to the victims of the sexual harassment investigation in recognition of the prolonged distress the investigation had caused, Docherty said: “​​I can’t speak about individuals or any private discussions we have had with people. 

“But part of our change in culture and change in processes is all about providing support to people if they raise concerns or complaints. Making sure those are simple, fair and supportive and balanced. We would apply that to anyone who came forward with a complaint or concern.” 

Asked how the CIoF would rebuild trust and improve communication processes with its members and wider fundraising audience, having faced widespread criticism over its handling of sexual misconduct claims throughout 2021, Docherty said safeguarding had been “at the heart” of conversations in recent years. 

“Members have been able to hear updates of where we got to so far and ask us any questions they want to,” she said. 

“Safeguarding was the opening plenary at our 2024 Convention, where we had the founder of Talk to Spot, our new anonymous reporting tool, on the stage, and I also sat on a panel talking about dismantling patriarchy in fundraising. 

“It’s those sort of things we will continue to do but they need the greatest light that can be shone on them.”

Docherty said the CIoF had an opportunity to “bring people together to have those difficult conversations, so we can all make change together.” 

She said: “I firstly want to reiterate how deeply sorry we are for the past failures of the organisation, the pain it will have caused to women who raised concerns and complaints, and the additional pain caused by the time this investigation took. 

“Secondly I want to reassure them that all of this has led to significant change in the organisation, significant change in our culture and to our processes, and the support that we provide. 

“That commitment to change is shared by our staff team, our volunteer team and our board of trustees. We are resolute in continuing that change to ensure fundraisers are safe.”