A fundraising consultant has quit after being named in an article in the national media about allegations of sexual harassment at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF).
Bill Giles has resigned from his role as associate fundraising consultant at consultancy Action Planning, after the article in The Times about the sexual harassment scandal at the CIoF last year.
“We were concerned to read the detailed allegations against one of our Associate Consultants in The Times article of Saturday 15th October about the Chartered Institute of Fundraising,” said Action Planning in a statement.
It adds: “Action Planning in no way condones any form of harassment. We have been trusted by the not-for-profit sector for more than thirty years, seek to uphold the highest standards of ethics on behalf of our clients and require our consultants to conduct themselves accordingly.
“While the allegations were unrelated to our clients, Action Planning has now accepted the resignation of associate fundraising consultant Bill Giles.”
CIoF chair Nadine Campbell said that sexual harassment “has no place in the fundraising profession, and that any such behaviour is utterly condemned”.
She said: “I know it will have been upsetting and caused anger to read the details of the incidents and I’m sure your thoughts, like mine, will be with the women who have experienced completely unacceptable behaviour.”
Campbell added that action taken by the CIoF since the sexual harassment scandal has included a mandatory Code of Behaviour for events, a new system of reporting incidents and safeguarding training for the institute’s staff.
It also has a screening process in place to ensure “that anyone who has been suspended or expelled due to an investigation cannot participate in out events or activities”, said Campbell.
Today our Chair, Nadine Campbell, has sent a message to all members in response to an article in The Times on Saturday. You can read the full message here: https://t.co/rR3DZqhsXT pic.twitter.com/2sHfCj2LWL
— Chartered Institute of Fundraising (@CIOFtweets) October 17, 2022
The CIoF was criticised last year by its members for lacking “purpose, vision and strategy” in its handling of complaints of sexual harassment.
After details of the allegations emerged last year the CIoF was accused of “gaslighting” victims and failing to deal with the allegations swiftly and effectively.
In August last year the CIoF upheld four allegations of sexual harassment and issued an apology to victims.
Recent Stories