IoF to resume petition for Chartered status

17 Oct 2017 News

The Institute of Fundraising has begun advertising for a new director of membership, compliance and professional development role within the organisation, one of the key responsibilities of which will be to resume its petition for Chartered status.

The new director of membership, compliance and professional development role was advertised on 13 October 2017. In the job ad, the IoF said it is looking for a candidate responsible for leading on “growing individual membership, developing the IoF’s Academy programme, and embedding compliance and professional standards within the culture of the UK fundraising community as part of our journey to Chartered status”.

The IoF’s informal petition for Chartered status was put on hold by the Privy Council in September 2015, in the wake of a number of media-driven scandals involving fundraising charities and third party agencies following the death of Olive Cooke in May of that year.

The so-called ‘summer of discontent’ led to the publishing of the Etherington Review into fundraising, which led to sweeping changes in the fundraising self-regulatory landscape.

The IoF has since been stripped of its ownership of the Code of Fundraising Practice and re-absorbed the Public Fundraising Association. The old Fundraising Standards Board has also been replaced with the Fundraising Regulator.

Peter Lewis, chief executive of the IoF, said that having played its part in implementing the changes called for by the Etherington Review, the membership body now has the support of the minister for civil society and the Fundraising Regulator to resume petitioning the Privy Council for Chartered status.

“Our petition for chartered status was put on hold by the Privy Council in September 2015, pending the outcome and delivery of the Etherington review. Now that we have delivered against Sir Stuart’s recommendations he, the Minister and Lord Grade are all supportive of us reopening discussions with the Privy Council, which we are now doing.”

Lewis also said the successful candidate for the advertised role “will take the lead responsibility for taking this forward and making it happen”.

The IoF board believes that becoming a Chartered body would “bring with it a range of benefits, including raising the status and recognition of the profession and continuing to drive up public trust and confidence in charities”. 

 

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