Gender Issues in Fundraising - Phase 1: Understanding the Issues

Gender in fundraising is an issue that had been simmering for many years before the MeToo movement and the scandals of the Presidents Club fundraising dinner and Oxfam's safeguarding failures caused it to boil over. Recently research in the USA revealed that something like 25 per cent of female fundraisers have been subjected to sexually inappropriate behaviour.Naturally there are calls for the both the fundraising profession and the charity sector more widely to tackle this issue, and initiatives have been set up in the USA and UK.Rogare is contributing to these challenges with the aim to ensure any solutions are grounded in the relevant theory and evidence that already exist. This project has three phases: Phase 1 – build the knowledge base that underpins this issue to better inform debate and discussions and as a result to also better inform any interventions we make as a profession (Phase 1 project leader – Caoileann Appleby). We completed this in 2020).Phase 2 – building on the issues identified and ideas collated under Phase 1, construct a Blueprint – based on Lean Out Feminism – to dismantle patriarchal structures in the fundraising profession (Phase 2 project leader – Heather Hill). The Blueprint was published in March 2023. One of our key recommendations is a code of conduct for donors.Phase 3 – starting in 2023, this phase will look at how to implement and/or adapt the Blueprint, and explore any other challenges and issues that arise as we take this forward. A key part of Phase 3 was how we build the narrative to engage more male/men allies.