Present:
Nadine Campbell (Chair), Rohan Hewavisenti (Honorary Treasurer), Katie Docherty (Chief Executive), CIOF Trustees and Members
In attendance:
CIOF staff team; Stephanie Raper, BSL Interpreter
1. WELCOME
The Chair welcomed everyone to the Annual General Meeting of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and declared the meeting open.
The Chair explained that the AGM was being recorded and a live transcript provided throughout. Questions were welcomed via the Q&A function and the chat function would be open should anyone experience any technical difficulties submitting questions.
Questions would be responded to at the end of the AGM and an informal Q&A would be held after the meeting has closed, for any other questions that members would like to ask. The informal Q&A would not be recorded.
2. MINUTES OF THE AGM HELD ON 5 JULY 2021
The Chair noted that the minutes of the AGM held on 5 July 2021 had been received.
3. REPORT FROM THE CHAIR
Looking back on 2021, as well as these first nine months of 2022, I don't think I’ve ever seen so much change in the Chartered Institute in all the years that I've been a trustee, part of a voluntary committee, or indeed, as a member.
Some of that change was to respond to the continuing impacts of Covid and new ways of delivering work, engaging with our members and supporting the sector. But some of it wasn't about external factors. Some of it was because we needed to review, reflect, and understand that as an organisation that we needed to improve, to better meet the needs and priorities of our members, and to ensure that we could be the best organisation that will champion and represent our amazing sector to meet the challenges ahead.
On a personal note, as well, while the AGM and my role is to present to talk to the annual report of 2021, I just wanted to pick out how great it was to be alongside so many of you at the fundraising convention again in July and be part of my community. To help us develop, talk, connect and share. It really reminded me what I valued about the profession and how much I gain from being with my peers, and I'm sure that the Fundraising Festival in December will deliver a similarly brilliant event for people to join us digitally.
The information shared in the annual report for 2021 highlights some of the key areas of change that have taken place, and I wanted to just pick up on some of those important and noteworthy projects, pieces of work and developments that have taken place.
Our action plan on Safeguarding was put together and started in 2021 with the creation of a new Head of Professional Conduct role. Since then, a huge amount of work has taken place; policies updated, processes improved, a new Code of Behaviour introduced training for staff and, most recently, a new reporting service Talk to Spot, which has opened up for our members on the sector. Lots more information on our safeguarding work and next steps have been shared in the member session two weeks ago, which was recorded and available for all members to review.
With lockdown restrictions changing during 2021, face to face and events and community fundraisers were able to return. A key area of our policy and external work done in 2021 was focused on helping our members navigate new ways of working, respond to the changing environment and supporting strategic thinking about future trends and giving. Our courses and professional development qualifications continue to be delivered online with over one thousand delegates across our one hundred short courses, and over three hundred people taking the Introduction to Fundraising course and our new Women in Leadership Future Leaders Programme, continuing to take fundraisers forward in their career. Across our team, all of the highlights and successes were underpinned by five hundred volunteers, including three hundred and fifty on our group committees or trustees, on Convention Board, as advocates for RAISE, through our board subcommittees, and those delivering our action plan for a safer profession. All of these volunteers are committed to help deliver our vision, excellent fundraising for a better world. I would like to thank you all.
A period of transition and change cannot happen overnight, and it takes time to do things properly. This year, I know Katie and the team have been doing a huge amount of reflection and engagement with members to understand your priorities and what you want from us. I won't gazump Katie’s speech too much, but I'm really excited about the new strategy they we’re launching today to start from 2023, and I feel like we have the right foundations and have done the right amount of work and preparation to be able to move forward. I'm also delighted to have been appointed as Chair recently since becoming a trustee and before that, as part of the Volunteer Committee in Northern Ireland. I've seen first-hand the difference the professional development and connecting with fundraisers can make, both to help us develop our fundraising skills as individuals, and to the end cause and beneficiary.
Seeing the value of what the Chartered Institute achieves with our members has reinforced my commitment to respond to the challenges that we face as an organisation over the recent period, and ensure we move forward in the right way for the benefit of all of the fundraising community.
I've learned a lot through being part of the Chartered Institute. It's been a privilege to be on the board of my professional membership body and work with so many talented and committed fundraisers across the UK. I'm really pleased to be able to continue that journey and be part of it.
4. TREASURER’S REPORT AND THE REPORT & ACCOUNTS TO 31 DECEMBER 2021
The Honorary Treasurer presented the accounts for the period 1 January to 31 December 2021, the Chartered Institute’s current position, and the financial outlook ahead.
The following was noted:
- Covid continued to severely limit activity in 2021. Total income for the year was £3.9m and significantly down on pre-covid levels, compared with £6m in 2019 and March 2020.
- Total expenditure incurred was £4.1m, leading to deficit of £194k. The deficit was met from reserves and led to a net reduction of £102k in cash balances. However, the CIOF maintains high levels of working capital as much of its income is received in advance.
- At the end of 2021, the balance of income received in advance was £810k and the balance sheet shows total net assets of £935k. Unrestricted reserves accounted for only £20k of this total.
- The low level of reserves was due to funding deficits during Covid, and to continue investing in the new CRM system and the website.
- The CIOF Reserves Policy states that the CIOF should hold a minimum of £300k of free reserves and the CIOF is budgeting to generate surpluses in the future.
- Designated reserves are allocated to offset the depreciation charge for the CRM and website, and include funds held by volunteer groups. Restricted funds are for specific projects, these have been received in advance and will be spent during the year.
The Treasurer reflected on activity in the UK economy, with high inflation and challenging environment for charities and fundraising, and that the Chartered Institute will be there to support fundraisers and the charity sector. The CIOF is looking to rebuild its reserves and strengthen its finances. Feedback from member surveys has demonstrated that members want a strong institute to support them.
The Treasurer added that recruitment has been very positive with Nadine Campbell joining as a permanent Chair; Katie Docherty as Chief Executive, with really strong experience at membership organisations; and Julie Court as Director of Finance and Resources, with considerable experience in the charity sector and membership organisations.
5. TO APPROVE THE APPOINTMENT OF AUDITORS
Members were invited to confirm the appointment of Buzzacott LLP as auditors for 2022, and to delegate their remuneration to the Trustees.
The membership unanimously agreed.
6. REPORT FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE
I'm absolutely delighted to join my first Annual General Meeting and I can't believe that next week is going to be my one-year anniversary in taking up this position, because time has just completely flown by.
I want to start this morning with some ‘thanks you’s. I want to thank Nadine and Rohan and the rest of our trustee board; Kelvin Hopkins, Joyce Fraser, Isobel Michael, Sophia Zeenat Sheikh, Rebecca Mansell, Kerys Sheppard and Matt Parkes. I want to thank you for your work and your guidance, and your support over the last year. I'd like to thank our staff team for their professionalism and tireless work, day in and out on behalf of our members. I'd like to thank our volunteers in our member groups and on our committees for their passion and commitment and their time and creativity. Thank you to you, our members, many of whom I've had the privilege to meet in roundtables, member forums, at events, and at Fundraising Convention, and thank you to those that I have yet to meet. We are your Institute and it's a genuine pleasure to be working for you.
Today I'm delighted to speak to you from Birmingham. I’m here in Birmingham today, attending our Midlands Fundraising Conference. It's a truly fantastic event covering innovation, collaboration, leadership and communication, and today we are joined by over 160 proud fundraisers. This event is organised by the volunteers in the West Midlands and East Midlands regional groups. Both committees are made up of volunteers who are doing this in addition to their day jobs because, like the volunteers in all of our member groups and on our committees, they're absolutely passionate about educating fundraisers and celebrating what we achieve in our sector. So that's an appropriate context and background for me to launch with you today our new strategy for 2023 to 2025.
Developing a new organisational strategy was a key priority for me when I joined, and I'm really excited to have worked with my team, our volunteers and our members to bring this strategy together. This strategy has been developed in consultation with our members. It was absolutely critical to me to listen, to really listen, and understand what members want from membership and from our Institute.
We began last autumn with a series of roundtables asking what is working, what is not working, and what you want from your membership. Then early this year we surveyed individual members, conducted research and undertook external benchmarking. We facilitated workshops with committee chairs and trustees, and throughout that process we listened to what you told us, refined and developed the strategy that we're launching today.
To deliver the strategy, we begin by making a pledge to our members on how we will work together. We will put you, our members, first. Our working principles will be guided through consultation and engagement with you to embed it in your needs and your priorities, to ensure that it has your interests and values at its heart. We will be honest, transparent, and accountable. We will be straightforward and clear about the decisions that we make and their impacts, explaining our rationale and our objectives, and seeking feedback and views from you throughout the delivery of this strategy. We will be equal and inclusive, we will proactively engage our full membership and the wider fundraising community to ensure that our work represents all fundraising professionals across the whole of the UK, delivered in an inclusive way. We will be respectful of your views and listen to what you tell us.
The fundraising community is a large and passionate one, and not everyone has the same priorities, but we are all deserving of respect and consideration, and we will be proud and ambitious, of you, of your work, and the difference that you make. We will respect and champion your values and our perfection.
Whilst this strategy will formally start in January 2023, that doesn't mean that we haven't been doing lots of work to get ourselves ready and to start moving forward on objectives and priority areas, so I want to share some highlights of that work.
In July, Fundraising Convention returned as an in-person event, selling out in advance with more than 1700 proud fundraisers attending. We came together to connect, to learn, to network and to share our passion and fundraising. Our Convention opened with our planetary speaker, Dr Julia Shaw, the founder of Talk to Spot, our new reporting system for inappropriate behaviour. and Julia joined with our Chair, Nadine Campbell, in a hugely important conversation about working to make the fundraising profession safe. This is our top priority, and I would like to thank everyone who has shared their experience, both in the past and in the future, so that change can happen.
I'd like to thank the members of our Convention Board, our staff team and our Convention volunteers for what was a truly team effort to deliver such a high-quality event. With exceptional speakers, they brought together a creative and exciting and highly enjoyable program.
A very important highlight for me has been the brilliant work of our committees and our volunteers supporting fundraisers across the UK and on different areas of specialism, and this work has included organising events like the Midlands Conference that I’m attending today. And if I’m talking about highlights, of course I must mention Remember a Charity.
Remember a Charity worked tirelessly to encourage more people to leave gifts to charity in their wills. Remember a Charity week took place earlier this month with fantastic new content, ads, ‘how to’ guides, and much, much more, and I'd really encourage you to visit the Remember A Charity website to see that content for yourself.
We continue to work to try and ensure the funding profession is more inclusive and safe for fundraisers. For example, we continue to encourage our partners and organisational members to embed more inclusive practices, such as showing salaries and removing unnecessary degree requirements.
As Nadine mentioned earlier, we updated members on the work that we have been undertaking to make fundraising safer on our member webinar a few weeks ago. We recorded that member webinar and it's available to you on your account on our website, if you wish to view.
We've also announced a partnership with the Directory of Social Change and are seeking funding to carry out research in this area to build evidence to enable and support greater social change, because no fundraiser should ever have to experience harassment or inappropriate behaviour. I'm pleased that we received our first funding pledge for this project yesterday, and so hope to have this under way soon.
We’ve also introduced lots of new initiatives like podcasts, webinars, guidance for fundraising with children, and of course, day in and day out our Professional Development team continue to deliver world-class training and CPD for our members.
And finally, we've also experienced change in how the Chartered Institute feels and looks in our staff team. We are more representative of our members in the geographical spread of our team. We went from being an organisation that was based in a London office to one where the majority of our staff are now based outwith London with representation across the whole of the UK.
Our new strategy is an important framework and step for us to focus our work to really deliver. And across the fundraising community there is a collective ambition to change the world for the better. Whatever cause you fundraise for, whatever piece of the puzzle you may be in the broad and varied jigsaw that is fundraising, you are part of an amazing profession that every day achieves extraordinary things. Your value to your organisation, your value to each other, and your value to the causes and beneficiaries that you work for must be at the heart of your professional body, and it is that value that is the cornerstone of the Chartered Institute's new strategy.
I know that sometimes it can be hard to make it feel real. So to give you some tangible initiatives and projects about what that will mean and what we're doing, I'm delighted that we will open up organisational membership of the Chartered Institute to small charities for free, so that we can be more reflective, accessible, and representative of the fundraising that happens across the UK. We will establish a brand new Championing Fundraising Committee which will be open to applications from across our membership, and advise and steer on our work to champion you and our profession. We will promote our equity, diversity, and inclusion pledge, so that our organisational members are equipped with ideas and practical resources to build more inclusive teams that represent the community we serve.
You will receive all member news later this afternoon that will give you much more detail about our strategy and you'll be able to find more information on the Chartered Institute website.
I just want to finish by saying I'm absolutely confident that, with all parts of our organisation working together, our individual members, our charity members, our corporate partners, our volunteers and committee members, our staff, and our board, we will take fundraising forward. We will recognise and celebrate the unique contribution that you make to your cause and society, and the professional body takes immense pride in fundraising and fundraisers and which you will continue to be proud to be part of. Thank you very much for listening this morning.
7. ELECTION OF TRUSTEES
The Chair confirmed that there were three trustee vacancies, and the following were duly elected to the Board of Trustees:
- Joyce Fraser (re-election)
- Sofia Zeenat Sheikh (re-election)
- Gary Kernahan
The Chair congratulated all on their appointment.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
No questions had been submitted in advance of the meeting.
There being no further business, the Chair thanked everyone for attending and declared the Annual General Meeting of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising closed. The meeting would be followed by an informal Q&A for members.