Five major funders have formed a collaborative aimed at strengthening safeguarding across the charity sector.
The Funder Safeguarding Collaborative involves Comic Relief, Oak Foundation, Porticus, The National Lottery Community Fund and the Global Fund for Children.
The collaborative has formed to tackle concerns around safeguarding in the charity sector and follows a number of high profile safeguarding scandals in recent years, involving organisations including Oxfam.
Earlier this year a damning report by the House of Commons international development committee warned that aid workers are continuing to abuse and exploit vulnerable people in developing countries.
In addition, MPs have called for charities, which employ staff found to be committing sexual abuse, to have their funding withdrawn.
The collaborative says its mission is to “promote collaboration, listening and learning among funders and organisations to support and strengthen safeguarding practices globally”.
This includes protecting people’s “right to feel safe” and “create spaces where it is safe to ask questions, learn from mistakes, and challenge the status quo”.
It will also “actively promote a more equitable system that values and supports the power and knowledge within the organizations we fund and the communities they serve”.
🚨 We are excited to announce the launch of the Funder Safeguarding Collaborative! 🚨
— Global Fund for Children (@Global4Children) March 15, 2021
This initiative promotes collaboration, listening, and learning among funders to support and strengthen #safeguarding practices worldwide. https://t.co/t48YXcBvKS#SafeguardingCollaborative
The collaboration is looking for charitable trusts and foundations, intermediary funders and funder networks to join. It is not charging membership fees.
In addition, it is looking to recruit ‘knowledge partners’ including NGOs, researchers, government agencies to get involved in discussion forums, webinars as well as training and research on safeguarding in the charity sector.
Recent Stories