By Starlyn Matheny | Champion for Donor Engagement
Here at GlobalGiving, we promise to be transparent with our donor community. In keeping with that promise, I have some troubling news to share with you today about an organization you’ve generously supported on GlobalGiving.
On June 24th, Expanding Opportunities alerted GlobalGiving that one of their employees in their Children's Home had entered into a sexual relationship with one of their constituents causing her to become pregnant. Since then, the organization let us know that the employee was fired immediately, arrested, and is currently awaiting trial. The girl was put into a safe home where she and her baby are receiving the support and care they need.
GlobalGiving takes constituent safety very seriously. That is why on June 25th we suspended all fundraising on our site for Expanding Opportunities until we investigated this incident further. We spent over two months speaking with the representatives from the organization to gather information about the situation and learning about how they responded. Expanding Opportunities was responsive, transparent, and acted quickly to make sure there were procedures in place to prevent a situation like this from happening again.
After much deliberation and investigation, GlobalGiving decided that we will continue our partnership with Expanding Opportunities. They will be working with our team to engage in learning opportunities, such as networking with other children's organizations about how they screen staff, and reviewing child protection policies. GlobalGiving believes Expanding Opportunities responded responsibly to the situation and we are confident that they have implemented systems that will ensure such an incident never happens again.
We will keep you updated as Expanding Opportunities continues to make their homes safer for all constituents. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns about Expanding Opportunities or GlobalGiving’s vetting process, please don’t hesitate to contact me personally at smatheny@globalgiving.org.
Thank you,
Starlyn
Champion for Donor Engagement
GlobalGiving
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