Sick Kids appeal boss held second 'secret' job

Published on Friday 12 February 2010 10:07

THE suspended director of the crisis-hit £15 million Sick Kids New Pyjamas appeal had her contract terminated with another Lothians charity after failing to raise a penny.

The Evening News can also reveal that Elaine McGonigle juggled her appeal post with asecond job at Rosslyn Chapel for six months without her bosses at the Sick Kids Friends Foundation knowing.

The Rosslyn Chapel Trust said today it had dropped Ms McGonigle as its fundraising director because it saw "no prospect" of her raising any money.

The SKFF suspended her from the same role on the New Pyjamas campaign last month after she oversaw spending of 500,000 but brought in only 60,000.

There is no mention of Ms McGonigle's spell at Rosslyn on her curriculum vitae posted on the online networking site LinkedIn, despite it listing her New Pyjamas post and other recent work.

Friends of the suspended director initially denied she had worked for Rosslyn Chapel, but later admitted she had done "some work" for them, insisting it had not overlapped with her New Pyjamas responsibilities.

However, she entered a contract with the Rosslyn Chapel Trust in September 2008, the same month she became director of the New Pyjamas appeal.

While she informed the Rosslyn charity about her dual role, the SKFF said today it had been unaware.

The New Pyjamas appeal – which aimed to raise 15m for the new Sick Kids hospital – has effectively ground to a halt following Ms McGonigle's suspension.

The resignation of chairman Graeme Millar has left it in further disarray.

A statement from the RCT said: "Rosslyn Chapel Trust entered into a consultancy contract with Elaine McGonigle on 10 September, 2008 for the provision of fundraising services and personnel. Ms McGonigle's title was director of fundraising.

"The contract was terminated on 10 March, 2009 at the six-month review and break period. During this period, no funds were raised by Ms McGonigle for the trust and there was no apparent prospect of any funds being forthcoming."

The SKFF is expected to investigate why trustees were left unaware of Ms McGonigle's second job.

A source close to the foundation said: "It's as if it has been completely airbrushed from her past."

An SKFF spokesman said: "Elaine McGonigle was appointed as director of the New Pyjamas campaign in September 2008. As far as the board of trustees of the SKFF was concerned, she was working wholly and exclusively for the New Pyjamas."

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