Employing or supporting EU citizens

If you employ or support EU citizens and their families, you should be advising them to apply for 'Settled Status'. This is because Jersey has agreed to adopt a similar scheme to the UK that will ensure that EU citizens who live in the Island, are able to stay. More information can be found here and guidance leaflets in French, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian and English can be found here.

Travel: Passports, animals and vehicles

The general advice for those who wish to travel within the EU on a British passport (including those issued by Jersey) after 30th March 2019 is to ensure you have at least 6 months validity on your passport. Check to see whether your current passport will be valid here. For those wishing to travel on a non-British passport, please continue to check with your relevant embassy.

Travelling within the EU in your own vehicle (and this includes minibuses for all those sporting tournaments or school trips, and any trailers or vans to transport essential items and aid to those in need) will be subject to annual inspections in the future. This won't happen immediately and is likely to be introduced in 2020 but you should prepare now - factor in the maintenance and any additional cost you may incur to ensure your vehicles are road-worthy and meet the regulations set out in the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.

If your community relies on service animals (guide dogs for the blind, hearing dogs for the deaf etc) or if you are involved in the rescue of animals and bringing them to Jersey then you need to be aware of the possible changes to travelling with animals - it is likely that health checks and documents required to travel will change. More information here.

GDPR

As Jersey has its own data protection law and an adequacy agreement in place with the EU (meaning that the EU Commission recognises that we have adequate levels of protection for transfers of data between Jersey and the EU) there will not be any changes. However, unless the UK has its own adequacy agreement in place once it leaves Europe, Jersey will need to treat the UK as a non-adequate third country which will complicate matters and may make it difficult to transfer data between Jersey and the UK. More information here.

Business continuity

In times of economic uncertainty, need increases. The knock-on effect means that the services and support of voluntary and community organisations are more in demand. You should also be considering how currency fluctuations could impact you, whether you or your beneficiaries would be impacted by supply chain or border delays, your costs may increase because of new introduced tariffs, do you have any contracts that are reliant on EU arrangements? You should be planning for how you will cope with this potential increase in demand for your services, as well as looking at the financial impact Brexit may have on your operations. Contingency planning and business continuity planning is something you should be discussing and implementing with your governors at this time. The FSB has some guidance on contingency planning and steps to take here.

Technical notices

The Government of Jersey has produced information on Jersey's preparations and action plan across many areas in the event of a 'no deal'. You can find all these technical notices here

Email or sign up to our newsletter if you are interested in attending a future event designed specifically for charities to help you prepare your organisation or your beneficiaries for Brexit. 

Charities (Jersey) Law 2014

The Law is not dissimilar to the laws of England & Wales, and Scotland. At the heart of Jersey Law is the requirement - should the organisation wish to be a registered charity - that it must have charitable purpose and must provide public benefit. There is a charity test which an organisation will have to meet in order to be a Jersey registered charity (and receive tax reliefs and be able to fundraise from the general public).

It is important that you review your governing documents now as your charitable purpose will flow from this. Take stock of how you are set up and run, and whether you actually do what your governing documents say you should. The Charity Commission of England & Wales has some model documents available and sample documents for Jersey charities will be available in due course. Email us if you would like to be sent further information on the registration process and sample documents when they become available.

John Mills was appointed as Jersey's Charity Commissioner in July 2017 with the responsibility of administering the charity test, operating the charity register and ensuring compliance with the Law. Those thinking about or planning to seek registration as a Jersey charity and who wish to contact Mr Mills can do so via email info@charitycommissioner.je More information can also be found on their website

NPO Registration with JFSC

The Non-Profit Organizations (Jersey) Law 2008 requires NPOs to register with the Jersey Financial Services Commission in certain circumstances. The definition of an NPO is:
              
              “An  organization is a non-profit organization for the purposes of this Law if – 
              (a)  it is established solely or primarily for charitable, religious, cultural,  educational, social,
                  or fraternal purposes with  the intention of benefiting the public or a section of the public; and
              (b) it raises or disburses funds  in pursuance of those purposes.” 
              
Any applicant requiring guidance on completion of the registration form should contact the JFSC by telephone on +44 (0)1534 822000 or by email. All applications for registration are to be made on one of the following forms:

• NPO Registration (English)
• NPO Registration (Polish)
• NPO Registration (Portuguese)

Governance - from recruitment and induction of trustees to managing financial controls and publicising your charity.

Here you will find the Charity Governance Code to help you establish high standards of governance. 

What are your specific duties and responsibilities as a trustee? Watch this short (3 minutes) video to find out. Here you can find a complete guide to trusteeship, to either refresh your mind or use to induct new trustees.

Looking for new trustees? Or thinking of joining a board? Register your interest or post your opportunity with volunteer.je

Training courses on governance and leadership - increase your knowledge and understanding:

• Association of Jersey Charities training
• ISCA has a range of training opportunities as well as a briefing paper on charity trustee recruitment 
• The FSI has a range of courses from 30 minute webinars to full day conferences

We all have a responsibility to ensure children and vulnerable adults are safeguarded against all forms of abuse.

Charities and voluntary sector agencies are an essential part of the network of agencies and individuals, statutory, private and voluntary organisations that contribute to the safety of children and adults on the Island.

A Safeguarding policy demonstrates an organisation's commitment to protecting children, young people and adults at risk, giving clear signals that the organisation takes safeguarding seriously in all aspects of its activities.

The development and use of clear Safeguarding policies and procedures are a key requirement for any voluntary organisation working with children, young people and/or adults at risk.

Safeguarding Partnership Board

The Safeguarding Partnership Board (SPB) was formed in January 2013 and has responsibility for:

• promoting understanding of Safeguarding
• helping agencies to work together to safeguard and
• monitoring how effectively agencies are working together to keep adults and children safe in Jersey

Don't know where to start? An introduction to Safeguarding for the Voluntary & Community Sector is a practical guide to what safeguarding is and what policies you should have in place.

More information on the SPB, report a concern, download policies and procedures and access to training can be found on their website.

Training

Courses available from the Safeguarding Partnership Board

Data Protection

If you are handling personal information about individuals you should already be familiar with and meeting your obligations under current data protection legislation and regulations. 

GDPR

Jersey charities need to be aware of GDPR because there are implications directly (if you are targeting your goods or services at EU subjects) and indirectly (our current adequacy ruling will be reassessed to ensure current Laws are adequate). 

Whilst most aspects of the currents laws are replicated in the GDPR, there are some key differences that you should be aware of, particularly when looking at your risk approach and governance and if your organisation works with and handles data on children.

Key differences:

• Child protection
• Breach reporting
• Risk-based approach
• Accountability
• Rights of individuals
• Changes for Public authorities 

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office has some good resources available specifically for charities.

For many charities GDPR will be straightforward with just some basic training, templates and guidance needed. For others handling sensitive data or working with children there will be some additional steps to consider.

The important thing is that you start to prepare now - this self-assessment toolkit is a good place to begin and the 'Think GDPR' website has guidance specifically for the Channel Islands. This 10-step plan from the Institute of Fundraising may also help you prepare.

Training

• Webinar: 'What does GDPR mean for your charity?"
• IoF (UK based)
• NCVO (UK based)
• 'GDPR for Jersey Charities' training slides and blog with FAQs for Jersey charities are available here

GDPR toolkit

We are currently developing a GDPR toolkit for Jersey charities and voluntary organisations. This will include practical guidance, templates, and resources specifically tailored for charities and community organisations. Email us if you would like to be the first to know when this is available!

In the meantime, we ran a training session on GDPR for Charities and the presentation can be found here

The Institute of Fundraising has updated its Code to bring it in to line with GDPR. Read about the changes here

It's not about the money! It's about the change that can be brought about as a result of those funds. Lose sight of this and your fundraising efforts will fail.

Not convinced? Read this open letter to trustees on why putting donors at the heart of your communications will help you to thrive.

Where is the money?

Trustees have a key role to ensure that funding is in place in order to deliver the mission. Fundraising is also a major driver of public trust and confidence in your charity - get it right and it strengthens your reputation and will generate further funding, get it wrong and it can have disastrous consequences.

Do you know where your funds are coming from? Grants? Community activities (events, public collections)? Corporate engagement? Major donors? Gifts in Wills? Are you maximising the opportunities from each source?

One source of revenue that charities are not maximising is tax reclaims. Did you know that on a donation of £50 or more, you could be claiming back an additional 25p for every £1 given? So a donation of £50 is actually £62.50 for you!

Download the tax reclaim certificate here and send them out to your donors today!