BULLETIN FEBRUARY 2008

Subscriptions to this bulletin are climbing, so if this is your first one.My name is Daryl Martin. I head up a team of charity specialists whose aim in life is to free you up to do what you are there to do. This is a monthly bulletin going out to our clients, friends, contacts, friends of friends (well you get the drift), to keep them in touch with charity law, and anything else that might be helpful for them to know about. If you have anything to do with the world of charities, please read on, there might be something to excite your attention, who knows.

CHARITY GROWTH:
The bigger charities are doing well at the expense of smaller charities. The Institute of Fundraising found that the bigger charities grew by almost 10% last year, with committed giving up by over 12%. Against that the UK Annual Giving Report by the CAF and the NCVO reported a 3% drop in donations. There is only so much in the pot, so it looks as though smaller charities are getting squeezed. They don't need to allow this, and they will have to get a good deal smarter this year just to stay afloat. My trustees' briefing has a section on Fundraising which I enjoy delivering. It doesn't necessarily give answers but it is a good discussion paper. At least you will find out why a good fundraiser will use 'sans serif' very sparingly, and you will find out what puts people off responding to appeals, and what they are more likely to respond to.

PUBLIC BENEFIT REQUIREMENT:
There is a lot now being published about how this is beginning to shape up and I am picking up in my briefings that there is some anxiety out there, particularly from churches worried they are going to be picked on. I am not planning to add to the debate whilst things are settling down. At this stage I don't see anything for churches to worry about. Life is getting difficult for some private schools, and hospitals. I am keeping my ear to the ground, but please let me know if you have anything interesting to report.

SORP 2005:
Third sector published an article recently bemoaning that the new SORP is doing 'huge damage to the smaller charities', and citing treasurers that are resigning because of the changed requirements. With respect this simply isn't true. It's because people are misinterpreting it. Not the hard pressed treasurer at the coalface, but people running the networks. Not all of them, but some, are making it heavy weather for the humble treasurer of smaller charities. SORP 2005 is our servant not our master, and for smaller charities a light touch applies. I am not going to name any names and I don't even know where you live, so if you are making life difficult for treasurers who look to you for help, lighten up and get to the heart and spirit of the regulations. (This is not a call to disregard the regulations, which are important.) If you want help on this contact me, or Ruth.

TRUSTEE BRIEFINGS:
I have stopped calling them training. True, I deliver my Trustees' Manual and work through it, but my primary concern is to make sure that trustees are well briefed on current events, what's going on in the charity world that's relevant to them. We talk about what can go wrong, how to avoid things going wrong with lots of practical tips drawn from current experience. What's the best way to approach the Charity Commission if you need help? What is our responsibility when sending funds overseas? What happens if staff on minimum wage want to do extra work unpaid? What can we expect if HMRC comes to look at our records? What about 'Love Gifts'? What about trading? VAT even? What happens if I disagree about a decision being made by the trustees or the leaders or officers? These and a hundred other questions are looked at in detail. The sessions are now getting overbooked which is a good sign. Next one is March 7th. If you want to attend a venue further North I am delivering the material at Towcester (Northants) on Monday May 19th in association with Corporate Development Resources Ltd. Booking forms for this venue can be obtained from the Corporate Development website.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS TRAINING:
Our next training day is Friday 11th April at Towcester.

GIFT AID & CHARITY SHOPS:
An increasing number of charity shops are encouraging donors to fill in Gift Aid forms when they donate goods. This gives the charity an extra 25% when the items are sold. It sounds complicated but a simple system can be set up to cover it. PDSA, Sue Ryder Care, Help the Aged, and the British Heart Foundation all do it. Contact us if you need any guidance.

EMPLOYING MIGRANT WORKERS:
If you employ migrant workers you will have satisfied yourself that they have the necessary permits. The Home Office requirements have just strengthened and you must now make an annual check that the permission is still valid. Put a note in your diary.

THE PARETO (80/20) PRINCIPLE:
This is something I look at regularly to try and make some sort of attempt to see that I am using at least some of my time sensibly. Tony, our IT genius who keeps our network going on a shoestring, reminded me of this recently, so I am reminding you to take a look at it. Apart from Richard Koch's excellent book there is a good summary of the principles on www.chriscardell.com If only the government would apply this principle they might see that 80% of the tax we pay is wasted one way or another.

FORGET THE GYM, GO TO CHURCH INSTEAD:
So runs a headline in the Daily Mail. An 8 year US government study of 8,500 men and women found that churchgoers were 30% less likely to die during the research period. Healthy habits such as not smoking or drinking (!) explain some of the difference but the difference still stood when age, education and existing health problems were factored in. So now you know what many of us always suspected: Godliness has its own reward in the here and now, as well as in the here and after.

CCPAS:
A benefit of being a member is that you get notification of their excellent seminars on Child Protection and Abuse issues. They are running a morning seminar in Billingshurst on March 8th. Cost is £17.50. If you are local it could be worth signing up for; if not local check their website for anything going on in your area.

AND FINALLY........

'TOP TEN LIARS' LIES

• I’ll start exercising (dieting, forgiving…) tomorrow
• Your table will be ready in just a minute
• We service what we sell
• I’m from the government and I’m here to help you
• Your money will be cheerfully refunded
• This hurts me more than it hurts you
• The cheque is in the mail
• Of course I’ll respect you in the morning
• This will be a short meeting
• We are only stopping for 5 minutes

A lovely quote from Walt Disney that's worth hanging on your study wall, or at least your fridge: .

Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we are curious. and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.