BULLETIN FEBRUARY 2009

CHARITY COMMISSION REGISTER:
According to Chief Executive Andrew Hind they are removing about 5,000 charities from the register each year, due to closures, mergers etc. The annual figure is expected to be higher for the next few years. Make sure your charity keeps its records up to date and gets its returns in on time. Don’t forget that if you are late, and plenty are, your oversight is posted on your page in red. This could affect your funding and your reputation.

RESTRICTED FUNDING:
If you get a grant, or if you take up an offering for a specific purpose, don’t forget that the funds must by law be ring-fenced for that purpose. Glasgow City Council gave a £500,000 grant to a local charity for specific projects. In the event the money went on general running costs. The charity might have to repay a substantial sum, and they are going to have to work very hard to repair the damage and restore their reputation. Contact us if you need guidance in the area of restricted funds. (We are consulted from time to time on what to do when money has been collected for a specific purpose which is no longer relevant).

TRUSTEE TRAINING/ BRIEFING:
Last year I held a number of training sessions at our offices in West Sussex, this year, the pattern seems to be more towards visiting charities and talking to the whole team. This means I can focus on what’s relevant to you. If this interests you e-mail me and we will talk dates, prices, contents. Last week this came by e-mail: ‘Your presentation was so helpful that I must contact you personally to say thanks. The book on Trustees Roles and Responsibilities is much the best that I have seen, and I have seen plenty’.

HR ISSUES:
I mentioned a while ago that we are partnering with Natalie, an HR specialist. The last 3 training sessions I have taken have thrown up issues where we have needed some immediate input from her. Grievance issues, disciplinary and redundancy issues have all needed her expert guidance. Contact us if you have any staff issues and need help, or if you want to make sure your systems are in good shape.

CHURCH INSURANCE & CHILD PROTECTION:
Browsing through my material prior to delivering training to trustees in Liverpool, I came across an article from the CCPAS to the effect that some insurance companies are excluding claims on public liability which involve abuse. They made some enquiries and found that the Royal Sun Alliance considers churches to be high risk and will only offer abuse cover after due process. Ansvar and Congregational don’t have exclusions but have expectations that there is a good protection policy and good practices in place. I recommend you check your cover and talk to your broker or insurer. Trustees could be considered to be reckless and therefore personally liable if they don’t take reasonable precautions.

FACEBOOK:
I have been discussing with a church administrator the implications where an unauthorised Facebook site has been set up by a church member. In this particular case, there were photos galore of young children and all sorts of breaches of confidentiality. Another church discovered that an unauthorised site had been set up over a year ago. It can be well intended, but if it’s not properly monitored there’s scope for mischief. Might be wise to check.

EXCEPTED CHARITIES: HAVE YOU BEGUN YOUR REGISTRATION PROCESS?
Up to 5,000 churches and armed forces charities with income over £100,000 must begin their Charity Commission registration process this month under the 5th commencement order of the Charities Act 2006. Contact us if you need help or guidance. You can do it yourself, but you do run the risk of not getting it quite right and later on wish you had taken advice. One of the big issues to consider is whether this is the time to incorporate. It may not be necessary but we will look at this with you.

DO YOU EMPLOY AN OVERSEAS WORKER?
I know I mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating; get caught out and you could be fined. If you want to employ a skilled or temporary worker from outside the EU or Switzerland you must hold a sponsorship licence issued by the UK Border Agency. Costs between £300 and £1,000 and lasts for 4 years. www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk Also applies to schools or colleges teaching foreign students.

DONATIONS PREDICTED TO DECLINE:
More good news then. RBS forecasts that charitable giving will decline this year by 5%, and a further 3% in 2010 before recovering in 2011. Given the bank’s track record in forecasts how do they arrive at these figures? Oh and the spokesman says the downturn will be less severe and shorter than some other analysts predict! Well I’m with the others on this one. We can confidently predict that conditions will be tough and there’ll be winners and losers. Let’s make sure we are amongst the winners. The charity that I chair is budgeting for a big increase in donations and we are planning for strong growth. This is not a time to be anxious but a time to be strong. This year the nation needs strong charities and strong churches as never before. If you are in difficulties take a calm, measured approach, take advice, and resolve to emerge stronger and more effective.

WHERE TO INVEST YOUR CASH:
If you put your money or your charity’s money in the Post Office for safekeeping, they will have recently advised you that the money is no longer covered by the UK savings protection scheme. Instead you will be covered by the Irish equivalent. At present Dublin is promising to protect deposits without limit, until September 2010, against the British £50,000 limit. Ireland is reported to have increasing difficulties and might need support from the IMF at some stage. But then so might we so who knows where our money is safest?

STATUTORY DISCIPLINARY, DISMISSAL AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES:
All being replaced by an ACAS code of practice from 6th April 2009. This is good news for all of us. By the way, if you have any staffing issues that could explode in your face later on, don’t forget we have a first class HR specialist on our team. She is currently working with a couple of our charities which need help to untangle key workers where the work has dried up.

PAXTON CHARITY ACCOUNTS SOFTWARE:
The package is constantly being upgraded and it now includes Gift Aid. They will soon be launching a Projects and Foreign Currencies Version. Their multi fund facilities are extended to include project level reporting and budgeting. They will then have 3 packages, basic, basic with sales plus the new package with facilities to convert from one to another.

AND FINALLY(1)........

(This is my second attempt; they made me take the first one out as it had a (medical) word in it that would have sent the bulletin straight into spam!)

A beleaguered Mum went to an ‘organising your life’ class. After hearing lots of tips she asked in despair, ‘but how do you get your kids to help clear up? I have 2 young children and it’s usually easier to do it myself. That way at least I know where things are, but I do get frustrated.

Another woman spoke up; ‘in our house we have a ‘Butler Box’. Whenever something is left lying around where it doesn’t belong, even if it’s car keys or a wallet, it gets put into a large wooden box. Then if anyone wants anything back that’s been put in there, he can’t just grab it out. He has to do 5 minutes of chores around the home to get it back.’

‘What a clever idea’, said the first woman, ‘how old were your children when you started that?’ ‘Children’, came the response, we don’t have any children. This is for my husband.’

One for the mums: Why God made Mums; questions put to 10 year olds:
Why did God make mums?

1. She’s the only one who knows where the sellotape is
2. Mostly to keep us all clean
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born

1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us
2. Magic plus superpowers plus a lot of stirring
3. God made my mum just like he made me, only with bigger parts

1. We’re related
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people’s mum like me

1. My mum has always been my mum and none of that other stuff
2. I don’t know, I wasn’t there, but my guess would be pretty bossy
3. They say she used to be nice

1. She had to know his last name
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Did he say no to drugs and yes to chores?

1. Mums work at work and work at home. Dads just work at work
2. Mums know how to talk to teachers without scaring them
3. Dads are taller and stronger but mums have the real power, ‘cause that’s who you have to ask if you want to sleepover
4. Mums have magic, they make you feel better without medicine

1. She has this thing about me keeping my room clean. I’d get rid of that
2. I’d make my mum smarter, then she would know my sister did it not me
3. I would get rid of those invisible eyes in the back of her head