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BULLETIN No. 173: April 2018
My monthly attempt to keep my contacts, friends, friends of friends, etc. in touch with what's going on in the world of charities. A distillation of the many briefings that arrive on my desk, plus whatever I've gleaned from charities I'm currently working with. Always glad to get your comments and suggestions;
Daryl Martin
d.martin@afvs.org.uk
What do we have this month?
1. Data Protection (GDPR) Update
2. Anti-Money Laundering Policy
3. Seth Godin on Meetings
4. Charity Governance Code
5. VAT Update; Your Church Hall might be a Village Hall
6. Sending Funds Abroad
7. Celebrity Endorsements
8. Is Your Charity Missing Out on Gift Aid?
9. Trustee Training
10. On-Line Learning
11. Career Opportunity
12. How can we help you?
13. And Finally...
1. Data Protection (GDPR) Update
Your charity should by now be at the position where a Data Protection Policy is ready to be posted onto your website. Contact us if you need our help to get a policy finalised. We’re getting policies in to be reviewed most days. They’re mostly fit for purpose; one thing that can get overlooked is a section on Data Subject Rights. Once you have a policy agreed, that’s the easy bit; the hard bit is to then get the procedures into place. We’ve strengthened our team by bringing in Aileen, an ISO specialist who has added GDPR to her armoury. Contact us if you need our support.
2. Anti-Money Laundering Policy
This could be a useful policy to put into your collection. Write to me for a copy; it includes reference to anti-terrorism and is a useful reminder to staff and volunteers to take care of money coming in, as well as money going out.
3. Seth Godin on Meetings
Seth sends out a couple of blogs a week, he probably has a hundred times more readers than I have. This is him at his best, encouraging us to get our meetings up to standard: Can your next meeting (not conversation, not presentation, but meeting) pass this test?
- There’s one person responsible.
- The time allocated matches what's needed, not what the calendar app says.
- Everyone invited is someone who needs to be there, and no key party is missing.
- There’s a default step forward if someone doesn't come.
- There’s no better way to move this forward than to have this meeting.
- The desired outcome is clearly stated.The organiser has described what would have to happen for the meeting to be cancelled or to stop midway. 'This is what I want to happen,' and if there's a 'yes,' we're done.
- All relevant information, including analysis, is available to all in plenty of time to be reviewed in advance.
If you score a seven, count me in.
4. Charity Governance Code
Findings of a recent survey found that leaders of small and medium-sized charities, have a high level of awareness of the new code published last summer, and are using it to improve their governance. Readers may recall that I prepared a summary of the code, which will help boards get to grips with it. Let me know if you would like a copy. Better still, get us along to deliver our ‘Effective Trustee’ session. We can send you a list of the areas covered.
5. VAT Update; Your Church Hall might be a Village Hall
Les Howard the charity VAT specialist we work with frequently, comes across situations were a Church builds an extension or new hall and contacts him to ask whether its construction may be zero-rated for VAT. Thanks to recent legal developments, more projects are eligible for zero-rating, giving a welcome 20% cost saving. Leaving aside the question of whether the project involves the construction of a new building, a Church can use the ‘Village Hall’ rule to secure zero-rating. This is especially useful where there will be some paid third-party lettings.
You need the following:
Evidence of your intention to construct the hall for community use;
An estimate of the proportions of Church use and community use;
The proposed management of the hall.
The third point is important. HMRC still insist that the hall is run by a management committee made up of community groups. Case law has consistently said that this is NOT necessary. A Church may therefore own and manage the hall, as long as it was built to meet the needs of the local community.
Contact les@vatadvice.org for help.
6. Sending Funds Abroad
A special thank you to all those who responded to my call for help last month. I summarised your responses into a 2-page briefing. Ask for a copy if this interests you.
7. Celebrity Endorsements
Charity boards often think that getting a celebrity on board their latest fund-raising drive will solve their problems. Not necessarily so, says a recent Third Way survey. 70 % said that it wouldn’t affect their decision to make a donation. However, even more said it was unacceptable to pay a celebrity for their endorsement, as several big charities found to their cost when they paid big fees to get a name on board. If you find a household name with a passion for your particular work, make the most of it; they probably won’t want a fee in such a case.
8. Is Your Charity Missing Out on Gift Aid?
Apparently, charities are missing out on £560m of Gift Aid every year due to a lack of awareness about how the scheme works. An HMRC research report, published recently, says that Gift Aid is not claimed on about a third of eligible donations. A third of donors in the research had a 'fairly poor' understanding of Gift Aid, and 11 percent said their understanding of the scheme was “poor'. The government has written to 50,000 small charities to raise awareness and understanding of the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme.
GASDS, which allows charities to claim Gift Aid-like relief on up to £8,000 of small cash donations each year without individual paperwork. As I travel around delivering my training, I am regularly surprised by the numbers of charities that aren’t up to speed in this area. Let us know if we can help.
9. Trustee Training
May is pretty full; we can take some bookings for June, then we are into summer holidays, where grandchildren are prioritised.
10. On-Line Learning
The online learning courses I’ve been telling you about are now live. My first course is ‘All About Trustees’. It’s in 3 parts. There’s also a small course on Charity Trading, and of course the 10-hour GDPR course. The 2-hour GDPR Awareness course is also now live. We’re able to offer discounts on these courses to members so let Becky know before you sign up.
www.bowringandjazz.com
11. Career Opportunity
St Mary’s Church, Longfleet, (SML) has an exciting new job opportunity for a Facilities Manager from July 2018. The post will assist the Director of Operations by managing contractors, volunteers and facilities staff in order to ensure the Church and the Centre are set up, cleaned, maintained and repaired to a high standard. The role requires someone who is committed to SML’s Vision 2020, who has a heart for service and a head for good organisation and high standards. Familiarity with basic health and safety practice and MS Office are highly desirable. 16-32 hrs/week negotiable. Salary: £21k-24k pa pro rata depending on experience.
Application deadline: midnight 4 May 2018. For an application pack and more details contact Paul Eaton on 01202 338737 or paul.eaton@smlpoole.org.uk.
12. How can we help you?
The list of our support services gets ever longer:
All Aspects of Accounts including Yearend and Bookkeeping
Migration to Xero and QuickBooks Online
Mentoring
VAT Advice
Outsourcing (Book-keeping, Virtual FD, Gift Aid etc.)
Data Protection (GDPR) Compliance
HR Support
Legal Advice
Trading Issues (including Charity Shops)
Community Halls
Fundraising: Reviewing, Advising, Mentoring, Bid Writing
Training, Including Online Learning
General Advice and Consultancy
Extensive Library of Briefings and Policy Templates
Contact us if you need help in any of these areas.
13. And Finally...
I always used to hold a rather arrogant belief that Said Prayers are Dead Prayers. I’ve come to learn that this ain’t necessarily so.
Variety is the spice of life – a spontaneous prayer here, a written liturgy there, an ancient prayer somewhere else. All have their place and I encourage you to experiment.
This is a prayer for all those who feel the need to establish boundaries in their lives.
God may I live within limits,
Of my body, my mind, my spirit.
God may I live within limits,
Of my calling, my community, my capacity.
God may I live within limits,
Of who I am, and who you call me to be.
Lord help me to be comfortable in my own skin. (with thanks to to Micha Jazz)
Thank you for your encouraging messages. We look forward to hearing from you with your questions, your suggestions, your requests for help and advice. Go well.
If you find this bulletin helpful, could you take a moment to pass it onto others who might appreciate it.
Daryl Martin
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