The Bosdet Foundation, which gave around £500,000 in profits from its self-catering units at Les Ormes in St Brelade to charities in 2019, has warned that the 2020 pot could be empty.
Mike Graham, the organisation’s general manager, said that it has already been necessary to freeze payments, while a meeting to look at future allocations, scheduled this week, has been postponed indefinitely.
‘The income from Les Ormes will be devastated by this,’ he said. ‘We hope we might be back in three or four months and I hope we can have a strong and quick recovery once that happens.’
Lyn Wilton of the Association of Jersey Charities said that all Island charities were suffering and having to cancel fundraising events.
She said the organisation was working with government and individual organisations to look at possible financial support.
The Jersey Community Partnership said last week that it was working to co-ordinate an aid package for the sector, predicting that the Island’s 500 charities could suffer collective losses running into millions of pounds.
Mr Graham said that Bosdet was seeking to play a positive role in the response to coronavirus.
‘Our charity manager, Alan Le Pavoux, has been heavily involved in the volunteer.je initiative and we are looking to allocate some of our staff to support the Parish of St Brelade
and the Maison St Brelade care home,’ he said.
‘Les Ormes is still open and providing accommodation for some medical staff and others who have to self-isolate, which at least means we are ticking over.’
