NOT enough support is provided to help understand complex regulations when setting up not-for-profit organisations, a fundraising expert has said.
Beth Gallichan, who has 20 years of experience in Jersey’s third sector, said well-meaning Islanders looking to set up their own charitable organisations face “complex” language and “limited advice”.
She admitted that even she struggled to understand what was being asked of her when setting up a new not-for-profit organisation despite her extensive experience in the area.
Her concerns come after a letter from Policy Centre Jersey senior advisor Sir Mark Boleat in the JEP which criticised the “extraordinary” regulations placed on charities and non-profit organisations in the Island. He recommended that the obligation for charities to also register as non-profit organisations is removed due to the red tape involved in this process.
Ms Gallichan has recently been working to set up Island Kind, a not-for-profit organisation which will offer training in fundraising and governance to charities and volunteers across the Island while also hoping to match volunteers to charities. In setting up the organisation, Ms Gallichan said she had found the process unnecessarily complicated.
“I think it’s very difficult when you have regulatory bodies that don’t see from the perspective of the sector.” Ms Gallichan said. “We’re sort of trapped in this bit where the regulations have increased, but the knowledge and the understanding and the best practice isn’t in place.”
“The language is so complex – it shouldn’t be this difficult.
“We could develop a different way to ensure that governance in place but not make it ultra complex. Sometimes I find the language and legal documents around charity constitutions is not written in plain English and this is a barrier to people understanding these important documents”
She explained that the convoluted formal process around setting up and administering charities creates unnecessary challenges for people who are “constantly stuck in this place where you want to do good but it’s so hard to actually get to that point”.
“I’ve just registered Island Kind as a not-for-profit, and the response I had was probably from someone who doesn’t understand the third sector,” she said.
Looking at the information requested by the regulator in relation to her application, Ms Gallichan said: “I don’t even understand what they are asking me to clarify. My goal is not primarily to raise or disburse funds for non-profit purposes. Raising the funds is how we achieve our purpose. It’s too complicated.”
She added: “Who’s going to help people who want to operate enterprises where the main objective is to benefit our community? There is very limited advice or help available. So where do people go without having to engage in costly legal expenses?”
