At the end of last year, we had 421 charities registered in our tiny island, and together they held over £600 million in assets. The third sector is important economically to Jersey, as well as in the huge work even the smallest charities undertake in bettering our lives.
This is why IoD Jersey are including the Third Sector as a separate category in the 2021 Director of the Year Awards. This award is open to directors whose organisations are charities, community organisations or social enterprises that do not generate profit for individuals.
Of our registered charities, 278 operate solely in the Island, with another 58 operating both here and the UK. The lion’s share of expenditure recorded by our charities last year was focused on Jersey activities, with some £90 million of the total expenditure of £125 million being spent in Jersey.
With the appointment of John Mills as the Jersey charities commissioner in 2017, a public register and oversight of the third sector was instigated. This has served to formalise the roles and duties of many who run charities.
In his 2020 report, John said that there were around 1,700 people serving as charity governors, a huge voluntary force working to improve life in the Island. It is therefore critically important that directors in the charity sector display excellent leadership, including planning, efficiency, transparency and accountability.
These duties are even more important where, as in many cases, there are no paid employees and reliance for good governance rests solely with trustees or directors.
The judges are looking for leaders who can demonstrate how to get the best out of others for the benefit of their organisation and the people/communities they serve. They will have a compelling vision and demonstrate a commitment to empowering others, inclusive decision-making, collaborative leadership and innovative solutions to fulfil the organisational purpose and values.
The judges will also consider how the director demonstrates impact in the context of the operating environment, financial sustainability and good governance. Nominees will be asked to give an example of what they have done to improve their organisation’s financial sustainability, given the additional challenges associated with the pandemic. The judges will also be looking at how entrants have used their leadership role to promote anti-discriminatory practice and improve equality, diversity and inclusion.
Kevin Keen, chairman of the Association of Jersey Charities, urged people to take part in the awards, ‘There are some fantastic leaders in the third sector,’ he said. ‘ The IoD awards are a great opportunity for them to be recognised.
‘This is not just important for the winners and the nominees because hopefully these winners will inspire others to aim for the high standards required to win an IoD award, which will benefit the sector and in turn Jersey,’ he said.
This is just one category in this year’s awards, sponsored by Appleby. We want to celebrate leaders in all fields, whether you’re an established business, NED, Start-up director or a young director. Entry is free and you do not have to be a member of IoD Jersey to enter.
The full list of categories is:
lLarge Business.
lSME Business.
lFamily Business.
lStart-up.
lThird Sector.
lPublic Sector.
lYoung.
lEquality, Diversity & Inclusion.
lSustainability.
lNon-Executive.
We have an excellent panel of judges, some of Jersey’s finest directors and former directors from a range of business sectors and backgrounds. The panel will be chaired by Kevin Keen, who will be joined by John Henwood MBE, Brendan McMahon, Dr Lesley Dickie, Kate Wright, Kristina Le Feuvre and Tom Hacquoil.
We also hope to celebrate our 2021 Award winners at a black-tie ceremony at The Royal Yacht on Friday 17 September. Tickets for this dinner can be purchased on Eventbrite.
You have until Friday 11 June to get your nominations in by clicking on ‘Awards’ on the www.iod.je website.
IoD Jersey are also looking for category sponsors for the awards. While the main awards are very kindly sponsored by Appleby, we are looking for category sponsors who would like to have their names and businesses attached to these prestigious awards, both on the night and in publicity. Please contact Richard Tribe for further information at Richard.Tribe@gmail.com.
