The Charities Regulatory Authority recently published a guide for Charities which describes the limitations of a charity’s promotion of political causes.

The guide states that the promotion of a political cause is acceptable on condition that the promotion directly relates to the advancement of the charitable purpose of the Charity.

It is recognised that on occasion, Charities need to engage in activities such as influencing policy or advocating change to legislation to support their charitable purpose. However, the promotion cannot be contrary to the charity’s constitution nor can the charity support a political candidate or a political party.

Permitted Activities

The guide provides clear examples to help Charity Trustees understand the kinds of actions that may or may not be permitted.

A political speaker at a charitable event is permitted on condition that it is the event and not the politician is being promoted.

Another example of a permitted activity is where a charity organises a march to Leinster House to encourage additional funding for integrated projects which advances the charity’s charitable funding.   This is permitted because the purpose of the march is to get more funding to promote good community relations, which in turn advances the charity’s charitable purpose.

Prohibited Activities

The guide refers to a fictional charity which provides its resources (a hall)  free-of-charge for use by a  political candidate for a fundraising event. This is not permitted because allowing a political candidate free use of the hall is not promoting the charity’s objects; and, secondly, it is conferring a private benefit to the political candidate. However, there would be no issue if the charity charged the political candidate its standard rate for hall hire, thereby raising funds for the charity.

The second example provided describes a charity which was set up for the purpose of advancing sustainability. This charity could not have campaigned for a ‘yes’ vote in respect of the 34th amendment of the Constitution, (same-sex marriage). The reason this would not have been permitted is that this activity is not directly related to the charitable purpose of the charity.

Lobbying

The guide also refers to the lobbying activities and highlights that charities need to ensure that if lobbying they need to comply with the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015.

The Register of Lobbying is web-based and is maintained by the Standards Commission. Further information on the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 and the role of the Standards Commission can be found at www.lobbying.ie

The Charities Regulatory Authority has introduced a “Trustee Learning Portal” to provide training to help Trustees understand their legal obligations.

The first course “Guidance for Trustees” is online and takes approximately 40 mins to complete. The content covers the material from their guidance booklet of the same name. Try it for yourself, https://trusteelearning.ie/.

Despite the limitations of online learning, there are numerous advantages; the course is free, convenient, flexible and delivers quality information to a large cohort of Trustees in Ireland fully online.   

We can look forward to the introduction of additional courses over the coming months to support Trustees in getting to grips with governance requirements in the Charity Sector.

Trustees’ Week: 13-17 November 2017

What is Trustees’ Week?

This week is Ireland’s first Trustees’ Week and is a nationwide campaign organised by the Charities Regulatory Authority and other partner organisations to celebrate the essential role that Trustees’ in Ireland play for the not-for-profit sector and to highlight the opportunities for all of us to make a difference and get involved.

#TrusteesWeekIrl

The week will be supported by the organisations on the steering committee posting on social media using the hashtag and publishing a series of blogs about trustees, you can access these on the Trustees’ Week LinkedIn page here.

Events

Please click on the hyperlink CRA Trustees’ Week Events  for a list of events being held in Dublin and Limerick. In addition, the Charities Regulator will host public meetings in Limerick (November 13) and Dublin (November 15). 

E-Learning Module for Trustees

The centrepiece of these will be to showcase the new e-learning module for trustees (which will be hosted on www.charitiesregulator.ie, the Charities Regulator website).  There will be case studies from a number of charity trustees and a short presentation by Boardmatch Ireland on how to become a charity trustee. 

The Charities Regulator launched the first in a series of guidance documents on 21^st July. These are aimed at encouraging and facilitating the better administration and management of charities. The documents address the issues of guidance for trustees and internal financial controls guidelines for charities.

 “The publication of the first of these guidance documents is an important landmark in the development of the Charities Regulator,” CEO John Farrelly said. “While our key functions include the creation and maintenance of the Charities Register and ensuring that charities are in compliance with the Charities Act, we are also tasked with encouraging and facilitating the better administration and management of charities.”

The trustees’ guidance document covers the minimum trustees should be aware of as well for those considering joining a board. To read the Guidance for Charity Trustees click https://t.co/e5T4ssk9Vh.

The internal financial control guidelines for charities document is practical and covers the main areas of financial control for charities: income; expenditure; banking (including payments and loans); assets and investments; and monitoring arrangements. It contains a number of useful checklists for organisations to ensure they have the appropriate controls in place. The Internal Financial Controls Guidelines for Charities can be read by clicking https://t.co/JiFcdtLBaf.

The Charities Regulatory Authority are expected to publish additional guidance documents before the end of the year which will include registration, winding down, conflict of interest and fundraising.

The guidelines are not yet prescriptive, however, when regulations are in place, Charities will be expected comply with these guidance documents

Charity Corporate Health Check

We are closing off Ireland’s “Trustees Week” with a Corporate Health Check specifically prepared for Charities.  

These questions can be used as an indicative test of Corporate Governance for your Charity.  You may not know all the answers or any of them, but do ask questions. Check with your Company Secretary, Statutory Auditors or Accountant who will be happy to help.

1. Charities Regulator’s Register of Charities – is your charity registered with the Regulator.

2. Registered Office – is your charity’s registered office is correctly noted in the Companies Registration Office.

3. Charity Trustee/Director – are you recorded as a Director / Trustee with the Companies Registration Office and the Charity Regulatory Authority.

4. Books and Records – are your Charity’s Statutory Registers, Board, board sub-committee and general meeting records held at the registered office.

5. Accounting Records – is the Charity using a “competent and reliable person” such as an independent accountant to maintain accounting records? The charity should be able to measure its financial position with reasonable accuracy at any time.

6. Board Meetings – is the Charity maintaining Board minutes? Minutes must contain names of those present, in attendance, meeting proceedings and note any resolutions passed. The Minutes must also be signed by the Chair.

7. Annual General Meetings – members must be issued with a notice of a general meeting and provided with a copy of the financial statements prior to an AGM.

8. Companies Registration Office Annual Return – are they being filed on time?  If your Charity is a limited company, it will have an Annual Return Date and is obliged to submit an Annual Return within 28 days of this date to the Companies Registration Office.

9. Charity Regulatory Annual Report– all charities (regardless of size) must submit an Annual Report to the Charities Regulatory, within 10 months after the end of each financial year and depending on the size, should also include the financial accounts.

10. Financial Benefits of being a Charity Trustee – as a Charity Trustee, by law you may not profit from carrying out your duty as a trustee. You cannot accept a salary specifically for acting as a charity trustee nor receive another benefit (with the exception of being reimbursed for reasonable expenses carrying out your duties).

Six months after the long awaited setting up of the CRA it was a disappointing reality that of the estimated 4,000 Charities falling under S.39 of the Charities Act only 200 had applied for registration.

Such a stark reality left the Minister for Justice and Equality with few options.  The Charities Act enabled Minister Fitzgerald to extend the deadline period for Charities (in existence prior to 16.10.2014) an option she availed of when in April 2015 she announced an extension to 16th April 2016.

When announcing the extension the Minister said “it is important that all charities operating here meeting their obligation to register on the new public Register of Charities.  This Register is intended to provide much needed additional transparency about our charity sector.  I ahve taken the decision to extend the registraiton period in consultation with the Charities Regulatory Authority.  I encourage any charity that was established before last October and that has not yet begun the registration process to do so now.”

Quite what options the Minister or Charities Regulator will have or, perhaps more importantly be willing to employ, should such a derisory level of applications continues is impossible to judge at this time.  For now, it appears that around 3,800 Charities falling under S.39 of the Act are unlikely to alter their laissez faire approach to this basic and essential piece of legislation.

An extremely disappointing outcome to date!.

Charities Act 2009

Legislation in Ireland can be a little like waiting for a bus, it all arrives at the same time. The long awaited Charities Act 2009 is finally starting to become “live”. The Act is intended to ensure transparency and accountability for all Charities. The intentions are good but, success will only be achieved if all involved in the regulation and operations of Charities can regain the trust of the donating public.

The extensive downturn in Christmas 2013 donations of between 20% – 41% experienced by extremely well known and long established charities highlights the importance of ensuring trust is re-established with the public as a matter of urgency. Scandals of the past have and will continue to have an impact on individuals supported by the various Charities in Ireland until the public genuinely believes the commencement of the Act has real and quantifiable benefits for public donations, and recipients of the extraordinary work carried out by so many unsung heroes in the charitable world.

Úna Ní Dhubhghaill was appointed the first Chief Executive of the Charities Regulatory Authority (CRA) on 1^st March, 2014. Personally accountable to the Chief Executive of the Public Accounts Committee she will also be responsible for managing and controlling administration of the CRA.

On 1^st May the Minister for Justice announced the appointment of Conor Woods as Chairperson of the CRA along with 15 other members of the CRA.

Charities, their Directors and their Officers will have to get a handle on the new terminology and reporting mechanisms contained within the Act. They will also have to recognise that personal accountability and public access to information is here to stay, and if anything, will be enhanced in the future. To help get started below is a brief outline of some of the new terms and activities contained within the Act.

Activity Report – all Charities regardless of any documents they may file in the Companies Registration Office will have to submit an Activity Report to the Charity Regulatory Authority. It is likely that including the Activity Report as a note within the Annual Accounts will suffice.

Benefit to the Community – referred to under Charitable Purpose [see below] this phrase covers the advancement of community welfare, environmental sustainability, arts, sciences, protection of natural environment, and integration of disadvantaged.

Charity Regulatory Authority – the CRA is not an individual, and is commonly referred to as either the Authority or Charities Regulator. The Authority will be responsible for maintaining a Register of Charities. The CRA will also have a role in helping Charities comply with legislation, and to investigate those Charities that do not comply.

Constitution – refers to existing Memorandum & Articles of Association of a Charity.

Charitable Purpose – for the first time a Charity must, by law, define its charitable purpose which should fall within the prevention or relief of poverty or economic hardship, advancement of education, religion or any other purpose of benefit to the community.

Charity Appeals Tribunal – the Tribunal is intended to deal with appeal processes against decisions of the Charity Regulatory Authority such as refusal of charitable status.   It will consist of 5 Members appointed by the Minister. All Tribunal proceedings will be conducted in public.

Charity Trustee – refers to Directors or other officers of the Charity.

Chief Executive – as mentioned above Úna Ní Dhubhghaill is the first Chief Executive of the CRA. Personally accountable to the Chief Executive of the Public Accounts Committee she will also be responsible for managing and controlling administration of the Charity Regulatory Authority.  

Establishment Day – the precise date will be determined by the Minister for Justice and is intended to provide a clear and definitive date showing the crossover from existing legislation to the commencement of the Charities Regulatory Authority. The existing role of the Commissioner for Charitable Donations will cease and transfer to the Charities Regulatory Authority on Establishment Day.

Registered Charitable Organisation – is defined as a charitable organisation either registered or deemed to be on the Register.

Register of Charitable Organisations – Charities that existed prior to the commencement of this Act will be deemed to be on the Register. Such charities would before the commencement of the Act have been entitled to tax exemption and have a CHY number. The Register will contain details on where the Charity is registered (in the State, EEA or elsewhere), names of Charity and its Charity Trustees.

The annual registration fee for being on the Register will be based on the gross annual income of a Charity and is likely to range from €10 – €500. An online Register is expected to be in place by middle 2014. Una Ni Dhuhhaill has indicated her intention to contact Charities with an existing CHY number in the Autumn.

There are substantial resources available to Charities as they endeavour to come to terms with the Charities Act and anyone involved in the Charity sector should avail of those resources now. This bus is leaving the Terminal, don’t get left behind!

Board of new Charities Regulatory Authority has been appointed. It’s great to see this progressing. Extract from Press Release by Dept of Justice yesterday below;

“Minister for Justice and Equality, Alan Shatter TD, today (30 April 2014) announced sixteen appointments to the Board of the Charities Regulatory Authority that is to be established later this year under the terms of the 2009 Charities Act.

Minister Shatter said, “I am pleased to announce these appointments, as an important step forward for the new system of charities regulation we are putting in place. This follows the appointment of the Chief Executive of the new Authority in March.”

The Charities Regulatory Authority will be an independent regulator for our charities. It will have powers under the Charities Act to introduce robust yet proportionate measures to improve the accountability and transparency of our charity sector. This is essential to the restoration and maintenance of public trust and confidence in our charities, whose work across many sectors makes such a crucial and highly valued contribution to our economy and society.”

“Through its work, the Authority will also help to ensure that the type of difficulties that have given rise to concerns about charities in the recent past, do not arise in future. I look forward to seeing the results of the important work that will be carried out by the Authority.”

Conor Woods is to be appointed as Chairperson of the new Authority and the following people are to be appointed as ordinary members:

Information on Appointees

Conor Woods – Chairperson

Accountant / Senior Statutory Auditor. Chairperson of Chartered Accountants Ireland Charity Committee. Lecturer on Corporate Governance Charities Act 2009 implementation, Governance Code and Irish Tax Review Guidelines with Arthur Guinness Fund.

Graham Richards: Charity Commissioner. Consultant at Matheson Ormsby Prentice Solicitors with particular expertise in the area of trusts and estates

Ann Fitzgerald: Barrister. Member of Board of Directors Cork Simon Community

Patricia Cronin: Solicitor. Board Member and ViceChair of Transparency International Ireland.

David Brady: Accountant/Senior Consultant/Advisor to the Charity sector. Former Chair of the Charities and Not-for-Profit Special Interest Group of Chartered Accountants Ireland

Patrick Hopkins: Accountant/Company Secretary Enterprise Ireland. Board Member St Vincent de Paul.

Anna Classon: Head of Fundraising RNLI. Institute of Fundraising Member.

Fergus Finlay: Chief Executive, Barnardos.

Cynthia Clampett: CEO Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation.

Tom Costello: Programme Executive with The Atlantic Philanthropies.

Senan Turnbull: Chair, Think Ahead Advisory Committee, Irish Hospice Foundation. Member of the Working Group of The Governance Code.

Barbara O’Connell: Former Occupational Therapy Manager. Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Acquired Brain Injury Ireland. Board Member of Disability Federation of Ireland and European Brain Injury Society.

Hugh Maddock: Area Organiser / Fundraiser for Rehabilitation Institute / Rehab Group who has personal experience of disability.

Sandra Chambers: Tax Specialist with particular expertise in the area of establishment and funding of charities.

Katie Cadden: Solicitor with Masters Degree in Public Law. Formerly legal adviser to PRTB.

Noel Wardick: International Programs-Consultant CBM Ireland. Former Head of International Department, Irish Red Cross. Director on the governing boards of Transparency International Ireland and Comhlámh.