No.

Item

Action

Present:

Committee

Phillip Callow                Chairman

Liz Le Poidevin              Deputy Chairman

Simon Larbalestier         Honorary Secretary

Hannah Williams           Honorary Treasurer

Marie du Feu                 Applications Review Officer

David Newman              Training and events co-ordinator

Hugh Munro                  Committee Officer

Stephanie Duke             Committee Officer

In attendance:

Lyn Wilton (Administrator)

Rosanne Gray, (Speaker)
Nick Hutchinson – nominated Treasurer

Members and guests following the completion of the formal AGM

1

Welcome and Apologies:

The Chairman welcomed members to the AGM. Apologies were received from a number of members a list of which is available on request.

2

Minutes of the Previous Meeting:

The minutes of the 43^rd AGM held on 10th July 2014 were proposed and seconded, approved by the members and signed off by the Chairman as a true record of the meeting.

3

To Receive the Annual Report from the Chairman:

The Chairman guided the attendees through the Annual Report.

The main points being that we still do not have a full charities law in place, and no word of when this will happen. However it will mean changes for all of us, member charities in that they need to make sure they are ready for the introduction of new regulation regarding charities, and eventually to the AJC.

For the Association of Jersey Charities there are other considerations that we have to reflect upon.  One of the key roles of the Association is to ‘vet’ members before they are eligible to receive grants from the Lottery profits.  However, once the formal scheme of registration is established and the Charity Commissioner is in post, it will be the Commissioner’s responsibility to administer the charities test.  This will render our vetting role for membership mostly redundant.  I say “mostly” because we are an organisation not just for charities but for other causes that benefit the community generally. In such circumstances should we continue to be a membership organisation?  Perhaps we should automatically accept all registered Jersey charities into membership and only vet the community benefit organisations?  Alternatively, should we cease to be a membership organisation completely and focus upon distributing Lottery profits to charities and good causes?  What is clear to your Committee is that there are issues around and arising from the Charities (Jersey) Law to be considered and discussed and raised with you as a membership.  Over the course of the next year we shall be communicating with you our thoughts and obtaining your own input on how the law affects the role of the Association in the future.

Looking back at the activity of the Association this year it has been an excellent year in terms of funding the sector.  As you will see from our Treasurer’s Report, we spent more than we received in income.  For a commercial organisation this might be viewed as a negative but for our Association, this is good news as we are applying our reserves to meet the needs of our members.  Elsewhere in this report you will see the statistics for the grants we have given, the funds that we have available and some success stories from our members.  All of this makes me immensely proud.  Proud of you, our members for continuing to devote so much time and effort to the good causes that you support.  Proud of the Executive Committee who continue to work hard to vet membership applications and grant requests and who are now spending more time considering how the role of the Association sits alongside the Charity Law.  Proud of our wonderful administrator, Lyn, who is a friend, mentor and organiser for all of us.

4

To Receive the Annual Report and Accounts from the Treasurer for Year Ended 31.03.15

Nick Hutchinson presented his first year end accounts, and guided the membership through the contents. However, as the audit had not been completed, the adoption was deferred, and this decision was proposed, seconded and agreed on a show of hands by the members.

To re-appoint Bracken Rothwell as auditors for the year

Approval was proposed and seconded and carried by a show of hands.

Election of Officers:

The election and re-election of the committee was proposed and seconded and carried by a show of hands.

Phillip Callow                Chairman

Liz Le Poidevin              Deputy Chairman

Nick Hutchinson            Treasurer

Simon Larbalestier         Honorary Secretary

Lynsey Mallinson           Publicity Officer

Marie du Feu                 Applications Review Officer

David Newman              Training and events co-ordinator

Hugh Munro                  Committee Officer

Stephanie Duke             Committee Officer

7

Proposition to amend the criteria for funding ‘start up’ charities

It was proposed, seconded and carried by a show of hands that the committee have flexibility in considering funding for start-up charities. In order to allow time for new members to establish themselves and prove their viability and sustainability and the need for their services, the members agreed to allow the committee discretion when considering grant requests in that the maximum of £30,000 may not be offered, but a lesser amount instead.

8

Any Other Business:

The chairman opened this subject to the floor.

The Chairman introduced the guest speaker, Rosanne Gray, the Operations Director of Virgin Unite. A fascinating and inspirational talk on how Virgin has been changing business for good across many diverse sectors from travel to telecommunications, health to banking and music to leisure.

With over 100 companies worldwide, Virgin employs approximately 60,000 people in over 50 countries.

The chairman thanked Roseanne and closed the meeting and talk, which ended at 8pm. Members and guests were invited to enjoy a finger buffet and a chance to network.

Date of Next Meeting:

The next meeting of officers will be held on Tuesday 8^th September 2015 at the RBC Offices, Colomberie, St Helier.

Signed Chairman…………………………………………………………………

Dated………………………………………………………………………………