Anna Terry, CEO - Jersey Evening Post
In 2025, we awarded over 160 grants totalling £3.7 million to local organisations and individuals in need.
When I reflect on that figure, the opportunities it creates and the impact it will have on our Third Sector I feel great pride and took some time to consider the stand-out moments of the past year for the Jersey Community Foundation and Jersey’s Third Sector as a whole.
Back in May, we marked an important milestone: five years since the Jersey Community Foundation was founded and, in that relatively short time, we have awarded an impressive £13 million worth of grants to numerous local causes and charitable organisations. But this figure is more than just a number; the grants we have awarded represent opportunity - families supported through counselling and guidance, better mental health support for Islanders of all ages, opportunities for young people to access education and enrichment they might otherwise miss out on, dignity for older Islanders and crucial help reaching people before problems escalate into crises.
In the past twelve months we’ve seen a huge rise in the amount of giving across the Island – but we have also seen a huge rise in demand, which just shows how much need there is across our community and a lot of our energy and focus has been put into bringing the sector together to collaborate, support and educate in order to ensure that our Third Sector is in the best possible shape to cope with this rising need.
So, we cannot rest on our laurels, we need to continue to identify where the need is greatest and work to direct funding to the organisations and individuals who are best place to help those in need. We can only do that by working closely with government, donors, charitable organisations and the community as a whole.
Launch of PWC Impact Accelerator programme
This is why I want to highlight the Impact Accelerator Programme first.
We’ve worked closely with PwC Channel Islands for a number of years and published a report on the Value of the Third Sector in 2024 which revealed some stark truths about the health of the Third Sector:
Jersey’s charitable sector employs over 3,400 people and contributes £230 million a year to the local economy.
It’s a sector fuelled by volunteers with over 5,800 Islanders getting involved.
Despite this, many charities are in a precarious financial state.
More than a third have less than 3 months money in reserves, making their future precarious and them unable to plan for the long-term which affects their ability to provide help.
The Impact Accelerator Programme was launched in July and aims to bring the sector together, supporting local health, social care and wellbeing charities in Jersey demonstrate their value, impact and opportunities for enhanced sector wide collaboration.
The launch day was a sunny Tuesday in July and it was wonderful to see a crowded room of over 50 leaders and stakeholders at the National Trust Café at Greve de Lecq buzzing with enthusiasm. We saw representatives from Mind Jersey, Les Amis, Dementia Jersey, Family Nursing and Home Care, Brighter Futures, FREEDA and Enable Jersey among others come together to share experiences, knowledge and work towards a common vision for the sector.
There is strength in numbers and coming together as a whole means those involved will be able to plan with confidence for the long term, respond to emerging needs, deliver consistent services and make a greater difference in the lives of Islanders. I’m certainly excited to hear updates on the programme as it develops and matures over the coming year.
New and Emerging Funds
We can’t afford to stand still and as we see greater need in the community simply in terms of the numbers applying for funding, we are also seeing different types of need and specific groups requiring support. Being able to work with new and existing donors to create new and innovative funds is really exciting and something I’m particularly proud of this year.
One of these in particular was the launch of our Social Mobility Fund which was made possible by work with a new donor.
Some of our new and emerging funds reflect the current economic pressures felt by Islanders with a focus on fairness, access and opportunity. Cost of living is rising, we have an ageing community and young people are encountering less opportunity – both in the workplace and in their leisure activities. The Social Mobility Fund and our new DE&I fund address the Island’s specific challenges in this area, helping ensure that a person’s background does not determine their life chances. It focuses on funding activities and programmes that improve access to education, skills, networks and opportunity, particularly for children and young people, with benefits that extend across the whole community — from greater life choices to a stronger, more diverse workforce and greater social links across the generations.
Through this, and other donor funds, we’ve seen the Jersey Basketball Association able to roll-out sports and umpire opportunities to young people who would not normally have access to them and Wetwheels who are providing disadvantaged children the chance to take part in a powerboat experience where they can handle and steer a boat and take part in fishing – activities that boost confidence, communication and engagement with Jersey’s natural environment.
Lingo Language Learning were awarded £10,000 from the Social Mobility Fund for its Jersey’s Muslim Women Project – a multi-year programme of 12-week Basic English language classes aimed specifically at vulnerable or hard to reach women living in our community with low levels of English and income. Free childcare was also available during the classes to help break down barriers to attending and the women attending not only benefitted from better language skills, but confidence, independence and vital friendship and connection.
Funding from donors who are specifically keen to support young people who are disadvantaged also meant that St Mark’s Church Summer Holiday Café was able to provide hot lunches to vulnerable children during the long summer holiday – a time when families can really struggle to feed the whole family due to cost of living and lack of support which usually comes from the schools. The success of this programme means it is likely to return this year and expand to help even more young people in need.
Access to the arts and history can be particularly difficult for our young people due to our geography as an Island as well as increased cost of living pressures. It’s often simply not possible to travel to experience new and different cultures which can really diminish an interest in them and hinder the progress of someone wanting to study. We know life is enriched by access to the arts and so I’m thrilled that, following discussions throughout 2025, we are set to take over the administration of The Rivington Fund, an existing fund which focuses specifically on providing access to arts and cultural opportunities to those Islanders who would normally find this out of reach. This opportunity to travel and study can ignite real passion and enrichment while building confidence and perhaps vocational ambition and I’m excited to hear about what recipients of this fund discover and where their studies and interests take them as a result.
Growing a Culture of Philanthropy
There is huge inequality in Jersey – our Local Needs Assessment report from (2022) reported that 53% of Islanders struggle to meet basic living expenses while the Island’s bank deposits recently reached £156.4 billion. And these figures are now 3 years old so this gap has certainly widened.
Since our launch we have worked to address this by working closely and proactively with Locate Jersey and local professional advisers across law, accounting and wealth management to encourage proactive conversations about philanthropy.
According to figures from Jersey Finance, the total net asset value of alternative investment funds under administration in Jersey stands at £452 billion and as a jurisdiction we attract global wealth on both an individual and corporate level. We are fortunate to have access to many of these extremely wealthy individuals and organisations who want to help and we are able to work with them to tailor their giving to match their values and in many cases their desire for privacy. We also know that women are increasingly making the major decisions about large-scale philanthropic giving and feel very strongly about where the money should be targeted.
These conversations are critical because thoughtful giving is far more impactful than ad hoc donations as it aligns resources with real community need and supports long-term outcomes.
In October we built on this work through our really successful ‘Growing a Culture of Philanthropy’ events. Working with a renowned philanthropy expert - Emma Beeston - we devised a day focused on two separate groups: the morning brought over 30 professional advisers together to understand the value and role of philanthropy when advising clients and to equip them with the tools to open meaningful conversations and integrate philanthropy into long-term financial planning. Emma explained that 87% of wealth investors want charitable planning as part of their financial advice but currently only 6% receive it. This is a huge business opportunity for advisors as data shows that those that can offer advice will see large scale business benefits as a result.
The afternoon saw vibrant room at the Radisson Blu of over 160 fundraisers and charity representatives working together to supercharge their donor engagement, funding applications and communications methods through practical workshops and presentations.
Bringing advisers, donors and charities together strengthens understanding, trust and collaboration and ensures that giving is strategic and impactful, while also fostering a shared sense of responsibility for Jersey’s future. By nurturing these connections, we can continue to grow a culture of philanthropy that benefits the whole Island, now and hopefully for generations to come.
Support for a local Philanthropy Policy
While funding and collaboration are the foundations of the work we undertake at JCF, it was a real milestone in November to receive ministerial endorsement from the Government of Jersey to lead the development of Jersey’s first Philanthropy Policy. I personally view this as a positive endorsement of the work we have done for the past five years and represents trust in our ability to bring together government, the private sector and the third sector to create a shared vision for giving in Jersey.
A clear policy framework can encourage generosity and remove barriers to ensure that philanthropic capital aligns with Island priorities. Over time, it can unlock resources for preventative measures and community-led solutions which will reduce pressure on public services while promoting social cohesion.
JCF’s role in this development is as a trusted, independent expert, connecting perspectives, listening and grounding policy in evidence and experience.
By shaping policy alongside practical action, we aim to position philanthropy as a strategic tool for Jersey’s future. It is not simply about funding individual projects but about creating the conditions for long-term, systemic change that benefits everyone. Work in earnest starts in 2026 so watch this space!
Looking Ahead to 2026
As we ahead look to 2026, our focus remains on effective philanthropy based on local need – targeting funds directly to where they can make the most impact. Philanthropy is most powerful when it is a tool for long-term social good and we will continue to champion this approach.
Among our next steps is the development of a new infrastructure support fund, designed to help charities strengthen the foundational elements of effective delivery — from strategy and business planning to systems such as CRM and accounting software.
Alongside this, we will continue to bring people together through donor and sector events that foster learning, connection and shared purpose. We are starting as we mean to go on with an event in early January partnering with several other grant giving organisations to offer informal support and advice to anyone looking for applying for funding. These initiatives are deliberate investments in the long-term health of Jersey’s community ecosystem. With thoughtful philanthropy, strong partnerships and a shared commitment to fairness and opportunity, we can continue to build an Island where individuals, communities and charities are supported not just to cope, but to thrive.