Article published in Jersey Evening Post
Far from being just a safety net for those in need, Jersey’s charitable or ‘third’ sector holds a stake in Jersey’s economic, social and physical wellbeing. We ought to get a better grasp on what that stake is and how those that fuel these charitable initiatives can be held positively accountable and their valuable services monitored and managed.
Anna Terry explains how Jersey Community Foundation (JCF) is working with key charitable stakeholders and PwC to demonstrate the value of Jersey’s ‘third sector’.
Jersey's charity sector is proportionately large in comparison to elsewhere. Analysis from JCF’s local needs assessment research in 2022 suggested that there were approximately 4.3 charities per 1,000 people in Jersey, compared with 3 per 1,000 people in England & Wales, and 2.2 per 1,000 people in Australia. This excludes many community organisations and sports groups which may not be captured by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) or Jersey Care Commission (JCC). By income, a third of England & Wales charities are very small compared to only a fifth of Jersey.
The ample size of our third sector suggests a demand and (sometimes pressing) need. And, whist we anecdotally understand the reliance Jersey has on the third sector across most aspects of Island life, from health and housing to heritage, arts and culture and everything in between, we lack dedicated data that confidently demonstrates its economic and social value.
Indeed, the feeling of many third sector representatives is that the value and contribution of their sector to Jersey in monetary terms is often overlooked. For example, of the 450 charities registered with the Jersey Charity Commission in 2021, total assets exceeded more than £660 million with annual spending of more than £200 million. To put that into perspective, the Gross Value Added (GVA) of the hospitality sector which includes hotels, restaurants and bars in 2021 was approximately £189 million (Measuring Jersey's economy, 2022).
Yet, the value of these charities' assets, spending and volunteering doesn’t capture the much larger spillover effects that these charities have on the Island which extend to further within society and the Government. For instance, supporting homeless Islanders into accommodation can in turn lower crime and health spend, as well as generate higher tax revenues for the Government. This illustrates how charitable support can have positive economic benefits - individuals in receipt of charity become more productive (and less expensive) members of society (Jersey Homelessness Strategy, 2020).
As well as playing a role in Jersey’s economic and social landscape, charitable organisations play a significant role in the stewardship of Jersey's Culture, Arts, and Heritage. They also play a key role in delivering learning and education to Islanders of all ages. Moreover, the third sector are integral to the success of our social safety net and care provision. Of the 106 organisations registered with the JCC, a third are charities. This underlies a prevalent and pressing need for these charitable services within our government-funded health system. So, as well as sector-driven desire to demonstrate its own value, there is a wider ‘should’ when it comes to collecting data on the third sector regarding the good governance of charities that are propping up lifeline systems for Jersey’s population.
As it stands, Jersey lacks the depth of internationally comparable data typically available in larger nations. This matters because ‘if you can't measure it, you can't manage it’ and this is particularly true for third sector organisations. Across all Jersey’s charitable services there are significant data gaps which are impeding the work of charities. Therefore, to be driven by outcomes, the third sector needs access to regular and rigorous data collection.
Whilst our 2022 report data went some way to emphasis the truly central role the third sector plays in the community, better data is needed so that – amidst calls from charities for greater financial support and resources– we might understand more fully what we are investing in and what investment in turn society will receive. And so, with the support of stakeholders from other charitable organisations, JCF have launched a survey that will help demonstrate the value of the third sector.
The Value of the Third Sector Survey
Since launching our Needs Assessment Research in early 2023, we have been working with PwC and other charitable stakeholders as well as pulling on our own experience within the sector to grow our understanding of Jersey’s charitable landscape. Specifically, thinking about how best to equip the sector with the data it needs to better measure, and so manage, the large stake of Jersey’s economic, physical, mental and social wellbeing that it currently holds.
The Value of The Third Sector Survey, which was launched earlier this month, is the first step on this journey. The survey aims to establish a baseline on the current size of the sector, its impact, and its outlook and challenges. We hope to raise awareness of the sector's:
Economic value: To better capture the economic benefits of the sector to the island.
Financial dependencies: To better understand how dependent the sector is on different types of donors, and therefore any challenges to financial resilience.
Public sector contracts: To quantify the contribution made by third sector organisations in the delivery of public services.
Strategic ambitions: To raise awareness of how the sector is collaborating, how it could become even more effective, and what challenges and opportunities it faces.
So far uptake from the third sector (to whom the survey is intended) has been good, perhaps in part because of the £5000 grant incentive we have attached to its completion, though also, we hope, in support of its aims and objectives. We want to encourage as many of the 1000+ members of the third sector in Jersey to complete the survey. It is important we capture the views of organisations across the whole sector, irrespective of size or area of impact. Contribution to this survey will feed into a broader study into the value of the third sector to Jersey, helping us to gather the evidence to support the argument for better and more sustainable funding and to create a platform for the sector to make more informed strategic decisions for the benefit of our island and Islanders.
Specific feedback from organisations like Société Jersiaise has been that filling out the survey in itself is a helpful framing exercise for charities (something that has also been said of filling out JCF’s grant applications). The questions prompt third sector organisations to consider their strategic direction, their sources of income and how they current report and monitor against deliverables.
“The questions are interesting because it serves as a template for us regarding the type of data that we should be focussing on collecting. Since we are undergoing huge changes in our organisational structure, it’s helpful to spend a bit more time collating our available information and understanding what we need to work on.” - Rebecca J. Bailhache, Chief Executive, Société Jersiaise
This initial enthusiasm for the exercise, we hope, predicts positive uptake that will drive meaningful results that will pave the way for a very exciting (and timely) direction for our valuable third sector.
What next? Launching the survey’s results
We are proud to be partnering with PwC to analyse the results of the survey. The data will be processed and presented by PwC, led by Daniel Chan MBE who will be in Jersey to launch its findings alongside Jersey’s Lieutenant Governor on 23rd October 2024. In addition to being a Director of PwC UK, leading their work for and with charities, Daniel Chan has first-hand experience of being a trustee of local and national organisations. We are very grateful to PwC for lending JCF – and indeed the community of Jersey - his expertise in this regard.
The public will be made aware of headline data and initial recommendations shortly after the launch on 23 October. We will be publishing the report on our website.
At JCF, as a grant-giving organisation, we can see how better data will fuel our fundraising agenda: with measurable data we can benchmark, demonstrate growth, improve, streamline efforts and ultimately govern better. In doing so, we present a more professional outfit, one that is befitting of the stake the third sector hold in our Island’s wellbeing. Finally, with data we can strengthen the trust between funder and recipient organisation, in the hope that they might reliably place more funds in charitable organisations whose support is demonstrably vital to the community in which we live and work.
By completing the survey, third sector organisations will have the opportunity to win a grant of up to £5k, and be invited to the launch of the findings, as detailed above, later this year.
I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank everyone involved in driving this initiative and supporting its wide dissemination. With particular thanks to the team at PwC, Jersey Community Partnership, Mike Palfreman, CEO, Jersey Hospice Care, Beth Gallichan, Independent Charity Consultant, Jersey Overseas Aid and the Office of the Jersey Charity Commissioner who have been instrumental in shaping the survey; and the Association of Jersey Charities, who have helped encourage their members to complete the survey.
The survey is to be filled out by charities, social enterprises and other non-profit organisations in Jersey only and takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. Progress can be saved, and the survey completed at a later/time. Answers can also be downloaded once the survey has been completed.
The link to the survey can be found here: https://survey.pwc.com/jfe/form/SV_cNEa3xCe1QHFUqi