• Grant Aid
  

• £ for £ Grants to Jersey Charities Working Overseas

As the Commission will fund a great many varied projects in developing countries it is not itself able to carry out the vital functions of overseeing the work and the funding of those projects it supports, it is usually only prepared to give grants through established aid agencies. Such agencies should have officers in the field able in the first place to recommend a scheme from personal knowledge of it and then to act as Jersey’s agents to see the project through to completion.

The Commission is not willing to give direct grants for projects to be administered by governments, members of governments or their officers, nor does it usually make direct grants to individual schools, hospitals, communities or groups, including trustees or charities set up for such specific purposes.   It will, however, consider such applications where they are submitted by an established aid agency, preferably one where JOAC has established connections through the agency's U.K. headquarters or the U.K. branch of an international agency.

JOAC has established working relationships with such agencies, which provide a comprehensive range of projects throughout the third world.   In order to avoid increasing administration and thus making more effective use of public moneys, the Commission will only consider further additional major aid agencies and those smaller agencies specialising in types of relief not covered by its existing network.

In selecting those applications which it agrees to fund and which satisfy the criteria set out above, JOAC will particularly focus upon the predicted outcomes of the projects which must be clearly defined and measurable in the applications.    Subsequent reporting back must compare the achieved outcomes with those originally envisaged.   This already happens in most cases but greater emphasis will be given to this area than in the past. The Commission is aware that some outcomes such as the provision of school desks and chairs may not score as high as other projects or may be difficult to assess but this does not exclude them from consideration and being grant aided.   Similarly it understands that development work in the third world is not predictable to the same extent and standards expected in developed countries and that outcomes may be disappointing as well as beyond original expectations.

JOAC also considers the contribution and involvement of the recipient community and the subsequent sustainability of projects.   Giving a hand up and not a hand out is a vital ingredient for the Commission to achieve its purpose.

Both capital and certain running costs of the project are eligible for funding.   Salaries and running costs including costs of monitoring will however only be considered where there is a specific project having an identifiable end or aimed at being self supporting and independent.   The Commission will neither fund ongoing permanent salaries and permanent running costs nor will it fund the agency's general running costs.

The Commission will also consider co-funding projects where the project will be co-funded by NGO's (Non Government Agencies) or non-recipient government agencies such as DFID (U K Department For International Development) and OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development).   The application however must clearly identify that part of the project for which funding is requested with a view to ensuring that funded part of the project has a specific identity capable of measurement and assessment and is sustainable in the long term.   The payment of funding in such cases will be deferred until such time as the agency confirms that the other co-funding has been secured.

For those seeking funding, it is a requirement that a new agency should approach one of the established agencies (see Links page ) with whom the Commission already works, in order that a partnership is formed whereby they may include the new agency's proposed project within their own applications to the Commission.  The principle agency is then responsible to the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission for the monitoring of the project and control of its funding. All new agencies are obliged to go through this route for a minimum of three funding rounds before being eligible to make a direct application to the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission.  The Commission will only make exceptions when new agencies are supporting different areas of funding not already covered by those established agencies already supported.

Projects submitted to the Commission should in general be capable of completion within 12 months from commencement.   Each project should not exceed £65,000.   The Commission will consider funding one year of a multi year project subject to that project meeting all of its other criteria and it having identifiable expenditure and outcomes which are clearly defined and costed.

In addition to the above applications the Commission will invite 10 agencies to submit a single project for three years funding. The selection of agencies made by the Commission will be based on the quality of annual grant applications and will be drawn from large and smaller agencies.   The list will vary, and the number of projects selected for funding will be dependent on the quality of the submissions . Agencies failing to achieve a grant for two consecutive years will be removed from the list but maybe re-instated after an interval.   This will allow the Commission to give other agencies a chance to be selected and keep administrative costs of all parties within bounds.    Applications for three year funding projects will only be considered from the specific invitees.   There will be a general notification to the UK offices of the list of selected agencies with the annual distribution of application forms.

The Commission has set the maximum grant for a single project to approximately £65,000 whilst three year projects remain in the region of £150,000, but there would be some flexibility in the amount spent each year of a three year project.   JOAC will review these limits on an annual basis.

£ for £ Grants to Jersey Charities Working Overseas

The Commission has set aside £50,000 of its budget in 2007 on the basis of matching specific fund raising on a £ for £ basis subject to a maximum of £5,000 per project to recognised Jersey Charities working overseas, that is other than branches of UK charities. Grants will be on the basis Jersey Charities shall be able to apply for more than one grant per year, however funding will only be considered for different projects affecting different communities in any one year. To be eligible the applicant must demonstrate that their body is properly structured and funding and expenditure safe guarded. The project must meet the same criteria as those set out for other agencies (see Grant Aid).

Application forms and details to be supplied can be obtained in writing in the first instance to the Executive Officer.

It is not the remit of JOAC to engage in fundraising, indeed it would be a contradiction to compete for funds against those whom we set out to help. However the Commission is seeking to improve communications with local fund raising branches of those agencies whose work is in the field of overseas aid.