Governing Documents & Anti Financial Crime Policy

The objectives of the new Charity law are

• that Charities should have adequate governance, in particular that they have proper accountability and integrity so that there is public confidence in their administration and management

• to meet international standards aimed at preventing charities from being used for criminal purposes, specifically including terrorist financing, money laundering, fraud and bribery, collectively referred to as "financial crime"

so as to provide assurance to donors that their funds will be used only for the purposes of the published and agreed charity mission

What is the minimum standard of Governance to meet the requirements of the Law?

Good governance is not a panacea, and will differ according to the nature, size and extent of the activities of each charity.

The Law prescribes two specific things that every registered Charity MUST have as a minimum standard.

1 What MUST be in a Governing Document

The Governing Document for EVERY charity must contain the information set out in the Schedule to Clause 4 of the Regulations.

This checklist will help charities determine whether their Governing Document meets the requirements of the law. If any of the required provisions are missing, you may need to update your Governing Document.

One option is to adopt a simple Addendum which includes the 18 requirements set out in the Schedule to Clause 4 of the law. A draft Addendum, which can be used as the basis for making these updates, can be downloaded below.

Pro forma templates for Governing Documents are available. The below is based on a model from the UK Charity Commission and has been adapted to reflect the requirements of Bailiwick charity law.

2  In addition to 1 above, what MUST INTERNATIONAL CHARITIES have?

If the Charity is an International Charity, that is one whose purpose is to send or receives funds from outside the Bailiwick, International Charities must also have an Anti-Financial Crime Policy that summarises the risks of terrorist financing, money laundering, bribery and corruption that might be applicable to the activities of the charity, and ways that the charity addresses those risks.

Below is a draft of an Anti-Financial Crime Policy and guidance on how to complete the policy. Policies should explain what your charity will do in practice, for example who will carry out annual reviews, what checks apply to international partners, what training will be provided, and how records will be stored and protected.