How do organisations qualify for charity status in Jersey?
Any entity may apply to be a registered charity if they have a written constitution and they are either a Jersey entity or carry out substantial activity in Jersey. A charity in Jersey is an organisation which is entered on the Jersey Charity Register. If the organisation is not on the Charity Register it cannot use the word Charity in its name.
Meeting the charity test
An organisation can only become a charity if it meets the ‘charity test.’ To do this it must have only charitable purposes and it must provide public benefit in Jersey or elsewhere.
Appeals for named individuals or groups of individuals
Under the 2014 Law, fundraising appeals for named individuals, or groups of named individuals, will not be able to become registered charities.
Appeals that only benefit a specific person, or a very limited number of people, do not provide sufficient public benefit to warrant being a charity. They provide “private” benefit to the named individual/s.
For example, an appeal that is set up to help support a particular person, or a particular group of people, who have been injured in a road accident only benefits them. A charity that supports people generally who are injured in road accidents, benefits the section of the public who are injured in road accidents, thereby providing public benefit.