Feature / Giving support

From providing a voice for charities on accounts consolidation to spreading best practice, the Association of NHS Charities has a growing role, says Ros Clarke

Are you in the finance team of an NHS trust or NHS foundation trust, with the task of looking after the charitable funds? Do you know what their purpose is, what the legal position is in terms of what they can and cannot be used for, what governance is required to oversee their management? Well, there is a body you can turn to for advice and support, where you can get the latest information and where best practice is the name of the game. The Association of NHS Charities seeks to support and be the voice of all 317 NHS charities in England and Wales.

Founded in 2000 the association now represents a substantial number of all NHS charities and last year it became a registered charity itself.

The aim of the association is to promote the effective working of NHS charities by:

• Providing an authoritative voice for NHS charities
• Providing a forum for discussion
• Collating and disseminating information and advice
• Promoting and encouraging best charity  practice
• Providing information, advice and training  for trustees and their staff
• Supporting member charities with local  difficulties
• Retaining a bank of knowledge and good  practice

NHS charities collectively hold more than £2bn of charitable assets and receive more than £300m in income annually. By promoting effective working, the association aims to ensure that this huge resource is used effectively and efficiently to the benefit of all users of NHS hospitals and services.

At the heart of the association is the sharing of best practice. Our conferences and events include best practice forums, presentations on investment management, grant making, fundraising, risk management, legislation and regulation and governance. And our annual business meetings, and twice yearly member charities representatives meetings, provide opportunities to network and stay updated.

Drawing on membership experience and a bank of contacts, we also offer individual support and advice – for instance, on establishing a fundraising function, the appointment of senior staff or appointing professional advisers such as lawyers and fund managers.

The association has had a number of achievements over the years. Together with the Charity Commission, we helped create report and accounts templates to assist compliance with SORP 2005 and 2008. We compiled a database of charities, enabling the Charity Commission to be inclusive in its communications, and we worked with the Appointments Commission on the appointment of trustees.

End of dual accounting

The association also played a role, several years ago, in achieving the end of dual accounting. This meant NHS charities no longer had to prepare charity accounts for the Department of Health, just for the Charity Commission like all other charities.

However, the consolidation of NHS charitable funds is once again on the table as we move towards international financial reporting standards and this is a particular issue for corporate trustee bodies.

The Financial Reporting Advisory Board [FRAB] with Treasury support has been asked to give consideration to granting NHS charities a ‘divergence’ from the standard practice until 2010/11. This would give time for NHS bodies to review trustee arrangements, ensuring that charitable funds committees provide independence between the charity and the NHS organisation, hopefully removing the requirement for consolidation. The association is involved in these discussions with the Department of Health, Monitor, the Charity Commission and the Audit Commission.

Fundraising for health is the fastest growing fundraising sector. NHS charities, whether independent bodies of trustees or corporate trustee bodies, are keen to bring in new money to ensure they continue to add value to the work of their beneficiaries. This is vital as it is inconceivable that government funding alone will ever provide everything the NHS needs in terms of equipment, the healing environment, research or staff development and training.

Charity event

The Association of NHS Charities next major national conference, Harnessing the power of fundraising, will be held on 18 March in London. It is also putting on a series of free regional events to promote the benefits of membership and enable anyone interested to talk to the association’s council members.

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