Policy

What we need

 The Wheel believes that community and voluntary organisations will require independent advice and guidance...

The community and voluntary sector requires an infrastructure-of-support to provide training, advice, information, mentoring and support-services that address needs in the areas of:

  • board development, governance, and leadership
  • strategy development
  • general management: human resources, operations, financial and accounting, information and communications technologies, and other management areas
  • regulation
  • fundraising and funding.

The infrastructure-of-support should also provide:

Statement of Principles for Fundraising

 ...a series of free resources that are designed to assist in the implementation of the Statement of Guiding Principles for Fundraising.

Fundraising by charities in Ireland is to be regulated according to a voluntary scheme to develop and implement Codes of Good Practice on the operational and administrative aspects of fundraising by charities.

 ...a series of free resources that are designed to assist in the implementation of the Statement of Guiding Principles for Fundraising.

Tax and Charities

Where a charitable organisation wishes to apply for exemption, it must submit a completed application form, CHY 1.

The Revenue Commissioners are responsible for the administration of charitable tax exemptions and for this purpose determine whether a body of persons or a trust claiming the benefit of any exemption is established for charitable purposes only.

Following establishment of the Charities Regulatory Authority, the Revenue Commissioners will remain responsible for the administration of the charitable tax exemption system.

Where a charitable organisation wishes to apply for exemption, it must submit a completed application form, CHY 1.

The Wheels View Of Active Citizenship and Community & Voluntary Organisations

Achieving social inclusion depends on our commitment to ensure that active citizenship embraces principles of community development.

Community and voluntary organisations play a vital part in the life of communities, enabling people to come together for their own purposes and take part in community activity by engaging in social or leisure pursuits, helping themselves and others, or promoting a cause they feel strongly about. Voluntary and community organizations are, as a result, very important facilitators of community involvement.

Achieving social inclusion depends on our commitment to ensure that active citizenship embraces principles of community development.

Strategy

Without a strategy for the way ahead, you will probably get lost or, at the very least, end up going around in circles.

Vision and Mission

Every organisation has an ethos, a belief system or a set of principles 

Defining what you are about: vision and mission

Although most organisations will have some sort of governing document, the wording and language used in constitutions, memoranda of association and similar documents are frequently insufficient, too broad or unsuitable for wider use. Developing a short, clear vision statement and/or mission statement that summarises the long-term change that you want to make, is therefore very useful. When doing so, it is vital that all relevant people are involved. 

Internal Policies and Procedures

Deciding policy is only the beginning...

Policies provide a framework within which an organisation makes choices about how it operates and so can either help or hinder the implementation of the strategic plan. Organisations may have policies on any number of topics, for example:

Strategic Planning

Do not assume that there will be agreement on where the organisation should head in the future

Reasons for planning

Planning is vital, yet people find all sorts of reasons for not doing it! If there are new demands on organisations (for example, pressure on resources, awareness of unmet needs, political or legislative changes) many try to respond immediately.

Do not assume that there will be agreement on where the organisation should head in the future
This can lead to wasted energies, haphazard developments and conflict. Even when plans are made, they are sometimes not implemented, or the impact of the plans is not evaluated. Remember that planning is a means to an end and not an end in itself.

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