29. Other Activities Including Fund Raising Activities Carried on with the Approval of the Board
Last updated: Wed, Sep 21st, 2016 8:31:59 am
29.1 The Department wishes to encourage the development of income from other sources by the Board and endeavours to ensure that the method of determining the level of the grant from the Department does not hinder such development. The Department wishes to acknowledge the contribution which these sources have made to the lives of pupils in respect of services provided. In particular, the Department wishes to acknowledge the effort and benevolence of bodies such as Parent Associations towards school development generally.
29.2 The Board is responsible and accountable for all fund raising carried out under its auspices and appropriate control arrangements should therefore be put in place. The Board should satisfy itself in relation to any activity which it authorises:
that there are appropriate controls, financial, accounting and otherwise in place
that all legal obligations are fulfilled
that appropriate records must be maintained.
that Health & Safety risks/matters attaching to each activity are considered and provided for. A formal risk assessment should be conducted in advance of fund raising activities which will ensure that all necessary controls have been implemented prior to the event commencing.
29.3 Involvement in any fund raising activity must not involve any cost falling to be met from the School Fund either on a temporary or a permanent basis. The School Fund must not be used for the purpose of making any payments or accepting any receipts in connection with any fund-raising activities by whomsoever organised.
29.4 Separate financial records should be maintained to manage and control funds arising from activities/undertakings authorised by the Board. An annual report setting out income and expenditure for each activity together with opening and closing bank/cash balances, assets and liabilities must be presented to the Board for its consideration and approval within three months of the year end. The books and accounts must be available to the Department's officers and officials from the Comptroller and Auditor General's Office if requested.
29.5 A Parents’ Association is entitled to raise funds for the administration and activities of the association and to hold a bank account in the name of the Parents’ Association. The Parents’ Association shall consult with the Board about any fund-raising for the school or school projects. The approval of the Board is needed prior to these funds being raised. It is good practice to record the agreement reached between the Board and the Parents’ Association in relation to such fundraising, including the purpose for which the funds are being raised, the manner by which the funds are to be raised, the timeline for the transfer from the Parents’ Association bank account to the Board of any funds raised and the estimated timeframe for the agreed project. The agreement should be recorded in the minutes of the Board of Management and the Parents’ Association meetings respectively. The Board of Management should thereafter seek regular updates from the Parents’ Association in relation to the fundraising and record those updates in the minutes of the Board meetings.
The expenditure of these funds is by the Board of Management in consultation with the Parents’ Association. All monies raised or generated for an agreed project for the school should be transferred to the Board as soon as is practicable and in accordance with the agreed timeline for the transfer of funds as set out in the agreement between the Board of Management and the Parents’ Association. Any funds raised must be used for the purpose(s) for which the money was collected. If in exceptional circumstances, it becomes unnecessary for the Board to use all of the funds collected for the purpose specified, the Board will communicate this to the Parents’ Association and where appropriate, the local community. In any event the funds must be used for the school. The Board in consultation with the Parents’ Association committee will decide the change of purpose for which the funds are used.
29.6 The Board must decide the circumstances and the manner in which fund raising is to be undertaken by the Board. Authorisation for each such activity must be evidenced by a separate Board minute specifying the purpose and nature of the activity involved.
Fund raising activities carried out under the auspices of the Board are covered by State Indemnity. Schools can contact the Enterprise Risk Management Section of the State Claims Agency (SCA) if they wish to get confirmation on whether or not State Indemnity applies to a fundraising activity or if they require risk management advice.
Fund raising activities carried out by other fund raising bodies (e.g. Parents’ Association, Past Pupils Union) which are not under the auspices of the Board are not overed by State Indemnity even in circumstances where the school may be the ultimate beneficiary of funds raised. These other fund raising bodies should ensure that they have appropriate insurance in place for such activities. The Board only becomes accountable for funds raised by those groups where these are paid over to the Board.
Equipment donated to the school by outside bodies must be recorded in the assets Register.
29.7 In certain circumstances, the Department may request the board to have the accounts for all or some of these activities audited by a registered auditor. This would happen where the amounts turned over by such activities is considered to be of such significance that independent assurance is required regarding the financial position of the activities concerned and the presence and operation of internal controls. Indeed, some boards due to the materiality and complexity of the activities undertaken themselves decide to have the accounts for these activities audited by a registered auditor. To obtain the appropriate level of reassurance, the terms of the audit opinion to be provided by the schools auditors should be along the lines of those set out at Appendix 11 to the Manual unless otherwise agreed by the Department.
29.8 The Board may make arrangements for the acceptance of subventions towards specific objectives other than the general direction and governance of the school, subject to the approval of the Minister. Before accepting such subventions, the Board should take reasonable steps to satisfy that the donor is reputable and of good standing.
29.9 With regard to the operation of tuck shops and similar activities by schools, the Board should also carefully consider the following:
the appropriateness of such an undertaking
the management structure and the level and extent of segregation of duties and internal controls required
the staffing arrangements and obligations arising
the increased obligations (e.g. revenue authorities) on school management and on the Board
the possibility of franchising/renting out the facility under a legal agreement approved by the Department which may relieve or reduce management responsibilities in this regard.
29.10 Where the Board, having considered the above, decides to operate directly such an undertaking, the control arrangements set out in this Manual must be strictly followed.