# What is the 30-70 rule for charities? The term "30-70 rule" is not defined in the Jersey Charity Commissioner's published guidance reviewed here, and it does not appear in the Charities (Jersey) Law 2014 material we can verify. It may be a nickname or informal benchmark rather than a legal requirement, so treat any specific definition with caution until checked against the official source. Some charity-related figures get repeated so often that people assume they are law. Before applying anything called the 30-70 rule to a Jersey charity, it is worth separating what the official guidance actually establishes from what circulates informally. Based on the Jersey Charity Commissioner's managing-your-charity guidance, there is no stated spending ratio, income threshold or percentage split that charities must follow. References: [https://charitycommissioner.je/managing-your-charity/](https://charitycommissioner.je/managing-your-charity/). ## What Jersey charity law guidance does establish The Commissioner's guidance focuses on governance duties rather than spending percentages. Every charity registered in Jersey, whether in the public or restricted part of the register, must submit an annual return within two months of the anniversary of its registration date. Charity governors have duties under the Charities (Jersey) Law 2014, including ensuring the charity complies with directions and duties imposed under that Law, follows its constitution, and reports reportable matters or misconduct of a fellow governor to the Commissioner. Failure to comply with these duties may itself be considered misconduct. References: [https://charitycommissioner.je/managing-your-charity/](https://charitycommissioner.je/managing-your-charity/). ## Where a spending ratio could legitimately come from If a 30-70 type ratio exists for your charity, the most likely place it would appear is your own constitution, or a funder's conditions, rather than Jersey legislation. The Commissioner's guidance notes that a charity's constitution may set out its own rules, including how many governors it must have and how many must be present for a valid meeting. In the same way, a constitution or a grant agreement could impose its own spending or reserves requirements. That would be a contractual or constitutional matter for your charity, not a general rule of Jersey charity law. References: [https://charitycommissioner.je/managing-your-charity/](https://charitycommissioner.je/managing-your-charity/). ## A practical comparison Suppose a trustee hears that a charity must spend at least 70 per cent of income on charitable purposes and keep costs below 30 per cent, and worries the charity is breaching the law. The correct response is not to recalculate the budget immediately against that figure. Instead, check three things in order: the charity's own constitution, any funding agreements that attach conditions to money received, and the Charity Commissioner's current guidance. If none of those documents contains such a ratio, there is no basis for treating it as a Jersey legal requirement. Conversely, if a funder's grant terms specify a split, that is a matter of honouring the grant terms, and the charity's governors would need to be able to demonstrate compliance. References: [https://charitycommissioner.je/managing-your-charity/](https://charitycommissioner.je/managing-your-charity/). ## How to verify the rule properly - Search the Jersey Charity Commissioner's website for the exact term, since guidance is updated and the Minister may prescribe further requirements by Order under the Law. - Check your charity's constitution for any spending, reserves or budgeting requirements it imposes on governors. - Review funder and grant agreements for percentage-based conditions attached to specific money. - Contact the Charity Commissioner's office directly if you have seen the term used in a way that sounds like a legal requirement, before relying on it. References: [https://charitycommissioner.je/managing-your-charity/](https://charitycommissioner.je/managing-your-charity/). A useful habit when a rule sounds precise but the source is vague: keep a dated record of where you saw the claim, the exact wording used, and the entity or charity it supposedly applies to. That mirrors the verification approach this site recommends for checking regulated entities, and it works equally well for charity governance claims. Your next step should be to check the Commissioner's current guidance and your own constitution, and only then decide whether any 30-70 figure has authority for your charity. References: [https://trustees.je/](https://trustees.je/), [https://charitycommissioner.je/managing-your-charity/](https://charitycommissioner.je/managing-your-charity/). ## Sources - [https://charitycommissioner.je/managing-your-charity/](https://charitycommissioner.je/managing-your-charity/) — accessed 2026-10-18 - [https://trustees.je/](https://trustees.je/) — accessed 2026-10-18 Published 2026-10-18. Trustees Jersey editorial; AI-assisted preparation. ## Next step - [Open trustees.je](https://trustees.je/) - [About](https://trustees.je/about)