All charities with an annual income of £5,000 must register with the Charity Commission. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule such as charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) who can register regardless of its income, excepted charities with an annual income under £100,000 (for example, some Christian denominational churches) or exempt charities (e.g. community benefit societies and academy trusts).
To be a charity an organisation must:
We can advise on charitable purposes and whether a charity exists for the public benefit as well as the payment of trustees. There are different structures which a charity may choose, including charitable incorporated organisations, charitable companies, charitable trusts, unincorporated organisations, community benefit societies and Royal Charter charities. We are experienced in all of these and can work with an organisation to help them choose the structure that is right for them.
We are on hand to assist every step of the way whether you are a large international charity, have complex structures or are a start-up. We register over 100 new charities each year, and so we recognise that all charities are different. We can work with charities to ensure that their governing document reflects their unique structure and to answer difficult questions from the Charity Commission.
We can provide a streamlined service for smaller start-up charities, as well as a bespoke package for larger organisations who are restructuring or merging with another charity, such as:
Specialist in advising on the governance, restructure and merger of charities.
The Times is looking for three or four charities to feature in their editions running in December 2019 and early January 2020.
Natalie Barbosa summarises some of the legal challenges facing fundraisers in the charity sector.
The Government commissioned an independent review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in July 2018. The outcome was published in May 2019 which highlighted areas for improvement.
In 2017, the NCVO commissioned a review of the tax reliefs available to charities. The brainchild of this review was published on 17 July 2019 in the form of the Charity Tax Commission report.
In 2014, the Charity Commission released its first guidance for charities on reporting serious incidents. The Commission has recently updated this guidance.
We’re delighted to announce that we have once again been ranked fourth in the list of the top legal advisers by number of charity clients in the Top 3000 Charities 2019 directory.
Last week the Fundraising Regulator published the outcome of its investigation into the charity, ILA. The decision has important lessons for trustees of all charities.
The regulations came into effect on 14 January 2019 and create new tools to help brand owners enforce their rights.
The Charity Commission has recently published two pieces of updated guidance relating to safeguarding and serious incident reporting.
A recent review has brought into question the position regarding donations made by for-profit subsidiary companies to their parent charities.
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