Charitable Organisations
Charities are those organisations that are registered with the Charity Commission. Being a charity will allow access to the majority of funding opportunities that are available. It is a legal structure than is suitable for any organisation that wishes to act for the public benefit, employ staff and hold assets including property.
want to become a charity?
Please note your organisation will only have to be registered if its annual income is over, or expected to be over, £5,000. It is not the charities commission policy to register charities that do not meet this minimum requirement.
The charities commission have a simple process and guidance that will take you through the steps needed to become a charity - including exploring if becoming a charity is the right legal structure for what you want to do;
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registration/think.asp
They also have a list of publications that you should consider called 'starting up' which can be found at;
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/publications/ccpubssu.asp
They give advice over all aspects of becoming a charity , including examples of the types of governing documents you will need to have ; such as 'CC22 - Choosing and Preparing a Governing Document' at
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/publications/cc22.asp
Groups should still aim to follow the detail that is laid out in 'Good governance - code for the voluntary and community sector' as laid out in the voluntary and community sector governance hub. The summary of this document can be found at
http://www.governancehub.org.uk/docs/Code%20Pocket.pdf
The full document at;
http://www.governancehub.org.uk/docs/Good%20Governance%20Code%20-%20Final.pdf
and the general site of the governance hub that offers lots of practical information is at;
http://www.governancehub.org.uk/
The voluntary sector legal handbook is a guide to the law as it affects charities, community groups and other voluntary organisations, including employment legislation, data protection and the Human Rights Act. It does cost £50, but is a good source of legal information.
http://www.governancehub.org.uk/resources/The%20Board%20In%20Control/BC-Internal%20Controls/425
The alternative is that your local capacity building organisation (Usually your local Council for voluntary services) should have a copy you can gain access to.
Joining your local capacity building organisation as a member will usually be quite cheap (£20 approx) and it will offer you support and information on a huge range of topics from governance to fundraising. It is usually money well spent even if you have very limited resources.
Trustees
The people who manage a charity are called trustees, and they have certain legal obligations. All trustee's should read CC3 - The Essential Trustee: What you need to know which can be found at http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/publications/cc3.asp
Payment of trustees is not normally considered as viable due to potential conflicts of interest. (Apart from legitimate expenses, however the charities act 2006 does allow for certain payments
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/spr/charbill.asp
Trustees should also have an induction process, the NCVO have good guidance at;
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/askncvo/index.asp?id=735&terms=induction%20policy
Charities Act 2006
The charities act 2006 has made some distinct differences to how some charities operate. There have been changes in thresholds, new rules on the payment of trustees and changes in the need for dual registration with Companies House. There is a plain English guide for the key issues that trustee's need to recognise:
Or you can get a free hard copy from calling 0845 015 0010 and quote URN 07/Z2 for the guide in English.