CH: Starting a charity

Ray_Williamson

Don`t forget that small charities -- those with income or spend under £5,000 per year -- do not need to register with the CC. They need a constitution with proper charitable objects, then you send them off to the Inland Revenue for Charities, and you can enjoy the benefits of Gift Aid and the like without too much paperwork.
These new rules came into operation in April 2007.

The objects, by the way, are vital. Too many organisations have "objects" like "to hold meetings" and the like. Wrong!
Holding meetings is one of the things you do to achieve objects .... such as to relieve poverty, improve living conditions, preserve local heritage, educate the public, prevent cruelty, etc etc. In other words, your objects should be drawn with a very broad brush!
Objects should be for the benefit of the community. That is the broad test which they all have to pass.

Samannie

eponymous wrote: »

but why start another charity when there are almost 200 000 in the UK? wouldn't it be better to associate with an existing one that largely shares your objectives? overeads would be slashed, for starters.

I have to say i agree, it just doesn't seem to make sense that there are charities with the same or similar objectives competing against each other.

borders_dude

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

_____________________________________

What are the steps to setup a new charity? - we were promptly directed to The Charity Commission, and since they are responsible for regulating all aspects of charities, from setting them up to winding them down, that is the best place to start. There is also a link to Ali’s Dream, which has a very readable page under the ‘Official’ link about how that charity was started.

Its worth pointing out that if you are forming a charity in Scotland it would be best to visit the website of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, just incase there are some differences in the relevant legislation.

Their website is http://www.oscr.org.uk

Savvy_Sue

Time marches on, the law changes, and we have a more up to date thread about starting a charity and the implications here. I am therefore locking and unsticking this thread.