Starting an NGO in the UK

wannabeslim

I would like to set up an NGO based in England, I have googled and researched but seem to only come up with companies who will set the NGO up for me, for a fee of course, I would like information and guidance on how to do it myself, would anyone be able to point me in the right direction?, I have looked at the Charity Commission site but cant see guidance for an NGO only for an NFP or a charity. Thanks for any help

paddyrg

What's the difference between a charity/company and NGO in the UK? Aren't charities/companies exactly that - organisations that are non-governmental?

PlutoinCapricorn

An ordinary registered charity is in effect an NGO.

Large registered grant-seeking charities often refer to themselves as NGOs, but this is not strictly correct as they are dependent on government grants and changes in funding policies can have detrimental effects.

If you want to start a charity, do it through the Charity Commission.

wannabeslim

Thanks for the replies, I don't want to register as a charity with the Charity Commission, is that the only way to legally set up an NGO or an NFP by registering with them?

PlutoinCapricorn

You need not register if your income is very low, but most people and organisations will give only to registered charities, unless they are local and known. Why don't you want to register with the CC?

Lomast

As far as i understand it NGO is just a term used to describe (sometimes incorrectly) an organisation, i dont believe there is any legal entity as an NGO, they are either a charity or a business

PlutoinCapricorn

The Wiki definitions might help:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-governmental_organization

NGO usually signifies a large organisation and is not often used to describe a small charity.

wannabeslim

PlutoinCapricorn wrote: »

You need not register if your income is very low, but most people and organisations will give only to registered charities, unless they are local and known. Why don't you want to register with the CC?

No reason, I probably will in the end, just making sure I had explored all options. So am I right in saying I can start an NGO or NFP with out registering anywhere?

PlutoinCapricorn

You will need to register with HMRC if you want to avoid paying tax on your income.

https://www.gov.uk/setting-up-charity/set-up-a-charity

http://careers.theguardian.com/ten-steps-starting-own-charity

martindow

wannabeslim wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, I don't want to register as a charity with the Charity Commission, is that the only way to legally set up an NGO or an NFP by registering with them?

Why do you not want to register as a charity?

PlutoinCapricorn

Be sure to read what the CC says about starting new charities.

Other posters have mentioned this as a possibility, and some people apparently thought that it might be a good income source for them as they could pay themselves a salary, which is unethical and a very bad reason for starting one. Others had not considered the zero sum game aspect, in which money given to their charity would be at the expense of other charities, so the cause would not actually benefit overall.