Setting Up A New Charity

[Marie Claire]

Hi

 

As one of the Oldies Club Regional Co-ordinators I have been asked for my advice on fundraising for a possible new charity/cause. This I can do fairly easily.

 

However I would like some general advice and tips (without going into too much detail as I understand it can be quite complicated) that I can pass on regarding how to go about actually setting up a charity, the main factors and costs involved and possible alternative ways to set up a "fundraising group/organisation" for a specific cause, that may be simpler? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[cycas]

There's a fair bit of info on the Charities Commission site that may be helpful : http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/Start_up_a_charity/

 

I know Oldies Club is only a few years old, but I believe the rules have already changed and got harder - I think Dogstar became a charity a year or so after Oldies and it was fiddly enough for Oldies but even worse for Dogstar.

 

If it's something that comes into the area of an existing charity, could you perhaps work with them to set it up as a special project or something? That way you could lean on the existing infrastructure rather than start over.

[Marie Claire]

Thank you for the link, it looks very comprehensive.

 

Also the suggestion about affiliating with another existing charity or organisation is an excellent idea. The person that I've been asked to speak to is a young, but very enthusiastic individual so this may be an ideal compromise that would enable her to get involved while avoiding what seems to be a very complicated and intricate process.

[Phoenyx]

I was going to set Phoenyx Animal Refuge up a a registered charity a while back but as I run it mainly on my own it was a nightmare to try to get permission. I kept it as it is instead. Do LOTS of research and make sure you have a team of a few people round you that you can trust to help run it.

[Happylittlegreensquirrel]

I think it is a bit harder nowadays to get registered

 

You need to have raised a minimum of £5000 in a 12 month period before your application can be assessed

 

What you are doing has to be chartable ( as defined by the charities commission ) and for the public benefit ( thats a new change I understand )

 

you need trustees , a constitution and be able to in great detail (from our experience) explain what you do , where , why and how you decide who does and does not benefit from your services ( we had to explain how we decide what treatment we give to each animal , what vet we use and why we use them )

 

this was my first response to my completed ( in great detail ) application

 

From my initial consideration of the information submitted, it is not entirely clear whether or not your organisation will undertake activities other than fundraising. There are many organisations established to either support the activities of an existing charity or to undertake particular charitable activities directly themselves. Such organisation may be charitable if they either:

 

• Pursue charitable activities directly in furtherance of their stated objects. The activities must involve far more than simply fund-raising and offering financial help; or
• Provide grants, services or facilities which directly support the work or promote the more effective operation of an existing charity. In this case the trustees must exercise real and substantial discretion in applying the funds raised, i.e. they must be involved in selecting the ultimate purpose for which the funds are to be applied.

If an organisation is established simply to raise funds for other charities/organisations, then the trustees have no discretion as to how the funds are to be applied and consequently, the organisation will not be a charity. The reason for this is that the fundraising trustees would not be directly carrying out any charitable activity themselves. The charitable activity would be carried out by the receiving charity, whose charity trustees would have the discretion to use the funds as they see fit. The fund-raising organisation would merely be acting as a “channel” for the funds.

 

I would be grateful if you could explain how the trustees will treat funds raised, what discretion will the trustees have over how funds raised are applied? Please provide as much detail as possible.

 

If it is determined the Foundation is not simply a fundraiser and that the trustees have full discretion over the funds raised, I will then proceed with my assessment of this case.

 

the fact we work overseas may well have added some extra bits for us

[Marie Claire]

Phoenyx and Happylittlegreensquirrel thank you for your replies:flowers: