If your charity has an unincorporated legal form, such as a trust or an unincorporated association, we can help you to decide if incorporation is the right step. Generally these days we recommend that a charity is established in an unincorporated form where it does nothing but grant funding, or its operations are very simple. That’s because unincorporated charities do not have a ‘separate legal personality’ and there are circumstances where the trustees might have to meet the liabilities of the charity.
Incorporation is the process where we set up a new charitable incorporated entity and transfer the assets and liabilities to it from the existing unincorporated charity. You can draw on our expertise to decide if it’s right for your organisation, or consider other possibilities.
Perhaps you’re an established international charity looking to set up in the UK. We can support every step of your journey, from explaining the UK regulatory regime to advising on your immigration issues.
Choosing the right legal form
We can explore the angle of legal structures with you, to evaluate the best one to meet your needs.
You might want to consider:
- Vehicles such as a charitable incorporated organisation, a trust, a company limited by guarantee or even a charitable community benefit society;
How to involve members or other stakeholders in your governance;
- Bespoke processes for appointing trustees
- We’re also experienced in helping organisations spin out of other vehicles, and with helping entities achieve Royal Charter status.
We can also advise you on:
- Defining your charity’s purposes
- Drafting your governing document including defining your charitable purposes.
- Registering with the Charity Commission, Companies House and HMRC, as well as other relevant regulators.
- Drafting an essential suite of policies to make sure you’re legally compliant and can start your journey with solid governance foundations
