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To be a charity in Northern Ireland, your organisations must have a charitable purpose that is for public benefit.

The 12 descriptions of charitable purposes, under the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, are:

• the prevention or relief of poverty
• the advancement of education
• the advancement of religion
• the advancement of health or the saving of lives
• the advancement of citizenship or community development
• the advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science
• the advancement of amateur sport
• the advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity
• the advancement of environmental protection or improvement
• the relief of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage
• the advancement of animal welfare
• any other charitable purpose

If any of your purposes are outside this list, then your organisation cannot be a charity in Northern Ireland.

Public benefit rules for charities

Your charity’s ‘purpose’ is what it is set up to achieve. For an organisation to be a charity, each of its purposes must be for the public benefit. The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland has produced statutory .
 

To set up a new charity, you must decide what sort of legal structure it will have.

There are three main types of charity structures:

• unincorporated association
• charitable company
• charitable trust

Your charity structure is defined by its governing document, the legal document that creates the charity and explains how it should be run. See create a governing document for your charity.

The type of structure you choose affects how your charity will operate, such as:

• who will run it and whether it will have a wider membership
• whether it can enter contracts or employ staff in its own name
• whether the trustees will be personally liable for what the charity does

Unincorporated association

Unincorporated associations can be easier to set up than other forms of charity. You may decide to use this structure if you are aiming to create a small charity with more than one charitable purpose.

Unincorporated associations do not have a separate legal identity, which means they can’t hold land or investments in their own name.

The charity trustees have personal legal responsibility for what the charity does. If you decide to set up this type of charity, it would be a good idea to seek legal advice about your liabilities.

Charitable company

A charitable company can own land and enter contracts in its own name.

Charitable companies also have limited liability for debts or lawsuits. This means that their company members are usually only liable for a limited amount of money that is set out in their governing document. See create a governing document for your charity.

Charity trustees will still be liable for losses due to fraud or intentional wrongdoing.

Charities that decide to be companies may:

• be large
• have employees
• enter commercial contracts
• own freehold or leasehold land, or other property

A charitable company must comply with the Companies Act 2006. Companies must register with the and with .

Charitable trust

Charitable trusts are usually set up with a specific sum of money and a group of people who become the trustees.

You might use this structure if your charity:

• will only make grants to individuals or organisations
• will be run by a small group of people
• will not have a membership
• will not employ staff or enter into contracts

Like unincorporated associations, charitable trusts don’t have a separate legal identity, which means they can’t hold land or investments in their own name. This means that the charity trustees share personal legal responsibility for the trust.

It may be valuable to seek legal advice when setting up your charity – see choose a solicitor for your business.

Trustees are the people who control a charity and ensure that the proper procedures and policies are in place to meet its charitable purpose.

It is important for any charity to have trustees with the skills, knowledge, and experience that the charity needs. Trustee skills can range in nature from financial or marketing skills to fundraising skills and links with relevant communities or stakeholders.

Trustees play an essential role in the governance of charities. They also have a lot to contribute to their success. They can:

• help promote communication with the communities that a charity is targeting
• bring valuable professional, business, and legal experience to charities
• help to ensure that charities are well-managed through the appointment of senior staff

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland recommends that each charity has a minimum of three charity trustees. If a dispute arises within the charity, there can always be a deciding vote.

How to find trustees for your charity

There are several ways that trustee boards can recruit new trustees. Personal recommendation and word of mouth is a popular option. Social media, such as LinkedIn, can also help promote the trustee role, in addition to free notices on local websites, notice boards or newsletters.

Further 91Ï㽶»ÆÉ«ÊÓƵ is available from the following organisations:

• NICVA (Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action) provides further information on trustees and delivers regular training for trustees – .
• Volunteer Now has a members directory of volunteers and provides training and promotion of volunteering opportunities – .
• Community NI helps voluntary, community and social enterprises to create a page providing information about their organisation and the services they provide – this includes posts about news, events, jobs, and opportunities. .

Some people are disqualified by law from acting as charity trustees – provides further information on the disqualifications.

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland has further information on and .

Your charity name is central to your brand and influences how the public recognises you.

When you are choosing a name for your charity, you should:

• be creative and choose a unique name that people will remember when they want to make a donation or volunteer
• avoid words that may be misleading or cause offence
• keep it simple - pick a name that is easy to say and easy to spell to ensure that customers can recommend you and find you online
• be aware of intellectual property rights and check that the name you want to use is available – check the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s

For further information and tips see choose the right name for your business.

Working or alternative charity name

Some charities can have more than one name – a main name and a working name. For example, Comic Relief is a working name for Charity Projects.

When you with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, ensure that you include any alternative, abbreviated or working names.

Can the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland instruct a charity to change its name?

Under certain circumstances, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland can request or direct a charity to change its name. For example, if the name is the same or is too similar to another charity or is likely to mislead the public on the nature of the charity.

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland provides further information on .

You must create a governing document that explains how your charity is run.

Your governing document lets trustees and other interested parties find out:

• your charity’s purpose
• who runs it and how they run it
• how trustees will be appointed
• rules about trustees’ expenses
• rules about payments to trustees
• how to close the charity

The governing document should also outline procedures for meetings, voting and finances.

There are a few different types of governing documents, including:

• a constitution for an association
• articles of association for a company
• rules for an Industrial and Provident Society
• a trust deed for a trust
• a will for a will trust

Governing document templates

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland provides model . Charities can use the templates as a starting point and adapt them to meet their organisation’s specific requirements.

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland is the independent regulator of charities in Northern Ireland.

An organisation must apply for registration as a charity in Northern Ireland if it:

• has exclusively charitable purposes
• is governed by the law of Northern Ireland
• has control and direction over its governance and resources<

The Commission manages the registration process by calling charities to apply in batches. In order to be called forward to register, new charities must make the Commission aware of their existence. You can do this by filing an  form.

Charities registered with the Commission must also comply with a number of legal responsibilities, including reporting to the Commission on their activities, governance and finances on an annual basis. See annual reports for your charity.

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland provides further information on .

Once you have registered your charity with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, you are legally required to report your charity’s finances, resources and activities.

Registered charities must submit a report through the annual reporting programme. It must include the charity's:

• accounts
• trustees’ annual report
• report from independent examiner/auditor (if required)

Usually, registered charities must submit an annual monitoring return for their first full financial year following their registration date. However, following the , the annual reporting rules for some charities have changed.

The Act created differing annual reporting requirements for charities. They vary for those registered before and after May 2019.

For further information, see the Charity Commission’s guidance on .