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Has anyone ever set up a charity?

young codgeryoung codger Posts: 529
in The potting shed
I'm not enquiring about  the accounts & book keeping side, just the initial setting up side of matters at this stage. 
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  • FireFire Posts: 17,116
    I;ve been involved, yes. The first question is whether you need actual charity status. Life is much easier if you don't..
  • Balgay.HillBalgay.Hill Posts: 940
    It seems to be pretty easy.
    Just come from an expensive public school, and have fellow ex school fellows give you a job on at least £100,000 a year.
    Sunny Dundee
  • young codgeryoung codger Posts: 529
    Balgay.Hill said:
    It seems to be pretty easy.
    Just come from an expensive public school, and have fellow ex school fellows give you a job on at least £100,000 a year.
    Maybe for some, but  the intention is  of everything being done by  volunteers with an altruistic nature where possible. 

    I have heard of the set ups whereby people at the top cream off ££££s in ott salaries.
  • young codgeryoung codger Posts: 529
    Fire said:
    I;ve been involved, yes. The first question is whether you need actual charity status. Life is much easier if you don't..
    Hi fire,
    Are you able to share a bit more on that please?
  • FireFire Posts: 17,116
    Is it an existing organisation? Long standing?
  • young codgeryoung codger Posts: 529
    No fire, it would be a new venture.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,027
    My husband ran a children's choir in the 1990s which got invited to sing at a conference in Florida.  I applied for charity status in a hurry, so we could access funds which were only available to charities - a lot of the kids would have been unable to go to America without a lot of financial assistance.  It was a long time ago, I'm afraid, so I can't remember any details, except that it wasn't too difficult.  None of us took a salary, including my husband as the conductor.  It's much easier if you're completely transparent, as well as being the right thing to do morally.
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • young codgeryoung codger Posts: 529
    @Liriodendron
    Thank you for sharing that.

    What sort of reason might someone not be completely transparent in the context of this subject, and why would they be that way for example?
  • FireFire Posts: 17,116
    A lot of people do set up as charities in order to apply for certain kinds of funding. I'd suggest with a new venture to not become a charity just for financial reasons. There are lots of other formats you can use and you can raise money with various structures. There are various hoops to jump through, including financial accountablity procedures that can end up becoming onorous. The Charity Commission closely monitors who is doing what.


  • young codgeryoung codger Posts: 529
    Fire said:
    A lot of people do set up as charities in order to apply for certain kinds of funding. I'd suggest with a new venture to not become a charity just for financial reasons. There are lots of other formats you can use and you can raise money with various structures. There are various hoops to jump through, including financial accountablity procedures that can end up becoming onorous. The Charity Commission closely monitors who is doing what.


     Thank you for the link.

    A very successful and well known entrepreneur said do not start a business with the main reason being financial. I feel it was good philosophy. It would also be the wrong reason to start a charity.

    Regarding the charity commission, let's hope they come down hard on the 'takers' who have   tarnished the charity of Sir captain Tom. 

    https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2022-02-09/captain-tom-foundation-investigated-over-accounts
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