Charity Formation

There is a choice available to charities and voluntary organisations about which legal structure they choose to adopt. The most appropriate legal structure will depend upon the type of work being undertaken by the charity. However the most common are trusts or a charity limited by guarantee, although there are other options available.

For those considering setting up a charity there must be a clear charitable purpose. Some of the other questions to be asked will be what is the organisation seeking to achieve and who are it's beneficiaries?

A charity may also want to consider forming a seperate trading arm which could gift aid or covenant some or all of its profits back to the charity. A charity will need to be aware that it will not be able to use any of it's own money or resources to support the trading arm.

For detailed advice on legal structures & formation of charities or voluntary organisations contact Watson Esam's specialist charity team on.