My charity is in Scotland, can I still register as a charity?
Well, the answer is yes.
If your charity is based in Scotland, that is, if it’s main office and/or bank account is there, then yes you can register your charity with Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, or OSCR for short. The rules for becoming a charity in Scotland are a little different to England and Wales and you do not need to demonstrate an income of £5000 in order to be registered.
The general principles are the same however, namely you must have “exclusively charitable purposes” in your valid “governing document” and you must also be able to demonstrate that your purposes are there for the “benefit of the public”, not just a small number of people. The OSCR website has a lot of helpful information that prospective charities may find useful.
And what about me, I operate from Belfast, can I register anywhere?
Again, the answer is yes… well, it will be shortly. Until recently there has been no register of charities in Northern Ireland, but there is one being developed right now. The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland are just about to invite new charities to register with them. Existing organisations that are registered with HMRC as charities need not do anything until contacted by CCNI.
Yet again, very similar principles about charity status apply in Northern Ireland as they do in Scotland, England & Wales, with regard to charitable purposes and the public benefit. As in Scotland, there is no need to have an income of £5000. CCNI also have a very useful website.
Here at Charity Expert we have the skills, knowledge and expertise to set up and register your charity with any of the charity regulators mentioned above so please do contact us for a free consultation to see if we can be of service to you.
Comments are closed.