Charity registration workshop Charity Commission for Northern Ireland

1. Charity registration workshop Charity Commission for Northern Ireland

2. Workshop objectives By the end of this workshop you will have a clearer understanding of the following: • Answering key elements of your charity registration application • How to assess your organisation’s purposes • How to draft a public benefit statement • Navigating the online registration process

3. Workshop schedule Introduction to Charity registration 10 mins Assessing charitable purposes 25 mins  Purposes and Public benefit toolkit 35 mins Break 10 mins  Online registration system 30 mins Questions 10 mins

4. Introduction to charity registration

5. Key terms Charity trustee:The people who are legally responsible for the control and management of the administration of the charity. They may be called trustees, governors, directors, committee members or some other title. Governing document: This is any document that sets out the charity’s purposes and how it is to be administered. It may be a trust deed, constitution, memorandum and articles of association, a Royal Charter or some other formal document. Control and direction: Those who have control and direction of an organisation are the people who are ultimately responsible for its management and governance – the trustees.

6. Background: charity registration in Northern Ireland • All organisations that are or could be charitable must apply to register • No exceptions or exemptions • Charity trustees responsible for ensuring organisation registers and adheres to charity law • Differs from registration with HMRC for tax status • Organisations will be called forward in tranches drawn from three lists • Deemed list: random sample • Non-deemed list: in date order • Special circumstances: priority and grouped registration

7. What is a charity? Established for exclusively charitable purposes: each purpose must fit within one or more of 12 descriptions of purpose and be for the public benefit Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, as amended

8. What are the 12 charitable purposes? Relief of those in need Education Any other charitable purpose Citizenship, Community development Animal welfare Arts, culture, heritage, science Health, saving lives Religion Relief of poverty Environmental protection or improvement Amateur sport Human rights, conflict resolution, reconciliation, promotion religious racial harmony, equality, diversity Supporting guidance

9. What is the public benefit requirement? Benefit: this is the way in which an organisation’s purposes are beneficial and the extent to which they are beneficial. The benefit must: • flow from the charity’s purposes • be capable of being demonstrated • be beneficial, not harmful. Public: the organisation must know who the intended beneficiaries are and how they might benefit. The benefit which flows from the charity’s purposes must: • be to the public or to a section of the public • not provide a private benefit to individuals unless this benefit is incidental. The nature of the public benefit and the way it may be demonstrated will be different for each purpose and for each organisation.

10. Public benefit requirementand purposes: Toolkit • Rationale for the toolkit • identify or review the purposes of their organisation • ensure the charity’s purposes adequately express what the organisation was set up to achieve • identify or review the public benefit flowing from each of its charitable purposes • complete the response to the public benefit section of the online charity registration form • Three sections • Reviewing organisation’s purposes • Completing the public benefit statement • Example purposes and completed public benefit statement • The public benefit statement must be completed for each purpose.

11. Toolkit: purposes Identifying or reviewing your organisation’s purposes • What are charitable purposes • Fall within one of the descriptions in the Charities Act and • Are for the public benefit • Why they are important • What / who / where • Distinct from powers • Can not be illegal or political

12. Toolkit: purposes

13. Purposes checklist

14. Practical exercise 1 Charitable purposes

15. Practical exercise part one To advance education through a weekly club for children of pre-school age in the Belfast area in order to facilitate a successful transition into primary school learning. Purpose 1: charitable, clear who, what and where To advance education Purpose 2: vague, description of purpose, would need more information, may or may not be charitable.

16. Practical exercise part one continued The purpose of the organisation is to campaign to change the law to abolish the sale and purchase of alcohol in order to advance health Purpose 3: not a charitable purpose as it is a political purpose. The purposes of the charity are for the public benefit:1 to promote the care, safety and upbringing of children and young people by:-1.1 supporting and assisting those in need, their families and carers;1.2 promoting their health; and1.3 advancing their education. Purpose 4: likely to be a charitable purpose, but confuses means with purposes, vague in parts.

17. Toolkit: public benefit Completing the public benefit statement • The benefit that flows from each of your purposes. • Demonstrating this benefit. • Any harm arising from the purpose and whether this is outweighed by the benefit. • Who the beneficiaries are: the public or a section of the public. • Whether any individual or organisation gains a private benefit and, if so, that this is incidental in achieving the purpose • Complete sentences in the toolkit • Draft in a separate document and copy into online application form

18. Toolkit: public benefit

19. Benefit element • For each purpose: • What benefit flows from it? • The benefits which flow from this purpose include improved health outcomes and reduced levels of stress and anxiety • Can you demonstrate the benefit? • These benefits will be demonstrated through feedback from patients and regular independent evaluation of our services • Is any harm or possibility of harm outweighed by the benefit? • In providing medical treatment for patients with illness x there is a risk of unintended side effects from the drugs however this is rare and the benefit outweighs the harm

20. Public element • For each purpose: • Who is the benefit for? • The benefits of this purpose are provided to those diagnosed with illness x and to their families and carers • Is there any private benefit? Is it incidental and necessary? • The private benefit flowing from this purpose is that gained by a Trustee who also has a teenage child who uses the respite service. This trustee applies for and is assigned respite in the same way as all other beneficiaries therefore it is incidental

21. Public benefit statement • The benefits which flow from this purpose include improved health outcomes and reduced levels of stress and anxiety • These benefits will be demonstrated through feedback from patients and regular independent evaluation of our services • In providing medical treatment for patients with illness x there is a risk of unintended side effects from the drugs however this is rare and the benefit outweighs the harm • The benefits of this purpose are provided to those diagnosed with illness x and to their families and carers • The private benefit flowing from this purpose is that gained by a Trustee who also has a teenage child who uses the respite service. This trustee applies for and is assigned respite in the same way as all other beneficiaries therefore it is incidental

22. Practical exercise 2 Public benefit statement

23. Practical exercise part two Example public benefit statement The trustees believe that our purpose satisfies both elements of the public benefit requirement. Purpose one The direct benefits which flow from this purpose include an increase in the number of children in education across the world and reduced infant and child mortality rates. These benefits can be demonstrated through official government statistics. There is the potential for harm in sending volunteers to dangerous parts of the world however this is mitigated through having policies in place to protect them and is necessary to achieving the purpose. The beneficiaries of this purpose are children in any country of the world. A private benefit may be to the travel company with whom we have a relationship to facilitate the movement of volunteers abroad. These benefits are incidental and necessary to ensure the benefit is provided to our beneficiaries.

24. Registration process: questions Any questions?

25. Registration process: the onlineapplication system

26. What do you need to apply? Registration information and document checklist • Up to date governing document • Trustee declaration • Details of charity trustees: DOB, contact details, current and previous names • Bank details • Most recent annual report (not essential) • Latest set of financial accounts (not essential)

27. Applying for registration • Online process • Provided with a unique password • Three months to submit your application once you are invited forward • Don’t have to complete in one sitting – once receive application number can log in and log out • No activity – time out • Different routes for some types of charity eg charitable company asked for company no. • DO NOT select ‘approved governing documents’ unless you are part of a pre-approved group registration eg PTAs • System has help information • System indicates what information is available on the public register • purposes and activities • area(s) of operation • financial information • trustee names • Some information is compulsory: you will not be able to progress without an answer *

28. Registration process: guidance and resources available • Registering as a charity in Northern Ireland guidance • Public benefit requirement statutory guidance • Purposes and public benefit toolkit • Registration document and information checklist • Registration information form: trustees and key contact • Trustee declaration form • Helper groups • Model governing documents • Online tutorial

29. Online registration tutorial

30. Online services If registered, organisation will receive: • Welcome Pack • Log-in details to ‘Online services’ From Online services, organisation can amend information, for example: • Area of operation • What your charity does • How your charity does its work • Bank / building society details • Website address • Details of trustees

31. Common errors: avoid! • Incorrect / incomplete attachments • Ensure the 3 required documents are attached; governing document signed and dated with no pages missing, recent bank/building society account statement in charity’s name, completed trustee declaration • Incorrectly selecting approved governing document • Answer no unless you are using a governing document that has been pre-approved by the Commission, does not refer to internal approval • Purposes in application do not match those in governing document • Should be a direct replica of purposes (objects) in governing document • Poor public benefit statement • Ensure that you use the toolkit, account for public benefit flowing from EACH purpose

32. Common errors: avoid! • Poor ‘what your organisation does’ response • Supplement public benefit statement, refer to the activities the organisation carries out to advance its purposes • Inaccurate what / how / who classifications • Consider the full lists, select all that apply, do not select more than are necessary, should be an accurate reflection of organisation • Incorrect number of trustees or incorrectly identified • Check governing document for minimum requirement number of trustees, ensure details of ALL trustees are entered on the application • Trustee declaration completed incorrectly • Complete both sides, must be signed and dated (date of signature) by all trustees

33. Next steps • Gather all information needed from within your organisation using the checklist produced by the Commission • Read the public benefit statutory guidance • Use Commission guidance to prepare your application for registration • Get trustee declaration signed • If you need more help, consider approaching a helper group • Submit application for registration by the deadline – ideally well before

34. Thank you Any questions?

35. For more information visit our website www.charitycommissionni.org.uk