Charity Law Solicitors

Set up a charity, foundation or charitable trust with JMW Solicitors. We have a wide range of experience in working with charity founders and trustees, and related organisations. We can guide you through the entire process of charity formation and registration, explaining how to best structure the charity.

To speak to our charity law solicitors, call us today on 0345 872 6666 or fill out an online enquiry form

Trusted Charity Law Experts

The benefits of setting up a charity or a charitable trust include supporting a chosen cause, leaving a lasting legacy and obtaining tax relief. Our lawyers are experienced in all areas of charity law, and will use their broad range of knowledge to provide you with detailed legal guidance on:

• Forming, registering and maintaining a charity
• Advising on the day-to-day management of a charity, foundation or charitable trust
• Amalgamation or winding up of a charity
• Changes to a charity’s governing documents
• Dealing with the Charity Commission
• Complying with the Charities Act

Charity law processes can be broken down into four types, and we can help with any of them:

• Creation of a charity
• Registration of a charity
• Advisory services for charities
• Conversion between types of charities

Meet Our Team of Wills Solicitors

Our Charity Law solicitors offer expert advice on wills and trusts for charitable giving. We help structure donations to ensure they benefit your chosen causes while maximising tax efficiency and protecting your estate.

What Requirements Must a New Charity Meet?

To form a new charity, you will need to ensure your organisation meets the following criteria:

• There must be a governing document setting out how the charity will be run
• The charity must only be involved with ‘charitable work’ that will provide public benefit
• The charity must have clear aims and objectives

Fulfilling the above parameters (and having a gross annual income of £5,000 or more) will allow you to register with the Charity Commission and HMRC, ensuring you benefit from the significant Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Corporation Tax and Inheritance Tax (IHT) reliefs the government permits to charitable organisations.

How to Set Up a New Charity

The process of setting up a new charity is similar to that of setting up a business. You must outline your goals and structure to align with the rules set by HMRC and the Charity Commission.

State Your Charitable Purposes

You must officially state what actions your charity is going to take, where you want it to be based, who will benefit from it and how you will go about achieving these goals. For a charity to be valid, it must benefit a ‘significant section’ of the public body or animals. You should specify exactly which groups of these you will be targeting.

Decide on a Structure

Like businesses, charities must have structures. Charities can either be managed exclusively by their trustees - the people who are registered members of it - or also by a wider membership that holds the trustees accountable for decisions made.

Additionally, charities can be either incorporated, which allows a charity to become its own legal entity, or unincorporated, which places liabilities on its trustees personally.

Governing Document

The governing document declares the rules of your charity that it and its members must abide by.

This document will also state who the charity’s trustees are, how members join and are elected, what its purposes are and what powers the members will have.

Creating a strong and coherent governing document will increase the chances of a swift registration.

Appoint Trustees

The trustees of a charity are responsible for carrying out the actions described in the governing document. Your appointed trustees should be trustworthy and reliable, able to carry out their duties and maintain the standards of the organisation in relation to government’s rules and regulations.

Register Your Charity

Once you have all the necessary components of your charity, you will need to register your charity with the Charity Commission. The more you have planned, the easier the application process will be.