Charities and Community

Our specialist Charities team is able to provide specialist and dedicated advice to charities and other not for profit bodies on every aspect of the running of their organisations. 

This includes matters such as: 

Registration and constitutional matters – advising on constitutional arrangements, amending and modernising established charities’ constitutions, and developing group structures so as to rationalise operations. 

Collaborative Working – providing practical advice on a wide range of arrangements, including mergers, takeovers and joint ventures. 

Legacy and will disputes – advising charities as beneficiaries who become involved in disputes.

Fundraising – advising on the full range of fundraising activities and arrangements (for example, fundraising events, lotteries, legacy campaigns, etc); and on agreements with professional fundraisers and commercial participators.  

Trading – working with charities and other organisations to structure their trading operations, through the use of subsidiaries.  Advising on operational and constitutional matters of the trading subsidiary. 

Financial matters – advising on tax efficiency; seeking VAT advice from specialists, when required by charities giving; guiding charities through times of financial difficulty or insolvency; and more generally offering practical advice to charities on the full remit of financial issues affecting them. 

Regulatory Issues – working with charities to ensure compliance with their regulatory and statutory duties.  Guiding them through Charity Commission review visits, investigations and Receiver & Managerships. 

Grant making – advising on processes and policy; handling recovery of grants or advising on disputes. 

Administration – the effective running of any charity is the key to its success.  We can provide guidance and support on any day-to-day issues that might arise in the course of a charity’s life. 

Governance – advising on good governance, particularly Trustees duties, responsibilities and liabilities.  Developing with Trustees and their network of advisers, policies and procedures to reflect good governance in their organisation.  

Trustee Training – the Team offer training on the full remit of charity law issues, tailored to Trustees’ particular needs and requirements. 

Should the need arise, we are able to call on other specialist practitioners within the firm, who are able to advise on employment issues, legacy issues and general disputes, property matters, commercial contracts etc. 

The Team also provides regular E-shot charity updates on topics of interest and holds regular seminars to update Trustees as to issues affecting the charity and not for profit sector.  Should you wish to receive E-shot updates, or be on the team’s marketing database so that you receive notification of future seminars and events, please contact our Marketing Manager, Bev Weston.