Members of Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs) and Charitable Companies Limited by Guarantee (CCLBGs)
When are the documents in this group relevant?
Where your charity has been set up in the form of either a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) or a Charitable Company Limited by guarantee (CCLBG), it will, in addition to having charity trustees, also have members.
There will from time to time be various administrative tasks to be completed in connection with any individual becoming a new member or ceasing to be a member. Some of those tasks must be carried out in order to meet legal and compliance requirements. These template documents will help you to carry out some of those tasks.
What are the different types of templates in this group?
For CIOs, in addition to templates dealing with new members and cessation of membership, there are templates for a register and list of members, a certificate of membership, and a template for use when the members are to pass a resolution in the form of a written resolution procedure rather than passing a resolution at a members' meeting.
For CCLBGs, there are similar templates for new members, a members' register, a People with Significant Control register (and a related guidance note), and a certificate of membership. In addition there are templates dealing with certain matters of compliance under Section 113 of the Companies Act 2006.
Members of Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs) and Charitable Companies Limited by Guarantee (CCLBGs) is part of Corporate. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Corporate for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our charity has trustees. Why does it also have members, and what do members actually do? +
Because CIOs and charitable companies are membership bodies: the members are the constitutional layer above the board. Typically they appoint or elect trustees, approve constitutional changes and receive the annual report and accounts at any members' meeting. In many small charities the same people fill both roles, but the two capacities remain legally distinct and their decisions are recorded separately. The templates in this group handle the member-side administration for both structures.
Can our trustees and members be the same people? +
Yes, and it is the commonest arrangement in small charities. A foundation model CIO makes the trustees the only members by design; an association model CIO has a wider membership. A CCLBG can likewise limit membership to the trustees or open it up. The choice affects who controls trustee appointments and constitutional change, so it is a governance decision, not paperwork. Whatever the overlap, keep member decisions and trustee decisions in separate minutes.
What records must we keep about our members? +
Both structures need a register of members, but the legal source differs. A CCLBG keeps the statutory register of members under the Companies Act, now the only statutory register companies must hold locally, including members' full names. A CIO keeps the register its constitution requires. Both benefit from a simple current members list for banks and funders alongside the authoritative register. Register, list and certificate templates for each structure are in this group.
Someone wants to join or leave our charity's membership. What is the process? +
Follow your constitution or articles: usually a written application, a trustee decision to accept, entry in the register of members and optionally a certificate of membership; leaving is by written resignation or under cessation provisions, with the register updated. The register entry is what makes membership effective in a CCLBG, so never skip it. This group provides application, acceptance, resignation, certificate and register templates for both CIOs and CCLBGs.
