Setting up a New Charity

We have just added two new Guidance Notes to our Charity & Non-Profit portfolio to cover the topic of setting up a new charity or other non-profit organization.

Reaching the correct decision as to how best to pursue a public-spirited purpose can be a complex process. These two new Guidance Notes will be a valuable new resource for anyone thinking about setting up a new charity or other non-profit organization with a particular charitable or other altruistic aim in mind, and we recommend that you read both of these new Guidance Notes. They can serve as a useful signpost to many of the issues that you ought to take into account when deciding how to proceed.

One of the Guidance Notes explores several options: setting up a charity, setting up some other type of organization, or taking some other steps (e.g. supporting an existing charity). It considers which of these, depending on the circumstances, could be the most appropriate course for you.

The other Guidance Note considers the circumstances in which it is possible to set up a charity, the pros and cons of doing so, other issues surrounding the creation of a new charity, and how to go about setting up a new charity.

For your convenience, and to add considerable practical value to these new Guidance Notes, we have included in each of them a number of hyperlinks to other material relevant to the topics covered by these documents. The links are to some relevant items both on our own website and also on a number of government and other external websites.

We recommend that you read both of these new Guidance Notes, that you explore further the points covered by them, and that you take professional advice as necessary, before making any decision about setting up a charity or taking any other step.