Can Your Purpose Be Achieved by Setting Up a Charity?

If the organisation that you propose to set up to carry out your intended purposes does not amount in law to a “charity” as defined by the Charities Act 2011, it will not be possible to set it up as a charity. 

It will not be a charity unless it is established for “charitable purposes” as defined in the Act and unless its stated purposes pass the “public benefit” test as outlined in the Charity Commission’s guidance Public benefit: the public benefit requirement (PB1). There are also other requirements for charitable status. 

For further explanation of what makes an organisation a charity in law, see the Guidance Note on the subject Guidance Note: What makes an organisation a charity in law?