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Search the charity register to find details of registered charities in England and Wales including contact information, activities, latest financial reports and current trustees.
To start a charity you need trustees, to choose a business structure, decide suitable charitable purposes and you may have to register with the Charity Commission
There are 6 steps to setting up a charity. Find trustees for your charity…
Your charity must have ‘charitable purposes’ that help the public (known…
Your charity name must not: be similar to the name of an existing charity…
You must choose a structure for your charity, which will affect things…
You must create a ‘governing document’ (or ‘rulebook’) for your charity…
You must apply to register your charity if: its income is at least £5,000…
You must send an annual return if your charity’s income is more than £10,000. All charities must keep their registered details up to date.
How to set up a charity: find trustees, choose a name and structure, create a governing document, meet the public benefit requirement, register your charity.
What Gift Aid is, who can claim, what donations are eligible for Gift Aid, Gift Aid declarations for your charity or community amateur sports club (CASC), how to claim
How to take a complaint about a charity further, including what you can complain about and reporting serious incidents to the Charity Commission, Fundraising Standards Board and Advertising Standards Authority
Tax exemptions and reliefs for charities - apply for recognition by HMRC as a charity, reclaim tax on Gift Aid, profits and expenditure
Change your charity's details with the Charity Commission online.
Trustees of charities in England and Wales should complete and sign this form to confirm their eligibility to be a trustee.
Accounting template (MS Excel) for non-company charities with gross income of £250,000 or less which can prepare receipts and payments accounts.
How to prepare the right annual accounts for your charity's structure and income
A pro-forma charity trustees' annual report.
Remove your charity from the charities register after you've closed (or 'dissolved') it.
How to tell HMRC and the Charity Commission about changes to a charity's contact and address details
Use this template when independently examining charity accounts.
A pro-forma charity trustees' annual report, primarily designed for smaller charities that do not need to have their accounts audited.
Accounting template (MS Excel) for completing a charity's accruals accounts by charitable activity for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015.
Accounting template (MS Excel) for completing a charitable company's accounts by charitable activity for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015.
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