Our charity lawyers explore the Charity Commission's inquiry into EVF following the collapse of FTX Trading and share three key governance lessons for charities.
Read moreRegistering, Incorporating & Closing Down Charities
Experts in charity registration, incorporation and winding-up — guiding trustees throughout the process.
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Our charities, not for profit and social enterprise team contains specialists in registering, incorporating and closing down third sector organisations.
Recognised by The Legal 500 as the leading team of experts in the North, we've guided many hundreds of trustees through these processes since 2010.
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Registering a charity
While charitable status secures valuable tax reliefs and opens doors to funding that are critical to maximising impact, it also demonstrates a commitment to high standards of governance, transparency and accountability — an essential step in maintaining public trust and confidence.
Starting off on the right foot is crucial. Our expert team has registered hundreds of charities — including think tanks, publishers, professional standards bodies, sports clubs, grant-making organisations, youth centres and health and social care charities — without ever being unsuccessful in a registration application.
We can seamlessly guide new trustees through the entire process — anticipating the legal, regulatory and practical obstacles that can arise. This can take an expert touch to satisfy the regulator — which is keen to heavily scrutinise applications for registration — that the charity’s initial governance structure is fit for purpose and the charity isn't an immediate or longer-term regulatory risk.
We advise on the most appropriate legal structure to adopt, provide tailored charitable purposes and advise on how to develop governance that best reflects your short-term operational intentions while allowing for flexibility as the organisation grows and adapts.
For organisations where charitable status is either inappropriate or legally impossible, we can advise on alternative legal structures such as community interest companies, community benefit societies, co-operatives, unincorporated clubs and associations, as well as other not-for-profit or social enterprise models where community and social objectives are achieved alongside business goals.
In the vast majority of cases, we can offer a fixed fee for new charity registrations.
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Incorporating a charity
For new organisations just starting out, there are a wide range of incorporated legal structures available — all of which serve to afford charity trustees with a greater degree of protection from the risks of personal liability.
However, many longer standing charities were created at a time when certain structures were unavailable or the risks of personal liability were considered to be much smaller. As a result, many existing charities are structured as charitable trusts or unincorporated associations with no legal personality separate to their trustees. The trustees of such charities are personally liable for the obligations of the charity and while a range of protective steps can be taken to mitigate the risk of personal liability arising, it’s impossible to eradicate all contractual and third-party risk.
For some of these charities, it’s advisable to explore the possibility of incorporation. This results in the adoption of a new legal structure, usually in the form of either a charitable company limited by guarantee or a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO).
Our specialist charities team has been incorporating charities for over 15 years. We can advise on the most appropriate new legal structure for unincorporated charities to adopt, as well as the steps involved in transferring the charity’s assets, operations and liabilities to the newly incorporated charitable entity (including all necessary notifications to the Charity Commission).
We know the legal and practical challenges that lie in wait when moving the operations of a charity to a new vehicle and can support with the transfer of staff, contracts and more as well as map out the whole process from an early stage to identify and resolve potential hurdles at the earliest possible opportunity.
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Closing a charity
Unfortunately, thousands of charities are wound up each year. While a proportion of these may have achieved exactly what they set out to do, in many cases charities fall victim to the economic and societal challenges they seek to address — forcing trustees to consider closure.
The decision to wind up a charity doesn’t necessarily mean that services have to stop. Mergers or other forms of transfer can secure the ongoing provision of critical services to beneficiaries and the continued employment of staff. Yet even in cases where solutions can be found, a winding up or dissolution will often follow.
We advise on the options available to charities, not-for-profits and social enterprises when financial and operational challenges arise, including on potential insolvencies as well as wrongful and fraudulent trading. We often work alongside an organisation’s other professional advisers to provide key legal support and advice on proposed arrangements with creditors, administrators and liquidators.
The key for charity trustees is to take advice at the earliest possible stage. If you have concerns as to your charity’s short- or medium-term future, our specialist lawyers are on-hand to assist.
Meet our team
“Brabners has real expertise in charities and dealing with the Charity Commission. This is quite rare to find. Establishing a charitable publisher is hard, because there isn’t a clear line between what is charitable and what isn’t. Brabners did this successfully. Its fees are affordable by the sector.”
Client feedback, The Legal 500, 2024
“Graeme Hughes competently advises on charity law, governance and regulatory issues, as well as overseeing matters requiring insights from his corporate, property and employment colleagues.”
The Legal 500, 2024
“We have valued the long-term relationship with [Brabners]… [its] understanding of our company structure — and the market, regulation and jurisdiction in which we operate — supports the delivery of exceptional advice. Graeme Hughes and Imogen Trafford provide outstanding support around charity law.”
Client feedback, The Legal 500, 2024
“[Brabners] is interested in knowing your business and understanding the culture and nature of what you do. This leads to bespoke solutions… not simply ‘off the shelf’ advice that you may get from any firm.”
Client feedback, The Legal 500, 2024
“Ex-Charity Commission lawyer and Charity Tribunal Judge Stephen Claus continues to influence departmental and client decisions through his role as a consultant.”
The Legal 500, 2024
“The ‘outstanding’ Imogen Trafford is highly active on mandates concerning the registering, merging and dissolving of charities.”
The Legal 500, 2024
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