In July 2020 a trustee of the Sweet Pea Bowling Club, based in Hinckley contacted VAL to help with converting from a charitable unincorporated association (CUA) to a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO).
A CIO is a charity that is registered and regulated by the Charity Commission, rather than the incorporated legal structure of a charitable company which is regulated by the Charity Commission and Companies House. This reduces up-front paperwork and on-going filing obligations leading to cost savings.
The initial advice included ascertaining which incorporated structure was appropriate to the charity’s circumstances . Once the CIO legal structures was decided upon, then which model – foundation or association.
Intensive support and advice was given by Helen, from our Sector Support Team with the following:
- Help in writing the application to register as a charity
- Review of the CIO association model governing document
- Clarity about details to upload with the application such as minutes of trustee board meeting confirming collective decision to convert to the CIO structure.
Advice was also given on the dissolution of the charitable unincorporated association and drawing up a new lease. However, with the agreement of both parties the trustees extended the lease in its existing format on an annually rolled forward basis, which avoided further Solicitor’s fees
The trustees were very pleased with the outcome and all the support given by VAL. The register approval process was completed by the charity commission within 24 hours of being submitted due to the quality of the application.
“I cannot believe how quickly the decision has taken. They told me it was taking around 8 weeks to make a decision!”
Get Support & Information
If you need support for your charity, community group or social enterprise, whether it’s setting up for the first time, converting to a different structure, finding funding, recruiting and managing volunteers, or any other query, our Voluntary Sector Support team can help you.
You can contact VAL using the online form or telephone the helpline on 0116 257 5050