Setting up a charity & registration

Enquiry form Charity law non profit team

Our charity solicitors are proud to help people create change in the world. There can be a lot to consider when setting up a new charity and we can support you through every step of the process.

Any prospective charity founder will need to consider:

why a charity? There are pros (generally tax and business rates relief) and cons (generally enhanced regulation)
which legal structure? The most common options are a trust, charitable incorporated organisation, company limited by guarantee or unincorporated association
who will the first trustees be? You will need at least three trustees. They should all understand what their duties will be as charity trustees
what will the charity’s governing document look like? Key points to consider include the charity’s objects, whether the charity will have a wider membership and how decisions will be made
what activities will the charity carry out? It is important to have a plan covering what the charity will be doing from day one. You will need to provide information on your activities to the Charity Commission when you apply for charitable status

We have advised on the establishment of hundreds of charities and we are used to working with the Charity Commission. Some charities we have established include the World Dementia Council and Partnership Support Group.

We could not believe that it took just five days for them to secure registration of the charity with the Charity Commission. We would highly recommend Russell-Cooke.

Founders of Save the Life International

Charging information

Charges are usually based on hourly rates plus administrative charges and disbursements but we are flexible with regard to charging rates and will discuss with you budgets for work on a particular matter, or, where it is not entirely clear how things will develop, for the initial stages or a particular stage of a matter. We will always provide you with an initial estimate of your likely legal costs and will update this as your requirements or the circumstances of the work change.

In circumstances where we can more or less either anticipate the work to be done or prescribe the work, we can act on a fixed or capped fee basis.

We would be pleased to discuss your requirements free of charge and tailor a costs proposal accordingly.

It is fundamental to our policy on allocating work that one of the factors we will consider is the likely cost outcome of using particular solicitors for particular pieces of work. Whilst almost invariably a partner will be able to carry out work more quickly than a less experienced solicitor, a less experienced solicitor under appropriate supervision may be able to produce a more cost effective result. Partner input is more likely to be appropriate and cost-effective in more complex or more specialised matters.

Get in touch

If you would like to speak with a member of the team you can contact our charity law solicitors by email, by telephone on +44 (0)20 3826 7510 or complete our enquiry form.

Enquiry form Email us