funding
membership organisations
regulators
The National Lottery Community Fund
The National Lottery Community Funds provides funding for small charities (funding under £10,000) and larger-scale charities (funding over £10,000). They have set criteria for each organisation wishing to apply: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/
Charity Aid Foundation
Charity Aid Foundation provides grants to charities of up to £10,000, at specific times of the year. Check their website to know the type of project they fund, and when to apply next: https://www.cafonline.org/charities/grantmaking/grant-data
Charity Excellence
Alternatively, you can also register with the Charity Excellence Database to access a free funding database: https://www.charityexcellence.co.uk/Home/FundingFindersResources
regulators
membership organisations
regulators
There’s different Charity Commissions/Regulators in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The Charity Commission registers and regulates charities in England and Wales: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission
The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland regulates charities operating in Northern Ireland: https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/
The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) is the independent regulator and registrar for over 25,000 Scottish charities: https://www.oscr.org.uk/
membership organisations
membership organisations
membership organisations
There’s different National Councils for Voluntary Organisations in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is the membership community for charities, voluntary organisations and community groups in England: https://www.ncvo.org.uk/#/
The Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) is a membership and representative umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland: https://www.nicva.org/
The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is the membership organisation for the voluntary sector in Scotland: https://scvo.scot/
setting up your charity
setting up your charity
setting up your charity
Although similar, there’s a range of criteria and steps to set up a charity that are different for England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
There are six distinctive steps to set up and register a charity in England and Wales, all explained in this link: https://www.gov.uk/setting-up-charity
The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland has some guidance explaining how to set up a charity, by highlighting important aspects of the law: https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/start-up-a-charity
In order to be set up as a charity, your organisation must meet “the charity test” made of two main parts in Scotland. Once you’ve passed this test, the charity application process goes through the OSCR as explained here: https://www.oscr.org.uk/becoming-a-charity/
managing your charity
setting up your charity
setting up your charity
Managing your charity involves financial, HR and legal requirements, as well as specific trustees’ duties and responsibilities. Check the links below for more information.
NCVO provides a range of guidance and resources to help you manage your charity based in England and Wales: https://www.ncvo.org.uk/help-and-guidance/running-a-charity/#/
The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s website lists key topics for charities set up in this area: https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/charity-essentials/running-your-charity-guidance/
In Scotland, the OSCR also details important information to remember as you’re running your charity: https://www.oscr.org.uk/managing-a-charity/
charity essentials
setting up your charity
charity essentials
At the moment, this tool only applies to English and Welsh charities. Created by the NCVO, this online test is to help you check how your charity is performing in different topics such as legal, leadership, financial planning etc.
There’s both an English and Welsh version:
partners
