Charitable status
Download this
page as a PDF
England and Wales
All guiding units and areas are charities in their own right.
Only a certain number of them are obliged to register as charities.
Girlguiding UK units and areas that are not obliged to register
still have full charity status, and are excepted charities under
the provisions of the Charities(Exceptions of Certain Charities for
Boy Scouts and Girl Guides from Registration) Regulations 1961 (SI
1961 No 1044). They should describe themselves as ‘excepted
charities’ if asked for a charity registration number.
To request a letter confirming that your unit is part of
Girlguiding UK, please contact Membership
Support Services. Charity registration is not required
in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Under the provisions of
the Charities Acts, the following units or areas are obliged to
register as individual charities with the Charity Commission. Each
is allocated its own charity registration number.
- Units and areas whose income (including legacies and donations)
exceeds £100,000 in any year.
- Units or areas with any permanent endowment where income
exceeds £5,000 in any year.
- Units or areas in rateable occupation of land or buildings
where income exceeds £5,000 in any year.
Rateable occupation generally means having one of the
following:
- ownership of freehold or leasehold land and/or buildings
- a tenancy agreement
- licence to occupy a building.
Any situation where a liability exists to pay the national
non-domestic rate/uniform business rate involves ‘rateable
occupation’, even if the local authority allows 100 per cent
charitable relief from rates.
The Charities Act 2006 contains provisions altering the
requirements for charity registration in England and Wales which
are being introduced in stages. For current information on these
requirements contact the Legal Department at
CHQ. Where units or areas share ownership of property, each unit or
area must register separately as a charity.
If property is held jointly with a Scout Group or area, each
Girlguiding UK unit or area must register separately, even if part
of a formal Joint Guide and Scout Group. Letter headings, cheques
and all fundraising and promotional material used by a unit or area
that is registered must state that it is a registered charity and,
if convenient, include the registration number.
Scotland
Scottish units and areas are not automatically charities in
their own right. However, any such unit or area may apply for
charitable status, making an application to the Office of the
Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). Under Scottish legislation
introduced in 2005, an organisation can become a charity through
this process. OSCR maintains a publicly available register of all
Scottish charities, together with extensive additional information,
on its website.
It may be helpful for a unit or area to become a charity for
these reasons:
- claiming Gift Aid, which in Scotland is usually only available
to charities
- grant application purposes
- seeking charitable relief in certain tax situations, such as
VAT relief on some specific items or exemption from commercial
property rates.
Contact Scottish
Headquarters for information for Scottish units and areas about
the charity application process, and other assistance and
support.
Following the introduction of the 2005 Scottish charity
legislation, a range of new charity requirements is being developed
and introduced, so members are also encouraged to contact OSCR or
SHQ for current information on any aspect of charity
compliance.
Once a unit or area has been granted charitable status by OSCR,
trustees (in the case of a unit, this is usually the Leaders) have
an ongoing responsibility to complete the annual Monitoring Form
which will be issued by OSCR, and return this with their annual
accounts and trustees’ report. There will also be a responsibility
to notify OSCR of any changes of trustees (eg when a Leader leaves
or a new Leader joins a unit) and to ensure appropriate changes are
duly approved and notified as required by OSCR. This includes
advising OSCR about changes to a unit or area such as name change,
amalgamation or closure.
Northern
Ireland
For further details of charity registration legislation in
Northern Ireland, which at the time of going to press is under
consultation, contact Ulster Headquarters.
Page last updated: 10/28/2011