Legal structures for your group

You have said that your organisation will have members, will be charitable, will be led by volunteers and will be incorporated.

You could choose from the following legal structures.

Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)

This is a type of charity that is incorporated, so its trustees have limited liability. CIOs must be registered with and send annual reports to the Charity Commission. Becoming a CIO is usually the most straightforward way to set up an incorporated charity.

Charitable company

This is a limited company which is also a registered charity. Charitable companies are registered with, and report to, both the Charity Commission and Companies House. This means they can be more work to administer than a CIO.

Charitable Community Benefit Society

This is  an organisation run by its members (on a one member, one vote basis). Members can fund the organisation by investing in community shares. It is a useful structure if your community wishes to take control of an asset, such as a local building. It must benefit the wider community, not just its membership. If it has charitable aims it can call itself a charity. It is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority rather than the Charity Commission.

Your route so far:

Voting members? Yes. Charitable? Yes. Paid workers in charge? No. Incorporated? Yes.

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