Constitutional changes
Every charity needs to keep its constitutional documents under regular review to ensure that they are up to date and fit for purpose. The charity’s trustees will also need to make sure that the charity has appropriate governance policies in place to enable them to carry out their responsibilities and ensure that the charity remains compliant.
Governance policies are live documents, that should be continually reviewed and updated to ensure that they are suitable. Our specialist charity team can work with you to make sure your documents are clear, flexible and reflect best practice.
Mergers and Collaboration
Collaboration is becoming increasingly common, as charities with similar aims and objects work together towards similar goals. This may be on specific projects and joint ventures or may eventually lead to a full merger.
Trustees face the challenging task of balancing their organization’s independence and identity with the fulfilment of objectives. We grasp the sensitivity surrounding these issues and provide guidance for navigating difficult discussions. Our expertise extends to cooperation and collaboration agreements, joint ventures, and mergers, ensuring charities move forward with clarity and confidence.
Restructuring
Charities take different legal structures. For example, a charity may be a trust, company limited by guarantee or unincorporated association. The optimum structure may change over time.
We can assist you in choosing the ideal structure for your charity and crafting a solid legal framework to achieve it. We can also collaborate with your financial and tax advisors, to implement structural changes, such as like incorporating a trading company subsidiary.
Dissolution
There are many reasons why a charity may reach the point where the trustees decide that it is in the best interests of its beneficiaries for it to be dissolved. For example, the objects for which it was formed may no longer be relevant or it may have decided to merge with a larger charity with similar objects.
Our team offers expert guidance and will help you navigate this process with precision.
