Dream Foundation Tikina

From Tribewanted

Contents 1 Role 2 Proposed members 3 Current issues 4 Updates 5 Links

Role

To set-up the legal status of the Dream Foundation, its aims, its projects, and raise its funds. This Tikina is, perhaps with the exception of the island tikina, going to take the most work. It should be considered that whoever takes on the responsibility of running the Dream Foundation might be paid out of the funds its raises.

Proposed members

• Helen Laing
• Mariah Dawn
• Geoff Major
• Lauren (Lollipops)
• Raina Jensen
• Kim Lindsay-Black
• Jonny Wilkins

Current issues

• How best/quickly should the Dream Foundation be set-up?

The Dream Foundation does not need to be registered as a Charity until it has an income of £1,000 per year or more, so does not need to be done immediately. The registration pack runs to 40-plus pages, so this needs to be reviewed and then agreement made on the governing document, objects (purposes), activities and trustees. All these details need to be included in the registration.

• Should the person/s managing the Dream Foundation be paid part-time?

If that person is also a Trustee......

F2. Can Trustees be paid for their duties?

The Short Answer

Generally, no. Most Trustees are unpaid, and must not benefit in any way from their connection with the charity. There are limited exceptions to this rule.

In More Detail

Prohibited benefits: Trustees are not entitled to receive any payment out of the charity’s funds other than reasonable and necessary out-of-pocket expenses, such as the cost of travel to attend Trustee meetings. Additionally, they must not benefit, either directly or indirectly, from the charity by, for instance:

• taking a lease of the charity’s property;
• borrowing money from the charity; or
• making contracts to do business with the charity.

• Who should be trustees on the Dream Foundation?

Updates

• 28 Jan 2007 Summary and full text of first online chat
• 29 Jan 2007 Draft Objectives

Links

The charity "Children Of Fiji" was initially registered in the UK, and is now registered in Fiji. It's probably worth a chat with them - it's run by a couple in Dorset. They raised £57,000 last year, and transport 3 tons of goods to the islands each year. Their list of achievements is bang up to date and looks impressive.

• Children Of Fiji

A selection of pages from The Charity Commission site which look like they will be immediately useful:

• Charity Commission homepage
• Things to think about before setting up a Charity
• Charity FAQ's
• Registration Pack
• Trustee Responsibilities
• Essential Trustee: What You need to Know More detail - ie what must be done
• How to be an Effective Trustee
• A Guide to Conflicts of Interest for Charity Trustees
• Meeting Charity Commission Requirements
• Fund-raising through parterships with Companies
• Charities working internationally

There is A LOT in the International guide. Here are some important points:

Which organisations working internationally can be registered as charities?

8. When considering whether an organisation which plans to work internationally is charitable, we first look at whether it would be charitable to carry out those objects in England and Wales. If it would, we then look at whether the organisation is set up for the benefit of the public.

9. Public benefit, unless it is self-evident, has to be demonstrated by every organisation seeking recognition as a charity. The existence of public benefit is more likely to be treated as self-evident where the object is to relieve poverty, advance education or promote religion. We test the public benefit issue in the same way for organisations intending to operate in whole or in part in other countries as we do for organisations operating in England and Wales. See RR8 "The Public Character of Charities" for more information on public benefit generally. RR1a "Recognising New Charitable Purposes" gives more information on how we approach the public benefit issue in the context of new charitable purposes.

Do charities need to register in other countries?

13. Charities working internationally are advised to find out in advance whether they must register with the government, or any other agency, in any country in which it intends to operate under its non-governmental organisations (NGO) regulations. In some countries this can bring tax benefits.

Can charities be set up to support an organisation outside the United Kingdom?

14. If an organisation is set up to raise funds for a specified organisation in another country, it may or may not be charitable.

15. A common example might be where an organisation has been set up to support the work of a particular hospital located overseas. The deciding factor will be the degree of control the trustees have over the use of the funds passed to the hospital.

If they:

• are merely required to pass over any funds collected to the hospital; and
• have no say in how those funds are to be used,

then the organisation is merely acting as a channel for the funds and is not charitable. The organisation could not ensure in these circumstances that the hospital would use the funds only for purposes which were regarded as charitable in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

16. If such an organisation wishes to be a charity it should clearly demonstrate that:

• it has purely charitable objects;
• its trustees have control over how its funds will be used; and
• the trustees are responsible for the selection of beneficiaries and/or projects to support.

Can a charity be set up to benefit a community in another country?

19. Many communities living in England and Wales may wish to assist a community or region in another country with which they may have family ties or other close links. To be charitable, such organisations must be set up for purposes recognised as charitable in this country. Information on charitable purposes and the requirements of registration can be found in the Commission’s leaflet CC21 "Registering as a Charity".

20. Many community based organisations of this nature rely solely on the services of trustees to monitor its work and expenditure as they have few or no staff. The trustees may feel that it is necessary for them to travel overseas to personally supervise the work of the organisation. The trustees must ensure that expenses are reasonable in relation to the income and expenditure of the organisation and that incurring such expenses is in its interests. It will not often be necessary for the trustees to oversee operations personally and they should explore the possibility that other organisations, charitable or not, with appropriate knowledge and experience working in the area may be used for monitoring and reporting back. When we look at whether an organisation is a charity, if the trustees’ expenses are excessive, we may form the view that in fact one of its purposes is to pay for the trustees’ visits abroad and that the organisation is not a charity. Alternatively, we may take the view that the organisation is a charity and give thought to what action we might need to take to protect its funds.