The Charity Commission is a statutory organisation that regulates charities in England and Wales. It is responsible for registering charities, collecting the Annual Accounts and Reports and for identifying and resolving problems with individual charities by investigation.
The Commission also aims to give the public confidence in the integrity of charity and seeks to ensure that charities operate within a framework that enables them to work effectively for the purposes for which they were set up.
Charities operating in Scotland are regulated by Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) the independent regulator and registrar of Scottish charities. All charities operating in Scotland must register with OSCR.
In Northern Ireland, charities are registered with HM Revenue and Customs. HMRC acts as registrar and has oversight of published accounts. It does not have the same responsibility as the Charity Commission in supporting the role of charities.
The Commission is not a grant-making organisation, but does provide a great deal of information, useful guidelines and publications most of which can be found on their website or by phoning the helpline.
The Commission additionally assists with operational advice, guidance and schemes.
If you need information about setting up a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR or HMRC for help and advice.
The advantages of gaining registered charitable status are to aid your fundraising (the public feel assured donating to charities that are registered) and to benefit from preferred tax status.
Registered charities do also benefit from rate relief of at least 50% on a charity's main premises, although local authorities do have discretion to grant relief up to 100%.
In the Charity section of the HMRC web site the tax advantages for charities are highlighted in more detail.
