Update on Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)

Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
The Charity Commission is now considering online applications from new organisations that want to register as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). New charities with an income of more than £5,000 will be able to apply for this new legal structure.

The structure provides charities with some of the benefits of being a company, without all of the associated burdens. CIOs are incorporated charities able to enter into contracts in their own right. Their trustees will have limited or no liability. CIOs are registered and regulated by the Charity Commission and have to register with Companies House.

The Charity Commission has published the following indicative timetable for 2013. Depending on their income, existing unincorporated charities can set up a CIO and transfer assets into it from the following dates:

• Late March 2013: income exceeding £25,000.
• May 2013: income between £100,000 and £250,000.
• July 2013: income between £25,000 and £100,000.
• October 2013: income between £5,000 and £25,000.
• January 2014: income less than £5,000 and brand new charities with anticipated annual incomes of less than £5,000.

Groups wishing to set up a new charity should keep in mind that the CIO structure is most suitable for small-to-medium sized charities which employ staff or enter into contracts. While running a CIO should be simpler than establishing a charitable company.

More information here.

Rhiannon Jones
Project Support Officer
Community Based Services
Strategic Commissioning Team