Because stronger charities make for stronger communities… and stronger communities can change the world.
Running a charity takes passion and hard work. You are the threads that bind society together, often unnoticed but always crucial. You’re the quiet heroes, taking on societal challenges, from education to environment, health to housing. It’s a world where passion meets purpose. But like any superhero tale, there’s a paradox. Your charity, bursting with mission and zeal, has to survive in a highly regulated environment while battling financial constraints. You face more challenges today than ever before. And you need the right legal support to help tackle those challenges.
We invest in our community just as we invest in our clients. Supporting charities is an integral part of what we do. We provide support on pure charity law matters, including governance. As proactive volunteers and trustees in our personal capacities, we are not only experts in charity law but also fully appreciate the issues you are facing today. We work with you to ensure the best possible outcome to any legal challenge.
LawPlus has a wealth of experience in advising our Charity clients on how to make practical constitutional and structural changes to better cope with the demands of the current environment.
Restructuring isn’t always complicated but, in all cases, requires careful thought and specialist knowledge.
Many charities carry out trading to generate income. We understand that you need to manage your trading to maximise income for your charity but with minimal risk. Whether that is trading that directly advances your charitable objects or non-primary purpose trading, we can help you assess how such trading could be carried out and whether a separate trading company should be set up.
We regularly advise on the formation and administration of charities (both corporate and trust), including applying for registration with the Charities Regulator and obtaining charitable tax exemption from the Irish Revenue Commissioners, together with applications to recognise EU / EEA charities in this jurisdiction.
Charities may only take decisions and actions that are within their powers and involve a reasonable exercise of powers. It is essential for your charity to have a clear understanding of its powers and any constraints or requirements associated with them. You also need to have effective governance and decision-making processes. Any action taken outside your charity’s powers and any flaw in decision-making will leave your charity vulnerable to challenge over the lawfulness of its actions. It could also lead to difficulties with the delivery of services and to complaints and reputational damage.
As experienced and trusted advisers to many Charities, we understand the importance to charities of monitoring the conduct of their members. We understand the duty of charities to maintain high standards of conduct by members and co-opted members, including adopting a code of conduct, making arrangements for the investigation of allegations of breaches of those codes and appointing independent persons from whom to seek views on allegations
With significant reputational issues at stake, data privacy is an increasingly complex and challenging management issue for all charities. GDPR, the increasing use of biometrics, the ubiquity of cloud computing and the emphasis on data analytics all add to the complexity. Our aim is to use our knowledge and experience to help your charity ensure compliance with data privacy legislation but with minimal impact on your business.
Advice on charity matters when and how you need it.
We’ve just touched the surface on all the legal stuff involved in running and administering a charity.
