We have recently been contacted by a charity that has been in existence for over 10 years. They have over time changed direction due to many factors, not least the loss of access to the place that generated most of their income. Looking around their community at what the needs were, they hit on a project that would have been very close to their founder’s wishes. The idea was to create a community hub. A suitable property was identified, as well as a wide range of community support. The organisation submitted a number of grant applications, and one looked very promising until the grant maker looked at the organisation’s governing document. In this case, the charity had a very specific set of charitable objects which was to give grants. As there was no opportunity in the document to do anything other than give grants the application failed, and the project had to be put on hold whilst governance work was undertaken.
This is not a totally unusual story, although more extreme than most. When was the last time you looked at your governing document, and made sure that the work you currently undertook was covered in your charity objects? Get in touch if you would like some help admin@community-matters.org.uk.
