Strengthening Faith Institutions supports faith institutions to register as charities with the Charity Commission, Outreach Team. In addition to being a registered place of worship, if a charity has income of more than £5,000 a year, they should register.
What is the register of charities?
According to the Charity Commission, there are about 180,000 registered charities. The Commission’s Register of Charities is a computerised database containing key information on all these charities. Details include the charity’s name, its purposes, its annual income, what type of governing document it has, and the name and address of a contact within the charity.
The Register helps the public to find information about charities. For example, to check if an organisation which is raising funds is registered, or to see from a charity’s accounts how it is spending its money.
SFI’s Birmingham Regional Coordinator, Shakil Ahmed organised a meeting with Ramgarhia Gurdwara and the Charity Commission to support their charity registration, which will allow them to access new funding streams, apply for Gift-Aid, and various other tax benefits, and developing collaboration with other Local and National charities.
For more information on how faith institutions can register as charities, click here.