what criteria does sports club have to fulfill to become a charity?

Question

my daughters karate club would benefit from new equipment and the teacher would love to help underpriveledged children,and children with obesity who dont feel confident to join in a usual class,women-only classes etc but ultimately still needs to pay for hall-rental etc
many of the parents already do charity runs , how could we nominate the club to be the beneficiary?

Answer 1

Your question is partly about fundraising and partly about charitable status.

1. If the main source of income of the club is parents doing fund-raising activities, then you have no problem. There is nothing to stop you organising events like "fun runs" to generate income. Just carry on.

2. If you wished to apply for a grant from a trust, then a lot of them (though not all) will require your organisation to be a registered charity. It's a simple way for the trust to ensure that it funds associations that meet certain financial and organisational standards.

3. The earlier answerer correctly referred you to the Charity Commission. You need to be aware that one of the biggest stumbling blocks that you could encounter in the registration process, is that of "charitable purpose". Read up on this - the Commission's website has advice.

4. Most local authorities provide small grants especially for one-off purchases. Many don't require registered charity status. You should contact yours and find out what funding is available, and when.

5. You are unlikely to get any external funding for running expenses (e.g. hire of halls), and such costs will have to be met from subscriptions and your own fundraising.

6. Most areas have a Council of Voluntary Organisations that can give advice. If you don't know its contact details, then ask the national umbrella organisation http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/ .

I hope this is useful.

Answer 2

To become a registered UK charity you must apply to the Charity Commission. There are a number of things you need to do when you apply including nominating Trustees, organising meetings and appointing officers. The link below shows you how to get an application pack, which will provide all the necessary detail.