The Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) is a new legal form for a charity. It has been created in response to requests from the charitable sector. It is a new incorporated form of charity which is not a limited company or subject to company regulation.
CIOs have been designed specifically for charitable groups, allowing them to register just once with the Charity Commission as an incorporated form of charity which is not a company. This cuts out the need to register with and report to Companies House.
Reduced administrative burden is proposed as just one of the benefits of becoming a CIO. In addition to this, the CIO would have its own legal personaltiy and so can enter into contracts in its own right rather than in the name of individual trustees. Trustees will also have limited liability.
CIO members still have key rights in law and under the Constitution and trustees are still responsible for managing the organisation (note that trustees for CIOs will only be trustees, they will not have the dual role of Company Director).
Click HERE to download GCA Constitution of Charitable Incorporated Organisation.