Charity Commission for Northern Ireland

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland began compulsory registration of all charities in Northern Ireland for the first time on Monday 16 December 2013. 

This means an organisation must apply to register as a charity in Northern Ireland if:

• it has exclusively charitable purposes

• it is governed by the law of Northern Ireland

• it is an institution, that is, it is an organisation that is an independent body, the hallmarks of which include having control and direction over its governance and resources.

It is compulsory for all organisations which are charitable and operating in Northern Ireland to apply for charity registration when called forward by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland to do so.

They must also ensure that the Commission knows that they are operating here, so that they can be called forward in due course.

This applies even if the organisation has not been previously recognised as a charity for tax purposes, for example, having an HMRC tax number.

Fermanagh Rural Community Network are registered as a ‘Helper Group’ with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and will provide practical support to individual organisations as they go through the process of registering as a charity by:

·       assisting in preparing your application

·       drafting your public benefit statement

·       assisting preparing and scanning documents

·       providing internet access to submit your application 

For organisations who are already registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland Fermanagh Rural Community Network will assist your organisation with preparing and submitting your annual returns.

If your organisation requires assistance with any aspect of charity registration or reporting please contact us at Fermanagh Rural Community Network.

Further details on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland can be found on their website: www.charitycommissionni.org.uk

For more information, please contact the office at 028 6632 7006 or email info@fermanaghrcn.org.