Allotment a charity?

[alldigging]

Can an allotment be a charity?

Anyone know of any?

Someone's suggested it .. Apparently it only costs 500 of quid...

[taff]

you could be a charity that grows vegetables....

[veggiechicken]

have a look at the Charity Commission website. I did a search for Allotments and it came up with 3 pages - not necessarily like yours but worth look Charities matching your search ...

[Aberdeenplotter]

Can an allotment be a charity?

Anyone know of any?

Someone's suggested it .. Apparently it only costs 500 of quid...

What was the reasoning behind the suggestion?

[alldigging]

Ta I will have a look through that.

[alldigging]

What was the reasoning behind the suggestion?

I think she said it'd be easier to fundraise.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Ah, well good luck. Been there done that with a local Gardening Club that has Charitable Status trying to raise funds for its Annual Flower Show. You have to do an awful lot of tickling just to get a smile. Times are hard out there in the economy. Bear in mind you will need audited accounts annually to put to the Charity Commissioners. Accountants ain't cheap.

[Two_Sheds]

Well, expensive private schools have charitable status (for the moment) so anything goes?

[veggiechicken]

Ah, well good luck. Been there done that with a local Gardening Club that has Charitable Status trying to raise funds for its Annual Flower Show. You have to do an awful lot of tickling just to get a smile. Times are hard out there in the economy. Bear in mind you will need audited accounts annually to put to the Charity Commissioners. Accountants ain't cheap.

You only need audited accounts if you have an income over £10k, I believe. More detail on the Charity Commission website, including how to set up a Charity and the requirements.
One of the benefits of Charitable Status is the ability to access grants which may not be otherwise available to small groups. It gives you status and credibility - but these go hand in hand, with the need for compliance with CC requirements. These are not onerous for small charities with limited turnover.

[alldigging]

The bit I don't understand is needing trustees who have to then stick to the rules of the charity and can't benefit from the charity. So they couldn't be plotholders I assume?

So then the management/ownership of the land would be done by trustees who weren't plotholders.
why would plotholders want to give away that management and control?

Ours is a very small site - an acre with about 16 plots on it so would it just be too much paperwork for no gain?

There's TONS of funding available - but most rely on you allowing the public in for something - but to work for the plotholders benefit alone there is less funding.
I don't see how that would be different with charity status - apart from more paperwork.

[veggiechicken]

I am the Trustee and Chair of a small village charity. One project we have at the moment is setting up an allotment. Virtually all of my fellow trustees want an allotment. We don't see this as a problem. We do other things to like running a market and we all sell produce there. The paperwork is not onerous providing you have someone who can do book keeping and you keep minutes of meetings.

[alldigging]

But how does that work if the trustees aren't supposed to benefit from the charity?

I think that's the bit I don't understand.

I wouldn't expect trustees to benefit financially from the aims of a charity, so why would a plot (if that's the sole purpose of the charity) be any different?


"Not accepting personal benefits - a trustee can not accept or direct any benefit from being a trustee unless it is authorised by the charity’s governing document or by the Charity Commission
"
From What are the Risks of Becoming a Charity Trustee?
http://www.cvalive.org.uk/LinkClick....U%3D&tabid=549

[veggiechicken]

Have a read of these The essential trustee
I really can't advise you on the specifics as our charity objectives were drawn up to be wideranging and cover virtually anything that we wanted to, as long as it was to the good of the community.
We all benefit from it, though not financially.

[alldigging]

Thanks chuck!
Bookmarked!
I'll get stuck into that later!

Oh wait - it had pictures! Easy read.

[veggiechicken]

Enjoy!!!!..........