Our charity is in the process of changing its legal structure. Since its foundation in 1965 the Friends have been an Unincorporated charity, but are now in the process of updating to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).
Why are we doing this?
Because a CIO (introduced in the 2006 Charities Act) is a modern charitable structure offering a wide range of benefits. A CIO is a legal body in its own right, offering legal protections for trustees; a more legally-standardised and professional constitution stipulating such things as trustee term limits; the ability to enter into contracts for services, etc. Most charities set up since 2006 have been set up as CIOs and many existing charities like ours have already converted. Importantly, we believe this will help us with the recruitment of trustees in the years ahead.
What will change?
In one sense, nothing. It is important to know that our charitable goals will remain fundamentally the same, namely the support of our wonderful local community hospital in Keswick. However, the technical process of becoming a CIO involves setting up a new CIO charity, with a new name and new UK registration number. Once set up, we will then transfer across any existing assets (donated funds), before winding up the old charity. The first stage of this is now complete. Our new charity name is the Friends of Keswick Hospital, and our new UK Charity Commission registration number is 1215859.
The process of converting to a CIO involves a lot of work, but hopefully will be complete by March 2026. Keep checking this website for updates!