Charity related business idea - how does it work?
Discussion
Just mulling over and idea that I've come up with and which, amazingly, doesn't seem to have been thought of yet (although I am sure it has somewhere). However the idea is based on helping those in need and who have little/no money. I am sure the idea could help them but how do you monetise a charitable service?
Frimley111R said:
how do you monetise a charitable service?
A service offered by a charity is by default a non-profit endeavour and something from which you can't draw dividends and even director salaries are carefully regulated by the Charities Commission. There are some variations around the the theme that offer slightly more flexibility - Social Enterprise has been mentioned, Community Interest Organisation is another. But regardless, you can't draw profit from these sorts of activities.You can set up a trading operation as a standard Ltd company with that company providing services to a charity. I used to work for Barnardos Publications Ltd - a company owned by Barnardo's which was responsible for charity shops, greetings cards and mail order gift catalogues. The profit it made went back into Barnardo's.
I'm currently working with a start up fashion brand that will soon be launching a range of 'surfer / grunge' type stuff but with the corporate pledge to donate 50% of its profits to low income coastal regions to help reduce the amount fo plastic waste going into the oceans, this being done via an established organisation that works in these fields.
In terms of raising the funding to start the enterprise, much will depend on the structure you adopt. If you intend to launch as a charity then there are no shortage of grants available from any number of trust funds and is a case of searching for those that are interested in your specific field. The CoOp Bank used to offer a very good service for non-profits including funding searches - don't know if they still do this.
If you're looking at something regional rather than national, the largest local authority (i.e.County not Borough Council) will normally have a dedicated charitable investment team - or regional grant pots like this one in Essex
Running anything that does good beyond the making of money for yourself is hugely rewarding, more than many give credit for. But speaking from experience, the work is harder and the regulations more onerous which combined can make the realisation of reward harder to see at times.
HTH and good luck!
Beetnik said:
StevieBee said:
A service offered by a charity is by default a non-profit endeavour and something from which you can't draw dividends and even director salaries are carefully regulated by the Charities Commission.
Dividends are a no but salaries are not regulated.StevieBee said:
A service offered by a charity is by default a non-profit endeavour and something from which you can't draw dividends and even director salaries are carefully regulated by the Charities Commission. ..........the work is harder and the regulations more onerous which combined can make the realisation of reward harder to see at times.
HTH and good luck!
Thank you, very helpful indeed! HTH and good luck!
Beetnik said:
Let's agree on hardly, if ever, scrutinised provided the charity is operating within the law and there's no fraud involved.
HMRC May come sniffing every now and again for their cut but soon get the message that you’re not a business making profits and all money is for good causes / reinvested into the business. Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff