ctoolkit

• apply for financial assistance from other charities such as charitable trusts
• recover income tax paid on donations made under deed of covenant or gift aid payment
• receive donations from payroll-giving
• claim relief on up to 80% of local authority rates on premises occupied by the charity and 'wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes'

• your charities name (as entered on the Register) and any other name by which that charity is known
  
• your charity's Scottish Charity Number beginning SCO
  

• charity
  
• charitable body
  
• registered charity
  
• charity registered in Scotland
  

• changing the name of the charity 
  
• winding-up the charity
  
• amending the object or purposes of the charity
  
• amalgamating with another charity or body
  
• changing the charity's legal structure
  

• of any changes to your charity's main contact (do this as soon as any change takes place!)
  
• of any changes to your accounting year end
  
• of any changes to your constitution (unrelated to the charity's purposes)
  
• when you have implemented any changes for which OSCR has given prior consent
  

• the prevention or relief of poverty 
  
• the advancement of education
  
• the advancement of religion
  the advancement of any philosophical belief, whether or not involving a belief in a god, is stated to be analogous to this purpose. 
  
• the advancement of health
  this is stated to include the prevention or relief of sickness, disease or human suffering.
  
• the saving of lives 
  
• the advancement of citizenship or community development
  this is stated to include rural or urban regeneration; and the promotion of civic responsibility, volunteering, the voluntary sector or the effectiveness or the efficiency of charities.
  
• the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science
  
• the advancement of public participation in sport
  restricted to sport which involves physical skill and exertion.
  
• the provision of recreational facilities, or the organisation of recreational activities
  with the object of improving the conditions of life for the persons for whom the facilities or activities are primarily intended.
  
• the advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation 
  
• the promotion of religious or racial harmony
  
• the promotion of equality and diversity
  
• the advancement of environmental protection or improvement
  
• the relief of those in need by reason of age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage
  this is taken to include relief given by the provision of accommodation or care.
  
• the advancement of animal welfare
  

• what is the nature of the benefit? Is it tangible or intangible; is it direct or indirect?
  
• is public benefit in fact being provided? (Concerns can arise where the organisation is likely to be actively involved in providing public benefit for some time after it has been established – although OSCR does recognise that it can often take a significant time to raise funds and carry out preliminary work, especially with projects involving major capital spend.)
  
• will the public at large, or a sufficiently significant section of the public, benefit from the activities of the proposed charity? 
  
• is any benefit conferred on a specific group of individuals (e.g. charity trustees, or members or employees of the organisation)? This will not necessarily mean that the body will be ineligible, as long as the wider public also derives substantial benefit.
  
• is there any disbenefit to the public arising from the organisation’s activities?
  

• to make sure that your constitution is up to date, meets the requirements of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland ) Act 2005 and accurately reflects what your charity aims to do
• to ensure that the Charity Trustees' Annual Report describes what the charity does and shows it provides public benefit
• where the charity is part of a membership or group structure, to consider implementing or updating a model constitution