Community Action helps people work together to set up community groups all across Bradford district and people often ask:

“What do I need to set up a community group that can apply for grant funding?”

You will need:

• At least three people (no maximum), not related to each other and not living at the same address. They will be the committee and make decisions. Everyone is jointly responsible so they need to be people who are keen to work together and share tasks to get things done. The committee are volunteers and do not get paid.
• More volunteers to get things done! Not everyone who wants to help needs to be on the committee, they can be a different kind of volunteer and use their skills, time and energy to do practical tasks instead of being responsible for taking decisions about running the whole organisation.
• A bank account in the name of the organisation. An alternative to this would be to ask an existing organisation to hold funds for the group. Community Action may be able to hold funds for new community organisations in Bradford district, email info@cabad.org.uk to discuss.
• Insurance: get advice from an insurance company or broker to find out what you need.
• Policies: start with safeguarding, equality and diversity, health and safety and data protection.
• A written ‘governing document‘ that explains what the group wants to achieve and sets out the rules on how it can run and how money can be spent. Often called a constitution, the kind of governing document the committee agrees will depend on the legal structure they choose.

Next step! Choose a Legal Structure

How Community Action can help

Need to talk through your options? If the community organisation will be in Bradford district UK (including Shipley, Ilkley, Bingley and Keighley), Community Action can help.

Make an appointment to talk to one of our development officers or book a place on the next set up a new group training course. For organisations with an annual income under £100,000 advice and getting started training courses are free of charge.

Want to start a for-profit business or be a sole trader? Sorry, Community Action doesn’t provide advice to those groups.

Set up a new group – next training dates

Alternatives to setting up an organisation

Can I be in charge of a community organisation or charity on my own?

No.

A community organisation by definition is about working as a collective to achieve common goals. If you don’t already have a group of people for a committee to make decisions and don’t want one, then setting up a charity or other voluntary sector organisation is not right for you but there are other options to run community activities.

Volunteer at an existing organisation. Save the time, resources, energy (and paperwork!) of setting up a whole new group by finding an existing organisation to work with and offering to help. Consider becoming a management committee member or trustee to get experience of governing an organisation and the realities of fundraising in the voluntary sector.

You may not need a formal organisation. How about using nextdoor.co.uk to organise with your neighbours or meetup.com to organise around a hobby or interest?

But… I want to apply for grant funding and I don’t want to be part of a committee

Unfortunately that’s not how grant funding usually works but there are a few funders that will consider individual applicants (rather than organisations):

• Unltd Awards
• School for Social Entrepreneurs

Grants are not the only type of funding and there’s nothing wrong with being a sole trader or setting up a business and charging people for a service. Many charities charge for services because grant funding is difficult to get and doesn’t cover all costs. Trading is also an essential part of social enterprise.