El Cid Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I am not a person that is anti-charity. But what should be a charity, and what should not? Sheffield City Trust appears to be largely responsible for operating various leisure centres around Sheffield including the Motorpoint Arena (previously Sheffield Arena) "Their charitable status begs the question, if they are being given local and central government money to provide services for the community, why do they appear to have spent as little as 25%, on average, on their charitable works over the last three years? The Royal Horticultural Society is also a charity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Arthur Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 What do you think a charity should be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
999tigger Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) I am not a person that is anti-charity. But what should be a charity, and what should not? Sheffield City Trust appears to be largely responsible for operating various leisure centres around Sheffield including the Motorpoint Arena (previously Sheffield Arena) "Their charitable status begs the question, if they are being given local and central government money to provide services for the community, why do they appear to have spent as little as 25%, on average, on their charitable works over the last three years? The Royal Horticultural Society is also a charity. Of you are really interested in charities, then you should look at the Charity Commissions website which has plenty of guidance on what constitutes a charity and how to set one up. https://www.gov.uk/topic/running-charity/setting-up It includes a list of 13 broad objectives/ categories which are recognised as charitable and which also must be for the public good. Whether something is considered a charity or not has developed over time and there is a comprehensive legal framework for the creation and operation of charities. The Trust was established in 1988 with three charitable objects: provide recreational and other leisure facilities of a high standard and as economically as possible promote the physical health of the inhabitants of the City of Sheffield encouragement of the Arts, and the acquisition, preservation, restoration and maintenance of buildings of historical interest in Sheffield. Aims & activities 1) Promoting the benefit of the inhabitants of South Yorkshire and surrounding counties through the provision of facilities for recreation and leisure time occupation, ad hoc initiatives and the provision of financial support to appropriate projects. What the charity does Education/training The advancement of health or saving of lives Disability The prevention or relief of poverty Arts/culture/heritage/science Amateur sport Environment/conservation/heritage Any money spent on achieving the above would be deemed as money spent on its charitable objectives. Running local lesiure facilities means you have to employ a lot of people and pay for the upkeep of a lot of buildings. The important aspect is that any profit they do make is reinvested into their charitable objectives. Where do you get the 25% from? Is it the accounts? Have you looked at the organisation and how it functions? Do you understand it? There was a ludicrously article in the DM recently by some headline seeking orgnaisation, whose analysis was really poor and showed a complete faliure to understand how charities work. The RHS Objectives are Aims & activities Operation of Gardens open to the public. Scientific Research and the provision of horticultural advice. Education and training. Provision of horticultural libraries. Staging of horticultural Shows. Provision of bursaries for horticultural activities. Organisation of the national Britain in Bloom campaign. What the charity does Education/training Arts/culture/heritage/science Environment/conservation/heritage Edited December 17, 2015 by 999tigger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Cid Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 What do you think a charity should be? It would be great if all organisations could be charities, just imagine getting your weekly shopping much cheaper, from a charity. But then we wouldnt raise as much in taxes. I recall Leeds City Council looking into putting its sports centres into a charitable trust, but the council backed out. Some international companies dont pay any tax, is that different from how Mr Osborne treats charities? Are JCs plans for the railways a charitable trust? ---------- Post added 17-12-2015 at 18:49 ---------- Where do you get the 25% from? Is it the accounts? Have you looked at the organisation and how it functions? Do you understand it? There was a ludicrously article in the DM recently by some headline seeking orgnaisation, whose analysis was really poor and showed a complete faliure to understand how charities work. I was just reading the article, and noticed it was Sheffield, I thought it might be of interest. I dont live in Sheffield. https://fullfact.org/factcheck/economy/true_fair_charities_spending_less_half_income_good_works-50298 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
999tigger Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 It would be great if all organisations could be charities, just imagine getting your weekly shopping much cheaper, from a charity. But then we wouldnt raise as much in taxes. I recall Leeds City Council looking into putting its sports centres into a charitable trust, but the council backed out. Some international companies dont pay any tax, is that different from how Mr Osborne treats charities? Are JCs plans for the railways a charitable trust? Do you understand what a charity is, how it works an what its limitations are? Do you understand the difference between that and a private company? International companies who manage their affairs to limit their tax liabilities are not charities. They still have to pay income tax and vat plus other taxes. If you wnat to learn then you could do worse than reading through some of the Charity Commissions website, which explains everything for you. If you did that then youd get answers to a lot of your questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Shaw Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Do you understand what a charity is, how it works an what its limitations are? Do you understand the difference between that and a private company? International companies who manage their affairs to limit their tax liabilities are not charities. They still have to pay income tax and vat plus other taxes. If you wnat to learn then you could do worse than reading through some of the Charity Commissions website, which explains everything for you. If you did that then youd get answers to a lot of your questions. Also: a. a charity can be an unincorporated trust; or b. a CIO [see that website]; or c. a limited company. In other words, some charities are also companies; some are not. The two statuses are distinct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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