An existing client of AH Jackson & Co, Carolyn Oldano, wanted advice on how to set up a charity to honour her late husband , Michael Oldano.
CLIENT
Carolyn sought our help about the right structure to use, the best process to follow and how she could ensure the deductible gift recipient status of the charity. AH Jackson & Co helped Carolyn to establish Hand in Hand Fighting Brain Cancer as a not-for-profit charity dedicated to providing support to every person diagnosed with brain cancer.
CHALLENGES
As this was the charity’s first time trading, there was no history or sponsorship to assist with gaining the necessary registrations.
As the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and the Australian Taxation Office have different requirements, it was essential to plan and get the constitution right at the beginning to ensure compliance with the applicable regulations.
SOLUTION
As a part of the advice discovery process, we sat down with Carolyn to discuss setting up the charity, specifically the structure that should be used to establish it. After careful consideration, it was decided a public company limited by guarantee would be the most suitable structure.
With the structure decided, we carefully stepped through with Carolyn the essential factors that needed to be taken into account when drafting the charity’s constitution. We worked with her to decide the classification for the charity and finally, how to go about obtaining the deductible gift recipient endorsement with the Australian Tax Office.
AH Jackson & Co oversaw the process and provided Carolyn with general advice about how to structure the board and, more generally, how to operate the charity.
To ensure the constitution was legally sound, we arranged for the constitution to be vetted by a trusted solicitor. To minimise the impact of external adviser charge-out fees, AH Jackson & Co co-ordinated all the arrangements on behalf of Carolyn, allowing her to focus on realising her vision for Hand in Hand Fighting Brain Cancer.
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