# New Charity Commission guidance on collaboration and mergers

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/09/18/new-charity-commission-guidance-collaboration-and-mergers/
- Published: 2009-09-18T08:37:14+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

The Charity Commission has published two new toolkits for charities on collaborative
working and merging; Choosing to Collaborate and Making Mergers Work.

 

The toolkits are designed to provide charities with a clear framework within which
to decide whether collaborative working or merging would help them and their beneficiaries.
They include practical tips and case studies to set out the risks, challenges and
opportunities that collaborative working and mergers can bring.

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They draw on the experience of the Commission which set up a mergers unit in 2005
to assist charities on the legal and constitutional aspects of merging.

 

The publications have been announced as the Charity Commission published its third
annual Economic Survey of Charities. This survey of 1,001 charities in England and
Wales found that only nine per cent of charities have considered collaborating, 
forming a consortium or merging with other charities in response to the economic
downturn. Although charities with an income of £1 more or more are more likely to
have considered these issues, 77% have not.

 

Andrew Hind, Charity Commission Chief Executive, said: “It is vitally important,
particularly at a time when economic uncertainty requires all organisations to work
smarter, that charities think regularly and imaginatively about how they can do 
more for those they help.

 

“We’re urging every board of trustees to look creatively at ways of collaborating
with others in order to make their funds work harder and to provide better value
for their beneficiaries. Our new collaboration toolkit is designed to be a practical
resource for trustees deciding how collaboration can work for them. Some charities
may wish to go further and merge; for them, the mergers toolkit will be invaluable.”

 

www.charitycommission.gov.uk

 

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## Comments

### By: frazerorr

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/09/18/new-charity-commission-guidance-collaboration-and-mergers/#comment-3762
- Published: 2009-09-18T09:46:07+01:00

David Lawrence, Director of Strategy and Performance at Catch 22 presented a case
study on the merger that formed his organisation at the IoF’s Strategic Fundraising
Management Conference in April of this year.

You can hear an interview with David in the free podcast produced on the day.

[http://www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/podcast](http://www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/podcast)

Frazer Orr
 Web Manager, Institute of Fundraising