Legal structures and governance arrangements

Incorporated bodies
The vast majority of our loans are to charities and social enterprises that are established as a company limited by guarantee, a community interest company or an industrial & provident society. They will

• not be able to dispose of assets for private gain (except as permitted for community interest companies)
• have some non-executive members on their boards or management committees
• have a formally adopted constitution.

Before investing in an organisation, we will want to be satisfied that good governance structures are in place.

Unincorporated bodies
Very occasionally, we have been able to help social enterprises that have not set up a limited company. If that is your position, please telephone us on 020 7526 3440 to discuss your loan application.

Independence
We will also want any borrower to be an independent entity and not controlled by some other organisation. Typically, an independent entity will have

• its own management committee
• a bank account under its own direct control
• its own annual accounts, approved by its management committee
• control over its income and expenditure
• its own charity or company number (in the case of registered charities or companies).