What is a charity?
What are charitable
objects or purposes?
Is
there a legal obligation to register a charity in Barbados?
What
categories of charity are exempt from registering under the Act?
What are the legal consequences of
failing to register a Charity in Barbados?
How do I
go about registering a Charity in Barbados?
What
matters must be set out in the Application Form?
In what circumstances may charity
trustees incorporate as a Board under the Charities Act?
What are some of the main statutory
obligations of charity trustees?
What
are the formalities for incorporation of charity trustees as a Board under
the Charities Act?
What
is a charity?
A charity may loosely be defined as
any benevolent or philanthropic institution or organization established
with the object or purpose of helping those in need.
Section 2 of the Charities Act,
Cap. 243 defines the word "charity" to mean, "any
institution (corporate or not) which is established for charitable objects
or purposes, and which is intended to and does operate for the public
benefit, and is subject to the control of the High Court in the exercise
of its jurisdiction with respect to charities".
What are charitable objects or
purposes?
While such well-known objects or
ideals as the relief and prevention of poverty, the relief of suffering
and distress or disability caused by old age or the relief and prevention
of sickness and disability, whether physical and mental will undoubtedly
qualify as "charitable", the law also expressly recognizes,
inter alia, other noble or spiritual ideals such as the advancement of
education or religion and the cultivation of public aesthetic taste in
music, art, fine craftsmanship and literature as charitable objects.
Section 3 of the Charities Act,
Cap. 243 of the laws of Barbados sets out the types of objects which the
law regards as "charitable purposes" for purposes of the Act.
The statutory definition does not constitute an exhaustive list. However,
only those objects which, in the opinion of the Registrar, fall within the
"spirit of, and are analogous to", the "charitable
purposes" listed in the Act will be registered as charities under the
Act.
Is there a legal obligation to
register a charity in Barbados?
As a general rule, unless expressly
exempted by law from registration, any institution which qualifies as a
"charity" should be registered with the Registrar under the
Charities Act, Cap. 243. Section 5(6)(a) of the Charities Act, Cap. 243
imposes a statutory duty on the charity trustees of any charity which is
not registered nor excepted from registration to apply for it to be
registered, and to supply the documents and information required by law to
be filed with the Registrar.
What
categories of charity are exempt from registering under the Act?
However, not all charities are
required to be registered and section 5(4) of the Charities Act, Cap. 243
identifies three (3) categories of charity which are not required by law
to be registered. These include:
(a) the "Exempt
Charities" identified in the First Schedule to the Act. Such
charities include institutions such as the Barbados Community College, the
National Sports Council, the National Assistance Board, the Queen
Elizabeth Hospital Board, the Child Care Board, the Sanitation Service
Authority, schools administered under the Education Act, Cap. 41, public
and private hospitals and churches within the meaning of section 2 of the
Anglican Church Act, Cap. 375 and churches whose Superintendent or
Minister receives any sum by way of grant-in-aid under the Grant-In-Aid
(Churches) Act, Cap. 376;
(b) charities excepted from
registration by order made by the Attorney General;
(c) charities having no permanent
endowment nor income more than BDS $100 per year.
What are the legal consequences of
failing to register a Charity in Barbados?
Section 6 of the Charities Act,
Cap. 306 states that where charity trustees fail to register a charity in
accordance with the Act, the charity trustees shall not be entitled to
claim any tax exemptions under any enactment in respect of that charity
for the income year during which it remains unregistered.
To this end, the Registrar, the
Commissioner of Inland Revenue and other Government Departments are
authorized to exchange information relevant to determining whether an
institution ought to be treated as established for charitable purposes,
including information as to the purposes of the institution and the trusts
under which it is established or regulated.
How do I go about registering a
Charity in Barbados?
To register a charity, an
Application Form (which is available from the Corporate Affairs and
Intellectual Property Office) should be completed by the charity trustees
and forwarded to the Registrar together with the following:
(1) The trust deed appointing the
trustees and establishing the objects and purposes of the trust;
(2) In the absence of a Trust deed,
the Constitution or By-laws of the proposed Charity setting out the powers
of the charity, providing for its officers, the timing of its annual
general meeting and financial year and other organizational and
administrative matters.
What matters must be set out in the
Application Form?
All items on the Application Form
must be completely and correctly filled-out and should give full
particulars of the following matters:
(1) The name of the proposed
charity;
(2) The date of establishment of
the Charity;
(3) The precise objects of the
charity; (See Section 3 of the Charities Act, Cap. 243 for the usual types
of charitable objects)
(4) The mailing address of the
administrative office of the charity;
(5) The full names, occupations and
mailing addresses of the charity trustees;
(6) The full name, address and
occupation of the Secretary;
(7) The full name, address and
occupation of the treasurer;
(8) The name and address of the
bank(s) at which the charity account is held;
(9) The name, address and
professional qualifications of the auditor of the charity accounts;
(10) A list of properties (if any)
owned by the charity.
What are some of the main statutory
obligations of charity trustees?
Some of the main statutory
obligations of charity trustees (as the persons having general control and
management of the administration of a charity) are:
(1) to register the
charity; (section 5(6)(a))
(2) to notify the Registrar if it
ceases to exist or if there is a change in its trusts or in any of the
registered particulars; (section 5(6)(b))
(3) to supply the Registrar with
particulars of such changes and copies of any new trusts or alterations
thereto; (section 5(6)(b))
(4) to keep proper books of account
with respect to the affairs of the charity; (section 41(1))
(5) to prepare consecutive
statements of account of income and expenditure and a balance sheet
relating to a period of not more than 15 months; (section 41(1))
(6) to preserve the books and
statements of account for at least seven (7) years; (section 41(2))
(7) to transmit the statements of
account to the Registrar within one month; (section 42(1)).
In what circumstances may charity
trustees incorporate as a Board under the Charities Act?
The charity trustees of a
registered charity who are not already incorporated under another Act, may
apply to the Registrar to incorporate themselves as a Board under Part III
of the Charities Act, Cap. 243.
Upon their incorporation as a Board
under Part III of the Act, the charity trustees become a body corporate
consisting of the persons who are for the time being the charity trustees.
By virtue of section 21 of the Interpretation Act, Cap. 1, the Board will
upon incorporation be vested, inter alia, with power to sue and be sued in
its corporate name, have power to enter into contracts in its corporate
name, have the right to acquire and hold real or personal property and to
dispose of or charge such property at pleasure. By virtue of section 21
(1)(e) of the Interpretation Act, individual charity trustees who do not
contravene the provisions of the Charities Act, will also be exempt from
personal liability for the debts, obligations or acts of the Board.
What are the formalities for
incorporation of charity trustees as a Board under the Charities Act?
The following legal requirements
must be met to effect the incorporation of charity trustees as a body
corporate under the Charities Act:
(1) An Application in the
prescribed form should be completed and signed by a majority of the
trustees and filed with the Registrar; (section 9(3)) together with
(2) A copy of a resolution passed
by a majority of the trustees expressly authorizing the application and
consenting to the use of the name of the charity by the Board;
(3) A Statutory
Declaration sworn
by a duly authorized official of the charity stating that:
(a) the application is authorized
by a majority of the charity trustees;
(b) the resolution was passed by a
majority of the charity trustees present at
the meeting held for the
purpose;
(c) adequate notice of intention to
hold the meeting and of its purpose was given;
(d) the application is authorized
by the rules of the charity.
