A Glasgow-based charity encouraging community integration has become the 500th organisation to register as a Scottish charitable incorporated organisation since the legal form launched in April 2011.
South East Integration Network was originally launched ten years ago to assist asylum seekers to settle into their new neighbourhoods, but has since grown into a wider network liaising with 40 local organisations across a number of vulnerable demographics. It has its own services such as local youth projects but also coordinates a network of charities in its local area.
The organisation's chair Eveline NcNair said the opportunity to become an SCIO was very "timely":
"We had been looking at charitable status for some time. We knew we wanted to become incorporated but didn’t want to become a company as this would mean us reporting to two regulators. So becoming a SCIO allowed us to bridge that gap but also, as a corporate entity, to enter into contracts. We’re very pleased with our new charitable status and our legal form."
SCIO status provides protection for trustees from liability if the organisation incurs debts, is sued, or faces legal challenges associated with employment, while not requiring an arduous double registration with both corporate and charity regulators.
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator receives some 120 applications a month to become an SCIO, the regulator advises. While Scotland introduced the SCIO status in April 2011, England and Wales followed suit in January this year. By 8 January the Charity Commission had received 30 applications to become a CIO and had registered its first three organisations. The implementation of CIO status in England and Wales is being drip-fed, beginning with new organisations and currently also open to existing charities with an income over £5,000.
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