UNITED in Hammersmith & Fulham was launched by two endowed charities - Hammersmith United Charities (HUC) and Dr Edward's and Bishop King’s (DEBK) Fulham Charity to mark their 400 year anniversary in 2018.
UNITED applied for independent legal status because the two charity’s governing documents did not allow them to fundraise. The first application was rejected because its aims were too broad, the second was submitted in June 2019, and charity registration was awarded in January 2020.
Executive Director Savraj Kaur said that it was a more complicated process than envisaged, and so a decision was made to supplement the expertise of both herself and the Chief Executive of HUC with the advice of solicitors. UNIITED continues to benefit from pro bono office space from both founding charities and back-office support from HUC.
Savraj describes the recent independent charity status as liberating; UNITED’s finances are more transparent - plus holding a bank account in the charity’s own name and registering for Gift Aid have both been beneficial for public fundraising. However, the two funders continue to provide a small amount of core funding and can only confirm this on a 12 month basis, so resource remains stretched and long-term sustainability of the scheme feels less certain.