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OSCr Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator www.oscr.org.uk
All charities must clearly state the following information on all relevant documents issued or signed on their behalf after 31 March 2008: The charity's name as entered in Scottish Charities Register Any other name by which the charity is commonly known The charity's Scottish Charity Number allocated to it at the time of registration, which begins SCO Also, a charity whose name does not contain the word charity or charitable must also state on documents that it is a charity. This can be done by using one of the terms below: Charity Charitable body Registered charity Charity registered in Scotland Scottish charity Registered Scottish charity The new regulations do not specify where the wording should be placed but good practice would dictate that it should be in a prominent part of the document, for example on the first page of a document or at the foot of the headed notepaper. N.B. If, at 1 April 2008 a charity has a surplus of printed material which does not comply with the regulations, it will be acceptable to amend such material by hand, using stickers, stamp or by any other means so that the information is included. DOCUMENTS AFFECTED BY THE REGULATIONS. The first aim of the regulations is to provide the general public with a clear understanding of whether or not a body has charitable status. The regulations therefore apply to all external communications and documents intended for circulation out with the charity. Internal correspondence between Board/Management Committee members, staff, volunteers etc is not subject to the regulations but OSCR recommend in the interest of good practice that such documents should comply with the regulations. The following documents must incorporate the information described at section above: business letters and e-mails; advertisements, notices and official publications; Any document which solicits money or other property for the benefit of the charity; bills of exchange, promissory notes, endorsements and orders for money or goods; bills rendered; invoices, receipts and letters of credit; statements of account prepared in accordance with either regulation 8, 9 or 14 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 educational or campaign documentation; conveyances which provide for the creation, transfer, variation or extinction of an interest in land; contractual documentation. GOOD PRACTICE While the regulations only apply to certain types of document it would be good practice for charities to include the information on all forms of communication as a matter of course. By doing this, the charity is advertising its charitable status as widely as possible. The following list is not exhaustive but it provides a basis for charities to consider its circumstances: Letters and emails Letters and emails sent by audi tor, solicitor, company secretary Correspondence between bureau Compliment slips, Business cards Website Advertisements in newspapers etc,P osters Notices, e.g AGM Annual reports Committee reports, including Managers reports etc.= Annual financial statements and periodic financial reports Reports to funders Newsletters Contributions to consultations, e.g. Scottish Government The charity's own information sheets Flyers and hand outs advertising events Training hand outs etc Promotional, publicity and marketing material Signage and displays Any document soliciting funding or sponsorship Collecting envelopes or paraphernalia Invoices Legal documents and contracts EXCEPTIONS The regulations do not require charities to include this information on their cheques. |