Charity Law And Coronavirus

• Published date: 24 June 2020
• Subject Matter: Corporate/Commercial Law, Coronavirus (COVID-19), Charities & Non-Profits , Financing
• Law Firm: Gilson Gray
• Author: Mr David Murdie

As you have read and heard countless times, no sector is unaffected by the coronavirus outbreak. While some may be able to mitigate the damage of the coronavirus outbreak on their livelihood, it is equally true that others are trapped with one eye on a potential relaxation of the lockdown rules to enable the tills to start ringing again. As you will appreciate, the charity sector is reliant on donations and support from areas of the economy which are taking extreme steps to protect against the challenging economic headwind facing us all.

The charitable sector is one which has seen funding and donations dry up overnight and the thoughts of charity trustees will begin to focus on how best to navigate this crisis with reduced income.

Turning first to board meetings, you will find many free platforms to use for a video conference call. Documents should be circulated in advance and each member should be capable of being seen and heard. It is recommended that, where possible, video calls are the preferred platform for holding a meeting. Your minutes should capture attendance and apologies with a confirmation of the manner of attendance. This, clearly, feeds into confirming the necessary quorum. Further, it is important to check that your constitution does not exclude remote meetings and voting. It is, of course, unlikely that modern drafting would prohibit meeting or voting remotely but the might not be said of slightly more dated documents. If you discover any such prohibition in your constitution or governing document, or indeed any prohibition which affects your business continuity, please do contact us.

Without wishing this to be an article about meetings, if you are required to have an AGM during lockdown it would be wise to review your constitution. You may find that there are implicit prohibitions to meeting virtually which may suggest that physical attendance is preferred. OSCR have confirmed they will take a proportionate stance to delaying an AGM but it would be wise to seek advice before doing so. We can review your constitution and propose any changes that will enable your charity to adapt to the challenging circumstances we find ourselves in.

Any meeting will likely focus on funding. While the usual sources of unrestricted funds have dried up, help is on hand through the national emergencies trust, third sector resilience fund, job retention scheme, and, of course, independent funders. Information is widely available and it is important that you and...