Charity Commission for Northern Ireland facts for kids

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland is an important group that helps look after charities in Northern Ireland. Think of them as a referee for charities! They make sure charities are doing what they say they will and are using their money wisely. This group started in 2009 because of a law called the Charities Act (NI) 2008.

What the Commission Wants to Achieve

The Commission has a clear goal. They want charities in Northern Ireland to be strong and well-run. They also want people to trust charities. The Commission helps by guiding charities and making sure they follow the rules.

The Official List of Charities

The Commission keeps a special list called the Register of Charities. This list has details of all the groups that are officially recognised as charities in Northern Ireland.

• When the Commission started, they got a list of over 7,000 groups. These groups were already seen as charities for tax reasons.
• It became a rule for these groups to officially register starting in December 2013. This process took a few years to finish.
• You can find this list on the Commission's website. It shows which groups are real charities and help the public.
• Anyone can search the list. You can look for a charity by its special NIC number. You can also search by its name, what it does, or where it works.
• The Commission believes there are between 7,000 and 11,500 charities in Northern Ireland that need to be on this official list.

How the Commission Works

The Commission is a public body, which means it's part of the government, but it works independently. The Department for Communities supports it.

• Its main job is to register and oversee the many charities in Northern Ireland.
• The same law that created the Commission, the Charities Act (NI) 2008, also gives it its powers.
• Having this Commission helps Northern Ireland be similar to other parts of the United Kingdom. For example, Scotland has the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). England and Wales have the Charity Commission for England and Wales (CCEW).
• The process for charities to register was paused for a while in 2010. This was because a part of the law, about how charities must benefit the public, needed to be made clearer.
• This issue was fixed in January 2013. After that, the registration process started again on 16 December 2013.
• Even when registration was paused, the Commission could still look into charities if they suspected something was wrong.

Looking Into Problems

The Charity Commission has the power to investigate charities if they think there might be a problem. This power started in February 2011.

• They have looked into many different types of charities.
• Sometimes, investigations end with simple advice to help charities manage themselves better.
• Other times, the problems are more serious, and the investigations continue.

The Leaders of the Commission

The Commission has important people who lead its work.

• The first chief executive of the Commission was Frances McCandless. She started in April 2010. She had a lot of experience working with charities before this role.
• As of 2014, Tom McGrath was the Chief Charity Commissioner. He served for five years. He also had a long career in business and led other important groups like the NI Tourist Board.