The Charity Commission has launched a consultation on draft guidance setting out the principles for managing relationships with organisations that are not charities.
It is common for charities to have close connections with non-charities, for example trading subsidiaries or charities established by commercial businesses, and that this is not a concern in principle. However, the commission says that trustees must manage these relationships properly in order to fulfil their legal duties and maintain public trust and confidence. It is vital that the public can easily distinguish between the charity and the connected non-charitable organisation, particularly where, for example, they share a very similar name.