Starting a new group
Starting out
At first glance, the list of things to do in setting up a new community group can seem quite daunting. However, you can make things easier by sharing the work out between a few people and getting in touch with organisations and people who can help you (it is after all how every other group started!). Setting up a successful new group can take a lot of commitment, and may take longer than you first thought it would, but once the group is set up and having a positive impact, it can be extremely rewarding.
Right at the beginning, it is worth asking yourselves a few basic questions about your idea for a new group:
- What will the group do? Will it provide services for people, and if so, what sorts of services? Will it be a self-help group? Will it carry out any campaigning work?
- Who will the group be for? Is the group designed for a particular section of the community, or to serve a particular geographical area? Or is it for the whole community? Will it aim to benefit lots of people, or have an impact on a few people with specific needs?
- Is there a need for the group? How can you be sure that the people you want to help really need the service you are thinking of providing? Is there another group already in existence providing similar services locally? If so, would you be better working with them rather than setting up another organisation? (MVSC can help you find out about other groups that are already working in a particular field)
Who could be involved?
Hopefully, there are already a few of you who are interested in forming the group (given the amount of work involved, it will be lot easier to work as a group, rather than as an individual). In addition, it may be worth contacting other people and organisations to get their views and hopefully their support and involvement. Who you might contact depends on the type of group you have in mind, but suggestions include:
- Schools, local council departments, health visitors, police, etc.
- Other voluntary organisations in similar or related fields.
Perhaps most importantly, the involvement of potential users of the service is crucial, especially at this early stage. This way, you can ensure that as your plans develop you do not lose contact with the people whose needs you intend to meet.
Committees, constitutions and charity registration
As your plans for the new group develop, it is likely that you will need to create some kind of formal structure for the group. You are likely to need some form of committee made up a small number of people (between around 3 and 15 members) who will be responsible for managing the group. The chances are that your first committee will be largely made up of those people who set the group up but in the longer term you may want to form some kind of membership, based on users or supporters of the group, who would then be able to stand for the committee. In most cases, your committee will therefore become democratically elected by the groups members.
Similarly, at some point your group will need some kind of constitution: a set of rules to cover matters such as what the aims of the group are; how the group will work to achieve those aims; how the group will be managed and how the committee will organise its work and be accountable to its members.
In some circumstances, such as if your group is likely to stay very small, informal and run on very little or no funding, you will not need formal structures such as a committee or a constitution. However, in the majority of cases (and especially if you are seeking to raise funds from grant-making trusts and charities, you will need a committee and a constitution.
At some point, you may also need to register your group with the Charity Commission. This would be the case if your group:
- meets the Charity Commission’s specific definition of a charity, and
- has a particular level or type of funding, or owns or occupies land or premises.
If you are still at an early stage in developing your idea for a new group, drawing up a constitution, electing a committee and registering the group as a charity can all be left for the time being. However, it is worth keeping these issues in the back of your mind. As your plans become clearer and the group gets closer to setting up, the chances are that your group will need to put in place these more formal structures.