Parishes invited to information meetings on charities legislation

Tuesday October 13th 2009

Two information evenings have been organised to help parishes in Connor Diocese and neighbouring Down & Dromore comply with new charities leglislation.

The Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 came into force more than a year ago and the Charities Commission for Northern Ireland has recently been established.

In a letter to parishes, new Diocesan Secretary Mrs June Butler writes: “It is probable that, in Northern Ireland, each parish will register individually with the Commission. “ She states that the Diocesan Office has been working with the Representative Church Body (RCB) in Dublin to see how best it can provide parishes with guidance on what they will be required to do in order to comply with the legislation.

The two public information evenings will take place on Tuesday October 20 at the Ramada Hotel, Shaw’s Bridge, Belfast, and Monday November 9 at the Dunsilly Inn, Antrim. Both evenings will begin at 7pm and end with light refreshments around 9pm.

At the events, staff from the RCB and the Charities Commission will give a presentation and answer questions relating to the charities registration procedure, the appointment of trustees and the preparation, auditing and presentation of annual accounts to the Commission. Staff from the Diocesan Office will also be in attendance to answer questions and help parishes in any way possible.

Mrs Butler urges that at least one person from each parish attends one of the evening, and adds that it would be helpful if a number of vestry members as well as the incumbent were able to attend.

Replies must be forwarded by October 19, either by email to charities@rcbdub.org or telephone 003531 4978422.

Mrs Butler’s letter and further information on the evenings are available here.

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