Glossary

Charitable status
The legal status of an organisation - whether corporate or not - of being charitable, because it operates solely and exclusively for charitable purposes.

Charity Commission
A statutory body which administers charities, secures the effective use of charity property and investigates abuses, removing trustees from office where necessary.

Charity trustees
The persons in general control and management of a charity. This is the case even though they may be referred to as directors, or governors, or committee members in the charity's governing document.

Custodian trustee
A trustee whose sole role is to hold the legal ownership of trust property, but without any powers of management.

Donor
A person or organisation who gives money or other assets.

Governing document
Any document setting out a charity's purposes and, usually, how it is to be administered. It may be a trust deed, constitution, Memorandum and Articles of Association, will, conveyance, Royal Charter, Scheme of the Commissioners, or other formal document.

Insolvency
Inability to pay debts. A condition where the debts of an individual or company exceed their or its assets.

Instrument
A formal legal document in writing, such as a deed, will or the governing document of a charity.

Jurisdiction
The power of a court to hear and decide on a case by reason of some territorial or other legally valid criterion.

Lawyers
Professional lawyers comprise solicitors and barristers. A solicitor may have as a client any member of the public or a corporation. A barrister, also known as 'counsel', is usually hired at the behest of a solicitor to carry out advocacy in court or to give specialist legal advice.

Legacy
A gift of personal property made by will.

Permanent endowment
Property, including land, buildings, investments or cash, which may not be spent by the trustees as if it were income.

Scheme
A legal document propounded by the Charity Commissioners or the court to amend or replace a charity's governing document.

Trust
A legal structure where land, money or other property is held in the names of trustees for certain defined purposes, and is usually constituted by a formal trust deed drawn up by a solicitor.

Trust corporation
A corporation which is authorised to act as a trustee.

Trustee
One who holds property on trust for another, known as the beneficiary: this obligation of trust has been recognised by English law since the 15th century.

Ultra vires rule
A rule affecting the actions of companies, public bodies and anyone whose powers are defined by a governing document or legislation. Acts which are ultra vires ('beyond the powers') are void.

Will
A declaration, usually in writing, of the intentions of the person who writes it concerning the disposition of his or her property after his or her death. It is common for people to leave money or other property to a charity in their will.