Milestones: Managing key events in the life of a charity (RS6)

There are over 180,000 registered charities in England and Wales. Each charity is different and their diversity is one of the defining characteristics of a vibrant civil society. Charities share many common events or milestones as they develop, grow and change. The lessons learnt by one charity can be of benefit to other charities by helping them to avoid common pitfalls and take advantage of best practice experience. Society is increasingly turning to charities to provide and deliver key services and amenities, with an expectation that these services will be delivered in a well organised, effective and accountable way.

This report aims to play a part in supporting new and developing charities by exploring, from the Charity Commission's perspective, some of the issues charities can expect to encounter. It aims to disseminate the information gained from charities’ experience of milestone events and illustrate some best practice ways of preparing for and dealing with them. To complement our casework experience, the report also presents findings from a survey which gathers, for the first time, the feedback of recently registered charities.

A 'milestone' is defined as a significant change that has repercussions for many aspects of a charity's role and activities. It may have implications for the charity's governance arrangements, the roles individuals play, potential liabilities and so on. The characteristic of a milestone is that many changes have to be considered at the same time and the demands on trustees and staff increase significantly.