Law firm helps boost sporting chances

Experts from the specialist charities team from Ward Hadaway’s Newcastle office provided legal advice to Sport Newcastle on the establishment of a new charity.

The charity has been set up as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), the new legal form which has become available for charities this year. The CIO is an incorporated structure that has similar benefits to other corporate forms, but is solely regulated by the Charity Commission.

Overseen by a board of trustees, the Sport Newcastle charity will pursue three main aims:

• Promote the provision of sports and recreation facilities for the benefit of the people of Tyne and Wear
• Promote the benefits of a physically active lifestyle to the people of Tyne and Wear; and
• Further the advancement of sport at a grassroots level for the people of Tyne and Wear

Sport Newcastle, which was formed from the ashes of the former Newcastle Sports Council, decided to set up the charity to further advance its aims of promoting sport and its benefits to the public.

The organisation offers funding and support to men, women and children seeking to realise their sporting dream by backing community projects, local clubs, elite international athletes and individuals of regional repute.

Malcolm Dix, Secretary of Sport Newcastle, said: “This is something we have been wanting to do for some time, so we are delighted to have been able to get the Sport Newcastle charity established.

“We are now looking to take applications from people within Tyne and Wear – whether individuals, clubs or organisations – for financial assistance to further the course of the aims of the new CIO.

“The new organisation will hopefully mean we are in better shape to bid for funds from other trusts and foundations, as well as the 2012 Olympics legacy fund.

“We are very grateful to Ward Hadaway for the high quality advice they have given us on setting up and registering the Sport Newcastle charity and for the hard work they have put in on this project.”