Congratulations to Kids Clothes Project!

Local mom Kate Ashby had a simple idea to collect and distribute children’s clothing to families in need.

Over the past 6 years, Kids Clothes Project has blossomed. It’s now a trusted referral pathway for people who work with disadvantaged families, allowing them to access additional support. It also has donation points across the Black Country where people can give clothing and other essentials for kids between 2 and 12.

The project has gained lots of love and support for its work to reach families who need some extra help. And it has received offers of financial donations too.

What the group found difficult was formalising so that it could accept monetary donations and expand its work. This is where our support came in. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to register Kids Clothes Project as a charity, they asked us for help. I worked with Kate and the project’s founding volunteers who had agreed to become charity trustees. I also brought Grace from our team in to support Kids Clothes Project with recruiting and managing volunteers.

Being a charity

Sometimes people have preconceptions about becoming a charity. I think the prevailing perception is that being a good cause and supporting people in or at risk of poverty is enough. That’s completely understandable. But because ‘charity’ is defined in law, organisations have to meet this legal definition to be eligible for registration. This means that charities are defined not only by the work they do, but how they do it – how they are run, funded, how trustees behave, how they spend their income. There are additional rules about how charities must behave which sets them apart not only from commercial businesses but from other not-for-profit organisations that aren’t charities. People running charities should be willing to accept the extra regulation in exchange for the benefits of being a charity.

It’s our role to demystify this. We support people not only to register a charity but to understand the demands of being a charity in a way that improves their confidence and makes the charity more likely to be established on a firm footing.

How I supported Kids Clothes Company to become a registered charity

Over the months I helped the founders to understand what being a charity would mean, the advantages and obligations of being a charity and upholding public trust. We made sure that the way Kids Clothes Project operated was compatible with being a charity. For example, I encouraged them to develop their referral criteria to ensure they supported people in line with their charitable purposes. I helped trustees develop their legal documents necessary for registration and to understand them in the longer-term. I trained the new trustees on their legal responsibilities to help them make collective decisions and function effectively. This gave them confidence to govern the charity long-term, not only to get through the registration process. And when it came to  registration, I supported every step of the way with the application to the Charity Commission.

And within a few weeks of submitting its application Kids Clothes Project became a registered charity. Kate is over the moon with this success!

Since then

Since then, Kids Clothes Project has accessed grants from the likes of the National Lottery Community Fund and Geoff Hill Charitable Trust. The charity has also received support from businesses and residents who believe in its work.

Kate wanted to thank me and Grace for the support the we gave. On top of my support with the development and registration of the charity, Grace has helped Kids Clothes Project to develop its offer for volunteers. Grace’s help has ensured that there’s a range of volunteering opportunities that benefit the charity and nurture volunteers. Kate told us that what she is most grateful and excited about is that our support doesn’t end there – we’ll be on hand to give further help throughout Kids Clothes Project’s journey. It’s an absolute pleasure to work with Kate and her team. We’re looking forward to seeing this charity strengthen its support to families in Dudley borough and beyond.

To learn more about Kids Clothes Project or to help this charity, visit its website or follow on Facebook.