East Coast Pride’s Volunteer Committee is proud, excited, and overjoyed to announce that, following the success of East Coast Pride in 2024, the immense support the organisation has received, and the growth of our work within the community, it will apply to the Charity Commission to become a charity, furthering it's commitment to it's mission.
East Coast Pride started in early 2024 and has seen fantastic growth; as such, the time is right to move from being an Unincorporated Constitutional Community Group to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), a corporate structure for charities in England and Wales.
The process of becoming a charity can take up to two months, so in the interest of continuity, the current structure will remain in place until the Commission approves the Charity.
East Coast Pride (in it's current legal form) will host an Annual General Meeting, at which the committee will formally conclude this part of our journey and announce the charity's plans for the future.
Approval of the Strategic Plan
The committee also approved the organisation’s Strategic Plan, which will be handed to the charity. Once the CIO is formed, its trustees will decide whether to adopt this document, but a strong recommendation will be made for them to adopt this as the Charity’s Strategic Plan.
Proposed Objects
The propsoed objects of the CIO are:
to promote equality and diversity for the public benefit and in particular the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity of those living on the East Coast of Lincolnshire and the surrounding areas in particular but not exclusively by
the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religion;
advancing education and raising awareness in equality and diversity;
promoting activities to foster understanding between people from diverse backgrounds;
organising Pride and LGBT firiendly events; including regular social events for the LGBT; community in a safe environment throughout the year; to foster understanding between people from diverse backgrounds;
conducting or commissioning research on equality and diversity issues; in particular the LGBTQIA+ community; and publishing the results to the public;
cultivating a sentiment in favour of equality and diversity, in particular through celebrating the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community;
providing funding and or grants and or donations to other charitable and voluntary organisations which the trustees shall from time to time determine.
Trustee recruitment
As part of the journey to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), East Coast Pride is looking for Founding Trustees. Information about a Trustee can be found on the UK Government website.
East Coast Pride is explicitly looking for trustees with the following experience:
Financial, Legal and HR
Community Engagement and Outreach
Fundraising and Grant Applications
Health, Safeguarding, Government Policy and Legislation
If you’d like to become a Trustee, please send a CV and Personal Statement to accounts@eastcoastpride.co.uk. These will be reviewed by the Chair of East Coast Pride and a senior volunteer, and you’ll be provided with feedback and the next steps on the application to become one of our first-ever trustees.
As part of East Coast Pride's cessation as a community group, the organisation will publish its accounts for this year to showcase our commitment to transparency before becoming a Charity. A qualified Accountant will independently produce and examine these as part of our good governance processes.
Thank you for your support, as we would not be at this stage without the community's support.
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