ABOUT US
WHAT IS A CIC?
A CIC is a company, designed for social enterprises that want to use their profits and assets for the public good.
A social enterprise is a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested or that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners.
WHO WILL DECIDE WHETHER AN ORGANISATION CAN BE A COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY?
The CICs Regulator will consider whether applications meet the criteria to become a CIC. If satisfied, the regulator will advise the registrar in Companies House who, providing all the documents are in order, will issue a certificate of incorporation as a CIC.
WHY BE A COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY RATHER THAN A CHARITY?
The sort of people who set up a CIC will typically be entrepreneurs who want to do good in
a form other than charity. This may be because:
A CIC is a company, designed for social enterprises that want to use their profits and assets for the public good.
A social enterprise is a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested or that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners.
WHO WILL DECIDE WHETHER AN ORGANISATION CAN BE A COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY?
The CICs Regulator will consider whether applications meet the criteria to become a CIC. If satisfied, the regulator will advise the registrar in Companies House who, providing all the documents are in order, will issue a certificate of incorporation as a CIC.
WHY BE A COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY RATHER THAN A CHARITY?
The sort of people who set up a CIC will typically be entrepreneurs who want to do good in
a form other than charity. This may be because:
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They are looking to work for community benefit with the relative freedom of the non-charitable company form to identify and adapt to circumstances, but with a clear assurance of not-for-profit distribution status.
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Members of the board of a charity may only be paid where the constitution contains such a power and it can be considered to be in the best interests of the charity. It means that, in general, the founder of a charity who wishes to be paid cannot be on the board and must give up strategic control of the organisation to a volunteer board, which is often unacceptable.
- The definition of community interest that will apply to CICs will be wider than the public interest test for charity.
- CICs will be specifically identified with social enterprise. Some organisations may feel that consequently this is a more suitable than charitable status.