Our Mosque, our charity, our community
Introduction
Darus Salam Mosque and Islamic Centre is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) under the registration number 1181237.
The purpose of our CIO as outlined in our constitution is as follows:
To advance the Islamic faith in accordance with the teachings in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the Manchester area for the benefit of the public through the holding prayer meetings and public celebration of religious festivals.
Nothing in this constitution shall authorise an application of the property of the CIO for the purposes, which are not charitable in accordance with [section 7 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005] and [section 2 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008].
Our constitution, in section 5.2 also states:
None of the income or property of the CIO may be paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividend, bonus or otherwise by way of profit to any member of the CIO.
What it means?
A Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) is a corporate form of business designed for (and only available to) charitable organisations in the United Kingdom. The Charity Commission on application confers CIO status to a charity, whether new or existing.
Why did we do it this way?
The main benefits of the CIO are that the charity has legal personality (the ability to enter contracts, sue and be sued, and to hold property in its own name – rather than in the name of its trustees), and its members have limited liability (their liability in the event the charity becomes insolvent is limited or nil).
This gives our charity the legal capacity to do many things in its own name that a person can do, such as:
- Employing paid staff
- Delivering charitable services under contractual agreements
- Entering into commercial contracts in it’s own name
- Owning freehold or leasehold land or other property
If our charity is not a corporate body (‘unincorporated’):
- The trustees are personally liable for what it does
- It won’t be able to enter into contract or control some investments in it’s own name
- Two or more trustees, a corporate custodian or the charities’ land holding service will have to “hold” any land on the charity’s behalf.
Almost any existing charity, including charitable companies, can convert to a CIO. Once a CIO there is currently no means of converting to any other legal form.
To summarise the purpose for creation of the CIO has been to safeguard your Mosque, the property that belongs to your Mosque and to protect your donations.
