A specialist legal service to support Cornwall’s burgeoning charity sector has been launched by Coodes Solicitors.
Worth nearly £400 million to the Cornish economy and employing more than 17,000 people, there are at least 3,000 voluntary and community organisations in the county.
Coodes’ new charities team aims to support and advise these organisations formation and structure, employment law, legacies and estates and even an administrative service to assist with the day-to-day running of a charity.
Richard Pollock, who heads up Coodes Charities Team, said: “The third sector is a crucial part of our economy in Cornwall and the South West, offering important services and thousands of jobs.
“Our role is to support the growth of charitable and not-for-profit organisations. With cuts in the public sector, voluntary organisations will become ever more important to our future.
“With the benefits of Charitable status come also a number of burdens including registration, compliance and trustees’ duties which must be understood and attended to.
“We aim to help trustees manage these burdens and make the most of the benefits so that they can get on with the charity’s front line work.”
Joining Pollock in the charities team is private client specialist Ed Coode and partner Jonathan Eade, both based in St Austell office.
Coodes can also support charities around managing legacy funding to maximise income and minimise problems or delays.
Legacies contribute up to £1.5 billion year to charitable income, but only 13 per cent of wills contain charitable bequests, compared to 60 per cent of the UK population claiming they donate to charity.
