Plunkett Foundation

We recommend that communities adopt legal structures that enable genuine community ownership with equal and democratic control, and the majority of community co-operatives are registered as Community Benefit Societies (formerly known as an Industrial and Provident Society for the Benefit of the Community*). We’ve developed Model Rules for this legal structure and we’re able to register your business with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our members benefit from a discounted rate when registering as a Community Benefit Society using our Model Rules – members pay £310, compared with the non-discounted rate of £570. However, please do note that if you’d like to make any changes to the Model Rules that this will incur additional costs.

*During 2014 the Co-operative and Community Benefit Society Act came into force consolidating various pieces of legislation including the Industrial and Provident Society Act. If your community co-operative already has a registered society legal structure and Plunkett Foundation (or Virsa) was your sponsoring body, Plunkett members can update their Model Rules for free, ensuring you are legally compliant and enabling you to raise further funding through community (withdrawable) shares.

To access this deal:

Contact our Community Business Team at Plunkett Foundation on 01993 810730 or email info@plunkett.co.uk