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Children’s Trust Positive Activities Programme UpdatePublished in Featured,Local News,News,WVA News on 27th April, 2010

Walsall’s Children’s Trust have published their specifications for the Positive Activities programme, setting out the requirements that local voluntary organisations will have to meet when they submit their bids to run projects.

The specifications make it clear that the Children’s Trust will look favourably on bids submitted by organisations working in partnership. Partnership bids could receive up to 20 points in the bid scoring process, dramatically increasing their chances of success.

Partnership working is a positive thing for voluntary organisations – but partnership bids do have important implications that need to be considered before you submit any bid. These are some of the key issues raised by submitting partnership bids:

Watch out for unlimited liability! Many registered charities and community organisations will be incorporated, which means they will also be set up as a Company Limited by Guarantee. This type of structure offers the advantage of providing its members and governing body with limited liability, which means they are protected from unlimited personal liability if the organisation cannot meet its financial obligations.

However, when two organisations form a partnership and begins to take any actions with legal or financial implications, an unincorporated association may inadvertently be created, with the partners each having unlimited liability for the partnership’s liabilities.

This can create a conflict for Trustees and Directors, who have a legal obligation to observe the Duty of Prudence. This states that Trustees must:

Ensure that the charity is and will remain solvent
Avoid undertaking activities that might place the charity’s endowment, funds, assets or reputation at undue risk.

Before becoming involved in any form of partnership working, organisations need to ensure the work will bring real benefits and that they have the powers to work with other organisations.

Joint Ventures. One arrangement for partnerships can be joint ventures. This is where two or more partner organisations create a new organisation to deliver a service. The partner organisations become members of the new organisation with the right to nominate the governing body. The new organisation is formally independent of the bodies which set it up.

Contracting. If two or more organisations choose to work together without setting up a new organisation they may enter into a contractual relationship with each other. This formal arrangement between the parties might be called a contract, service agreement, memorandum of agreement or a similar term.

Make sure you know the full picture. Trustees and Directors need to be sure that they know the full facts before entering in to partnership bids. That’s why you need to take proper advice first.

Walsall Voluntary Action can provide you with the advice and support you need to protect your organisation and navigate the legal minefields created by partnership working.