Have you received a text from the Commission?

The Commission has this week issued annual reporting text message alerts to over 1,100 charity trustees.

If you have received a text message from the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland then it is likely you are the listed trustee of a registered charity, which is due to submit annual reporting information.

Under the annual reporting programme, all registered charities must submit annual accounts and reports to the Commission, Northern Ireland’s charity regulator.

The accounts and reports must be submitted within ten months of the charity’s financial year end and are made public on the register of charities.

The Commission issues text message alerts to highlight to trustees that their charity's deadline is pending and encourage them to ensure the correct accounts and reports are submitted on time - or risk their charity going into default.

The alerts will only be issued to the trustees of charities due to submit accounts and reports to the Commission within the month in question, and have not done so already.

Charity trustees have a legal duty to ensure the information on their charity is kept up to date, not only when they submit their annual return but throughout the year. As changes are put in place within the charity, so time should be taken to ensure the register is updated to reflect that change, from new trustees to a change of address.

Annual reporting texts will be issued to the named charity trustees, as listed on the register of charities. If you have received a text message and are no longer a trustee of the charity, then the Commission would encourage you to contact the charity and highlight the requirement for the register of charities to be updated.

A range of online annual reporting guidance is available here to support charities in submitting their accounts and reports to the Commission.

The text alerts are issued to the telephone number for trustees as supplied to the Commission and is being used to provide information in connection with their legal obligations as a charity trustee. This is in accordance with our Privacy notice, which is available to read here.