Charitable purpose

A charitable purpose is not just any good cause — it is an aim the law specifically recognises. The governing document sets out the charity’s purposes in its objects clause, and everything the charity does must serve them.

Section 3(1) of the Charities Act 2011 lists 13 descriptions of purposes; to be a charity, an organisation’s purposes must all fall within them and be for the public benefit. (Source: legislation.gov.uk, Charities Act 2011 s.3, accessed 9 July 2026.) They range from preventing poverty and advancing education, religion and health, through the arts, amateur sport and environmental protection, to a catch-all for purposes already recognised as charitable.

Getting the objects right at the start saves trouble later: they must be exclusively charitable, and changing them usually needs Commission consent. For help drafting purposes and choosing a structure, see the Trustee & Governance Handbook.