The St Ives Community Orchard and Nature Reserve group registered a Community Interest Company on the 19th April 2021
Company name: St Ives Community Orchard CIC
Trading as: St Ives Orchard CIC
Company number: 13342142
Company type: Private Limited by Guarantee
The St Ives Community Orchard and Penbeagle Nature Reserve have been entirely created and maintained by volunteers since it’s inception in 2013. The formation of St Ives Orchard CIC in 2021 aimed to provide structured support for the land and the dedicated volunteers who work hard to create this wonderful space for the community and wildlife to enjoy.
St Ives Orchard CIC is limited by guarantee and is a ‘not for profit’ company; this means that it does not operate for private profit. Any profit generated is used to grow and develop its aims, for example by paying for new projects, educational providers, events, and new staff for the benefit of the community as a whole.
St Ives Orchard CIC has Directors, Members, and a management committee with a Chair, Clerk and Treasurer. In addition to other general responsibilities, CIC directors (and, for collective decisions, the members) are responsible for ensuring that the company is run in such a way that it will continue to satisfy the community interest test, (see below) which is overseen by regulation to do an annual return to Companies House.
Visit www.stivesorchard.co.uk/documents for our CIC articles of association, policies and minutes from meetings.
See our Mission, Vision, Strategy and Values.
Members
Volunteers within our group are invited to become Members of the CIC. Members, together with directors, form the committee which makes decisions about the running of the CIC, the orchard, nature reserve, and St Ives CORE building. Members support and guide the future development of the organization, to ensure that its aims to benefit the community are followed and to be part of a team sharing the same passion to help people. Members are expected to attend at least one meeting a year, can vote at meetings, and elect Directors of the CIC.
Directors
Directors oversee and direct the company and ensure that the organisation follows its mission, vision and values and complies with its governing document, company law and any other relevant legislation or regulations. They put appropriate policies and procedures in place and carry overall responsibility for the financial stability and sustainability of the organisation, as well as the appointment, support and supervision of volunteers, members and staff. Directors keep informed about wider issues and policies that might affect the organisation’s work, attend and contribute to meetings and also use specific skills, knowledge or experience to help the board reach sound decisions. Being a Director for St Ives Orchard CIC is a voluntary, not a paid position.
St Ives Orchard CIC Directors:
Elise Langley: info@stivesorchard.co.uk
Rupert Manley: rupert@stivesorchard.co.uk
Phoebe Sampson: phoebe@stivesorchard.co.uk
Joshua Quick: josh@stivesorchard.co.uk
Elise Worrall: el@stivesorchard.co.uk
Phil Heasman: phil@stivesorchard.co.uk
Gisela Ager
Roles
St Ives Orchard CIC has various roles within it’s company. Most of these roles are voluntary. When funding or income permits, individuals in the group may be paid for specific services rendered when agreed.
What a CIC is in more detail:
A community interest company (otherwise known as a CIC) is a limited liability company created with the specific aim of providing benefit to a community. It combines the pursuit of a social purpose with commercial activities. A community interest company shares many of the features of a limited company, in that it is incorporated and the financial liability of its Directors is limited to a nominal amount. In the same way as a private company or a charity, each community interest company (CIC) is controlled by those individuals who are appointed to its board and by those who become members. The precise structure that is put in place is a matter for each CIC to determine.
By using social enterprise to achieve public good, it is believed that CICs have a distinct and valuable role to play in helping create a strong, sustainable, and socially inclusive economy.
‘Not for profit’ explained
A community interest company (CIC) limited by guarantee is a ‘not for profit’ company; this means that it does not operate for private profit. Any profit generated is used to grow and develop its business which is benefiting an identified community, or goes directly to benefit that community.
St Ives Community Orchard CIC is limited by guarantee.
Some CIC’s are limited by share CICs, where there are shareholders and directors and directors can receive up to 35% of the surpluses as dividends. Others like ours are Limited by guarantee where there are no shares, shareholders or dividends paid out.
Transparent and accountable
There is transparency of operation as a CIC has to deliver an annual community interest company report about its activities for the public record. This includes details of assets transferred for less than market value; dividends paid; stakeholder involvement; and directors’ remuneration. CICs must annually provide form CIC34 as part of their annual submission to Companies House. This includes confirmation of Director remuneration and some explanation of their social impact or evidence of the social benefit that they have provided over the last financial year.
The Community Interest Test
A community interest company (CIC) has to pass the community interest test by providing an additional statement describing what it will do, who it will help and how. Also if it makes a profit, or surplus, what the company will do with it. If the Regulator decides that the organisation is eligible to form as a community interest company this information, which is provided on a form CIC36 or CIC37, is placed on the public record. This statement sets on the record in a transparent manner the purpose, the activities and desired outcomes for the CIC going forward, which are overseen by regulation throughout the life of the company.
What happens if the CIC discontinues?
A CIC has continuity of purpose once it is incorporated it will continue in existence until it is either dissolved, or converted to a charity.
If it is dissolved the residual assets will be preserved for the community rather than distributed to members.
St Ives Orchard CIC have nominated the Palemon Best Charity to be the asset lock / recipient of the CIC’s residual assets after all other debts are settled.
What is the asset lock?
A CIC has an asset lock to benefit the community it was set up to serve and prevent the CIC falling under the control of individuals, or organisations, who are not members.
The “asset lock” is overseen by regulation and the statutory clauses cannot be removed from its constitution, unlike ‘normal’ companies. It is this that sets it apart from other companies and prevents demutualisation and windfall profits from being paid out to its members and directors.
The essential feature of a CIC is that its activities are carried out for the benefit of the community. The asset lock is there to ensure the CIC uses its assets, including profits, to benefit the community it was set up to serve. Once a CIC is incorporated it will continue in existence unless it converts to a charity, or is dissolved. If the company is dissolved, any assets remaining after distribution will be transferred to another asset-locked body, such as a CIC or charity, to be used for a similar community purpose.
Comparison to a charity
Unlike a charity, a CIC will typically not be dependent on donations and fundraising as it will also aim to receive income from trading. Some CICs are entirely dependent on grants and deliver projects – but this means they lack sustainability as they have no regular income of their own. A CIC should aim to be financially self-supporting so that all the income needed to run the enterprise is earned through trading rather than via grants and become financially self-reliant.
The CIC has greater flexibility compared to a charity in terms of its activities. It does not have trustees and its directors can receive reasonable remuneration. However many CICs including St Ives Orchard CIC have stipulations in it’s Articles of Association that Directors shall not be paid for their services to the Company as directors. Unlike charities, there are no tax advantages.
An organisation cannot be a CIC and a charity. However, some or all of a CIC’s activities can be charitable in nature.
–//communityinterestcompanies.blog.gov.uk/2019/08/07/asset-locked-body-mystery-revealed/