7.0 Dissolving an Organisation

When establishing a voluntary organisation you may envisage it going from strength to strength and successfully delivering activities for years to come. However, unfortunately there may come a point in time when your organisation has to dissolve. Perhaps there may be a lack of interest/members, funds may have depleted to an extent that activities can no longer be delivered or the organisation may have served its purpose in achieving what it was established to do. In any case you need to be aware of the correct process to follow in order to dissolve your organisation. Key factors influencing this process are:

  • the legal structure of your organisation (please see section 1.1)
  • whether your organisation is a registered charity
  • what it says in your governing document regarding how the decision to wind up should be taken and what will be done with the remaining assets
  • any agreements such as leases or contracts that will need to be terminated

This section of our Resource Kit tells you all you need to know about dissolving a voluntary organisation relative to the legal structure adopted.