Charity Commission launches “My Charity Commission Account”

At the recent Charity Commission Annual Public Meeting, Chief Executive Helen Stephenson talked about the ways in which the commission intends on changing how they engage with charities.

As part of this process, they have launched the new “My Charity Commission Account” and charity contacts will soon be invited to start setting up accounts.

What is ‘My Charity Commission Account’?

This will be the new way in which you are able to access the commission’s online services. Over time, the commission intend on using this platform to provide tailored support and information to help charities run well.

The plan is for anyone who uses the commission’s online services to have their own personal account to access the services and information they need. This ensures that the “right people can continue to do what they need to on behalf of your charity, while ensuring the information we hold about you and your charity remains secure.”

Setting up your account

The commission will be inviting contacts to set up their accounts from November onwards. They will be starting by inviting a small number so that they can learn from their experience before they reach out to more charities.

This is because:

• They want to enable them to set up their accounts early before they launch the new system. This will help ensure that one person from each charity can still access the commission’s online services when they launch. This is currently planned for Spring 2023 and, until then, charities will need to continue using their existing login details.
• They will also be set up as primary administrators who can invite trustees and other professionals to register their accounts when the new system is launched.

The commission have produced guidance about what it means to have an administrator account including what authorisation is needed. The commission have also stated that closer to the time they will share more about the new administrator processes.

They encourage all charities to have more than one administrator. Although they can only be invited to set up their account when the system is launched, they hope that additional information in the guidance will help you decide who this should be.

Benefits of the new system

The new system is meant to be a more modern platform which makes it easier to access relevant services.

When launched, you will also have an option to view all your charities in one place. By using the same email address for each charity, you will only need to set up one account as it will link it to all your charities.

What should you do now?

They have asked that you continue to use the existing details to log in to their online digital services, for example: to submit your annual return, view a governing document and update your charity details, including information about your charity contact.

If you are a charity contact, do look out for Charity Commission emails – keep an eye on your junk/spam folders, just in case – and set up your account when you receive your own bespoke link to register.