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Charities, not for profit and philanthropy (Mishcon Private)

Charities, Social Ventures and Philanthropy

Charities, social entrepreneurs and philanthropists play an ever more important role in supporting and shaping a vibrant, healthy civil society and delivering positive social and environmental impact, both in the UK and around the world.

Charities and social ventures can be powerful agents delivering public benefit through their programmes, grant-making and innovation, and their advocacy and campaigns for positive change. For families and businesses, carefully thought through giving can be a powerful tool in delivering on their purpose, reflecting their values and contributing to their social contract with the communities they serve and to which they belong.

We offer a specialist, seamless service to help innovative charities, social ventures and philanthropists to deliver their strategic and operational plans, from start-ups to charities over 350 years old, and both local and globally. We build deep, meaningful relationships with our impact-driven clients, helping individuals and organisations to manage risk, take informed decisions and leverage valuable networks.

Our approach is informed by our own Core Values as a firm, our purpose – to enable our clients and our people to shape the world's possibilities – and our commitment to deliver positive environmental and social impact, including through our dedicated sustainability practice, Mishcon Purpose. Our lawyers are experts in all aspects of charity law, social ventures, and philanthropy, including corporate purpose, family charters and succession, and tax law. Many serve as trustees and volunteers, and we share significant experience leading and working in cause based and charitable organisations.

Charities

Today's charities juggle many demands: pressures of regulation, member engagement, fast changing legislation, the day-to-day challenge of providing services, and the need to diversify revenue streams and explore commercial ventures. Our charity clients operate internationally, with donors, operations and beneficiaries across multiple jurisdictions.

Our team is designed to support innovative charities and projects with a seamless service, complementing our broader networks and clients We have particular expertise in:

Collaboration within and beyond the charity sector
Regulation and risk management, including serious incident reporting
Legal and governance structures and design, including governance reviews and best practice
Investigations and regulatory inquiries
Commercialisation projects to develop new funding streams, including impact investment, spin-outs and new ventures
Developing digital products and services for beneficiaries, and digital transformation including data protection and technology contracting
Fundraising agreements, grant making, sponsorship, events and commercial participator contracts
Campaigns and advocacy
Endowments and impact funds
Charity proceedings, litigation and dispute resolution
Mergers and re-structuring
Working internationally, including employment arrangements, financial sanctions and regulatory reporting
Brand monitoring and protection in the UK and globally
Human rights and environmental impact advice, including training
Risk and reputation

Social ventures

We are at the forefront of designing, creating and supporting social ventures throughout their lifecycle, as they tackle the world's big social and environmental challenges, both local and global. We help with:

Initial advice for social entrepreneurs starting out
Social venture design and legal models, both simple and complex
Group structures with multiple legal vehicles
Best practice governance frameworks and board dynamics
Impact and social investment, including blended finance
Grant funding, agreements and frameworks
Collaboration and partner agreements
Shareholder and member agreements for collaboration and investment
Day-to-day legal and risk advice, including contracts, people, data, intellectual property and real property

Please see our dedicated page and resources for social ventures.

Private clients

We have a deep understanding of the dynamics and politics of families, family businesses and personal relationships. We understand the issues our clients face and what keeps them awake at night. We know that their concerns go far beyond money and wealth preservation: family issues, reputation, their home, the things they love, or their legacy are far more important. Our business is protecting them, their interests and the things that matter most to them.

Our specialisms include advising clients on:

Developing family values, purpose statements and charters, embedding core giving strategies and philosophies
Establishing effective and efficient philanthropic structures, including charitable family foundations, impact investments, and international partnerships
ESG exposure, dependency and impact assessment, mapping, compliance and reporting
Creating impact frameworks, grant giving mechanisms, and KPIs and reporting processes
Cost efficient giving and tax
Reputation and risk management

Trustees and executives

We provide trusted, pragmatic and strategic advice to individual trustees and executives, and to boards and leadership teams, on:

Legal duties, best practice governance and regulatory compliance
Contracts, policies and frameworks
Remuneration and participation
Training and policy-making
Disputes and mediation
Court and regulatory orders authorising trustees to become involved in litigation
Reputation and risk management

Corporate philanthropy

Our specialisms include advising corporate clients on:

Brand and fundraising partnerships with charities and social ventures
Corporate purpose, governance and staff engagement
ESG exposure, dependency and impact assessment, mapping, compliance and reporting
Establishing corporate charitable foundations and impactful social ventures
Cost efficient giving and tax
Reputation and risk management

Work highlights

Work highlight

Founders Pledge

Advising Founders Pledge, a global charity for entrepreneurs, on the creation and launch of Pledge Ventures, a value-aligned venture fund designed to operate as a flywheel for impact and to build up a long-term capital endowment for Founders Pledge.

Work highlight

lowRISC C.I.C.

Advising lowRISC C.I.C., a non-profit open source technology company, on its leading open source silicon project, partnerships with global tech companies, internal operations and people, international growth and fundraising, and non-profit regulation.

Work highlight

Jesus College Benin Bronze

Advising Jesus College, Cambridge and the University of Cambridge on the legal and regulatory aspects of their repatriation of Benin artefacts to Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments, which are the UK's first and largest repatriations of Benin artefacts.

Work highlight

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Advising the commercial arm of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, on negotiating its first exclusivity agreement with Greensphere Capital, an early-stage investment fund and incubator, for an investment of up to £100 million in plant and fungal science spin-outs from RBG Kew, with applications ranging from sustainable agriculture to habitat restoration in the UK and internationally.

Work highlight

Alzheimer's Research UK

Advising Alzheimer's Research UK and other leading research charities on research collaborations, grant-making, commercialisation and intellectual property, services, campaigning and fundraising.

Work highlight

Dimension Data

Advising Dimension Data on incorporating Connected Conservation Foundation as an English Charity; and in relation to structure, governance and policies for its innovative work bringing cutting-edge technology to conservation in Africa.

Work highlight

Stop Ivory and the Elephant Protection Initiative

Advising Stop Ivory and the Elephant Protection Initiative on the establishment of an intergovernmental initiative to close ivory markets and protect elephants in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Work highlight