Charity Financials: Understanding the Roles
When setting up your projects Financials on Crowdfunder, our payment provider requires specific details to comply with "Know Your Customer" (KYC) financial regulations. You will be asked to assign roles to the individuals you add to the "People" section on the financials tab.
Here is how to translate these roles into the context of a non-profit or charity:
1. Authorised representative
Who they are: The primary person authorised to manage the Financials and act as the main point of contact for the account.
Non-profit equivalent: Usually your Treasurer, CEO, or a Lead Trustee.
Key requirement: This person must also be assigned either the "Owner" or "Executive" role.
2. Owner (Person with Significant Control)
Who they are: Individuals with 25% or more of the voting rights in the organisation.
Non-profit equivalent: Because charities are "Limited by Guarantee" (not shares), there are no "owners." However, for legal verification, an "Owner" is anyone listed as a Person with Significant Control (PSC) on the Charity Commission or Companies House.
Note: In most charities, no single person holds 25% of the control. If this is the case for you, you may not need to add anyone under this specific role.
3. Executive (Senior Management)
Who they are: A senior person responsible for managing and directing the organisation's day-to-day operations.
Non-profit equivalent: Your CEO, CFO, COO, or Managing Director.
Role: These are people who have significant management control over the charity's operations, even if they do not sit on the Board of Trustees.
4. Director (Trustee)
Who they are: The people legally responsible for the governance and oversight of the organisation.
Non-profit equivalent: Your Trustees.
Key requirement: If you are a Charitable Company, you must add the individuals currently listed as "Active Trustees" on the Charity Commission or "Directors" on Companies House.
Who do you need to add to your Financials?
As a minimum, your non-profit must have one Representative and one active Director. One person can often fill both of these roles.
One representative who also holds an Executive or Trustee role.
All active directors as listed on Companies House.
Any "Owners" only applicable if a specific individual holds 25% or more voting power.
Required documents
Our payment provider will first try to verify your company and the people you add using the details you provide. If automatic verification is not possible, you will be prompted to upload the following:
Identity Document: A valid photo ID (passport, driving licence, citizen card).
Address Document: A recent utility bill, government issued document, bank statement or photo driving licence.
Business Document: An official registration document from Companies House. You can download this from your file on their website.
What happens next?
Once you submit all the details, they will be sent to our payment provider for review, which can take 48 hours. If any more information is needed, we will email you. You can check the status and see any requests by logging in and navigating to the financial tab on the add project flow.