OA Region 9 Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)

The Assembly will be held on Sunday 17th of May 2026 from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm UK time

Names, acronyms, and short forms have been removed or edited for consistency with OA Policy

Report to the OA Region 9 Spring Assembly

Written by Alexandra D, Chair of Trustees for OA Region 9 Charitable Incorporated Organisation on behalf of the Board of Trustees (13^th February 2026)

1. Summary: What is the Charitable Incorporated Organisation? 
2. Key Activity since Region 9 Assembly in Paris 2025
3. What you need to know about the work of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation

SUMMARY

What is the Charitable Incorporated Organisation?

The OA Region 9 Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) is the legal entity that provides due diligence and management of the banking processes for OA Region 9. Registered with the Charities Commission for England and Wales we are accountable legally and submit annual returns and reports to ensure we are compliant with United Kingdom  law as the Business Bank account held in the OA Region 9 Charitable Incorporated Organisation  name is with NatWest, a United Kingdom based bank.

There are currently 3 trustees on the Board of Trustees who are appointed by the Region 9 Assembly to act as trusted servants. There is an important distinction between the Charitable Incorporated Organisation  and the Region 9 Board and the Region as a whole in order for us to function legally; we are listed as being a “grant making body”; which means that for the purposes of meeting the legal requirements of the Charities Commission we administer the Budget of OA Region 9 as if each budget line is a “grant”. This means that the neutrality of the Board of Trustees is paramount.

One member of the Region 9 Board is also a trustee; this is referred to as the Board Liaison for Charitable Incorporated Organisation.  Only one member of the Board of OA Region 9 can be a Charitable Incorporated Organisation trustee and it cannot be the Treasurer. The Charitable Incorporated Organisation  acts in place of the old system where we had a Treasurer and Banker. The Charitable Incorporated Organisation  is de facto the Banker for Region 9 now and by having three  people instead of one it increases security, reduces risk and spreads the workload if necessary.

KEY ACTIVITY

Since the Paris 2025 Region Assembly

• As a Board of Trustees alongside the Region 9 Board we have met twice (every other month)
• We are in the process of bringing on board a new trustee and are looking for another suitable volunteer
• We have submitted the annual accounts to the Charities Commission
• We continue to make payments and monitor the income and expenditure of Region 9
• We have a representative on the Region 9 Bylaws committee
• We have received the Annual Grants application from the Region 9 Board 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW…

• That the Charitable Incorporated Organisation  may sound boring but without it Region 9 cannot function at all
• So if you care about Region 9 then you need to care about the Charitable Incorporated Organisation and its health
• Being a trustee on the board of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation  requires a willingness to take responsibility 
• The workload is relatively low but the responsibility is high
• We do need people who qualify to consider please acting as trustee
• If you are interested in serving on the Charitable Incorporated Organisation  please talk to us, you will be fully supported
• We share the responsibility so it will never be personally punitive
• You do not need to be living in the United Kingdom to be a trustee
• Having the legal structure around the bank account alone allows OA Region 9 as whole to remain autonomous and not organised, as such