Is there a register for non-profit organisations

Hello and thank you for your answers...

I now know that we can count postage costs, however the commission was very evasive when it came to counting the items we receive.
So, if there is a way.. i would be interested in finding out more details...

I didnt expect registering to be easy, but i wasnt prepared for the huge amount of red tape we seem to have to wade through .. oh well, it will be worth it in the end!

thanks again,
nicky

RE your accounting questions. Yes there are methods of accounting for material aid and volunteer time under SORP. It is complicated though.

A more fundamental question. Have you calculated to cost of providing each baby box, including cost of raw materials, postage and distribution? Very likely, it would be more effective (that is reaching more benificiaries) if you were to raise funds which could be used to purchase the baby box in South Africa.

[quote]My question is if there is any way that we can be a recognised not-for-profit organisation. Is there a register somewhere we could get onto while we are waiting for charity status? The lady at the charities commission advised me that we could use "in process of registering" and "charitable, not for profit" in our correspondence. I would however prefer to be a bit more formal?[/quote]
Not that I've ever heard of - the Charity Commission are the only people who can make it more formal. Putting in place whatever legal/management framework you're expecting the Commission to approve will probably look reassuring to prospective funders, but I think that's it.

[quote]The other thing i am not sure about is if we could count donations other than money towards our "£1000" magic figure? People have sent me whole boxes of newly knitted babyblankets, could i put a "value" on those for accounting purposes? And what about postage to South Africa? A lot of supporters realise that we havent got enough funds yet to pay for all shipments, so are shipping themselves, surely the postage cost would count towards our fundraising???[/quote]
The Charity Commission will give a definitive answer, but I'd expect them to go by what would be in a proper set of accounts, and those don't look like they'd belong there.