{"id":137,"date":"2025-07-24T12:21:46","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T12:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/?post_type=ht_kb&#038;p=137"},"modified":"2025-07-24T12:21:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T12:21:46","slug":"tips-for-setting-up-a-community-group-bank-account","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/help\/tips-for-setting-up-a-community-group-bank-account\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for setting up a community group bank account"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. Choose the right type of account<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Look for a community or treasurer\u2019s account \u2014 many banks offer these specifically for clubs, societies, and voluntary groups. They&#8217;re often fee-free or low-cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recommended features to look for:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>No monthly fees<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Online banking<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dual authorisation for payments<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Debit card (if needed)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Gather the required documents<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Banks will usually ask for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A governing document or constitution (even a simple one)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Minutes from a meeting confirming who will be the signatories<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Details and ID (proof of identity and address) for all signatories and sometimes key contacts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your group\u2019s name, address, and purpose<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udca1 <em>Tip: If you don\u2019t have a formal constitution, you can find templates online&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Choose your signatories carefully<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll need at least two unrelated signatories for most accounts. Choose people who are reliable, trustworthy, and happy to handle admin. Ideally, they should not be from the same household.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>4. Keep it transparent<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Set clear rules for how decisions about spending will be made.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keep records of income and outgoings \u2014 even simple spreadsheets are fine.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Report back regularly to the group.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Transparency builds trust, especially if you\u2019re fundraising or receiving donations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>5. Shop around<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Popular UK banks for community groups include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Co-operative Bank (great for ethical banking and community groups)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CAF Bank (designed for charities and community groups)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lloyds, Barclays, NatWest, and TSB also offer community\/club accounts<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Check eligibility and whether they require a registered charity number (many don\u2019t for informal groups).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Bonus tips<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use a separate email just for the account (e.g. yourgroupname@gmail.com) to keep things tidy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid using personal accounts \u2014 it creates confusion and can be a red flag for funders.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1. Choose the right type of account Look for a community or treasurer\u2019s account \u2014 many banks offer these specifically for clubs, societies, and voluntary groups. They&#8217;re often fee-free or low-cost. Recommended features to look for: 2. Gather the required documents Banks will usually ask for: \ud83d\udca1 Tip: If you&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"ht-kb-category":[6],"ht-kb-tag":[],"class_list":["post-137","ht_kb","type-ht_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","ht_kb_category-award-process"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ht_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/137\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-category?post=137"},{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-tag?post=137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}