This section provides detailed information about the following:

• Definition of an NPO
• The NPO Directorate's main functions
• The benefits of registering as an NPO
• The different types of non-profit organisations that can register (voluntary organisations, Section 21 companies and trusts)
• Steps in obtaining NPO registration

This section covers the following details and questions:

• Official requirements for registered NPOs
• What happens if these requirements are not met?
• What happens if the Directorate de-registers an organisation?
• Good governance guidelines for NPOs
• What happens if changes are made within an organisation after registration?
• What happens if an organisation wants to de-register or close down?

This section includes contact details and information about the Legal Resources Centre and the Non-Profit Consortium. These two organisations, which do not charge for their services, provide assistance to NPOs with both NPO and PBO registration and advice about the legal and tax issues affecting registered organisations. Additional legislation affecting NPOs that work with children or the elderly, or run public facilities, is also covered.

It is very important to keep accurate records of all your organisation’s decisions and activities, and to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of your projects. This section provides advice on how to write:

• The minutes of a meeting
• An evaluation report

Effective publicity about your organisation and its activities is important for many reasons. It lets people in the community and businesses know what your organisation is achieving and the resources it requires. This can be very important for attracting funding, equipment, buildings, land and volunteers. One of the best ways to get good publicity is to write a media release for a newspaper or magazine. Guidelines on how to do this are provided.