Our new CIO Status

What is a CIO and how is it different to your status before?
A CIO stands for ‘Charitable Incorporated Organisation’ and is a type of legal structure available for charities. The Branch has always been a charity but was originally registered as a different type of unincorporated structure.
As a result, we now have a new charity number 1209360 and our official name is RSPCA Norwich Branch CIO.

Why have you changed your legal structure?
Whilst we are an independent and local charity, we are associated with RSPCA (England & Wales) who act as our parent charity. The National Society recommended that Branches make the switch due to the higher levels of security given by becoming a CIO. Becoming a CIO gives us more flexibility to make decisions, giving us further ownership of the charity and also provides stability for the future.

What does it mean for the animals and the services you offer?
Now we are a CIO, the Branch will continue to function as it always has: adopting and rehoming animals, providing financial aid support and promoting excellent animal welfare through our education programme. We still operate within Norfolk and Suffolk.
If you have accessed our services before, any personal data we may hold has been transferred to the new CIO and continues to have the same protections as it did previously.

What if I’m a gift aider, donor or member?
The process remains exactly the same as when you first signed up, anything you have donated to us under the previous charity name or number (206629) is transferred to the CIO as part of the process.
A caveat to this is if you have set up a gift in your will or left a legacy to our Branch. If you have, we recommend ensuring our new charity number (1209360) is included so you can ensure your wishes are taken care of.