How to start a community group

1. Hold a founding meeting

Gather the people interested in starting the group and agree, in writing, why the group exists (its purpose), who it’s for, and what it will do first. Keep this deliberately narrow at the start — a group that tries to do everything from day one usually struggles to do anything well.

Keep minutes of this meeting, even if it feels informal. You will very likely need proof of when and how the group was formed later — for a bank account, for an insurance application, or for a funding application that asks "how long has your group been established?"

• Who called the meeting and who attended
• The agreed purpose of the group, in a sentence or two
• Who volunteered for which initial role (even informally, before a full committee is elected)
• The date and place of the next meeting

2. Choose a structure

Most community groups start as an unincorporated association — the simplest option. There is no registration process; the group is simply the sum of its members, governed by whatever rules (constitution) they agree. The trade-off is that, technically, committee members can carry personal liability for the group’s debts and obligations, since the group has no separate legal identity of its own.

If your group will hold significant assets (a clubhouse, equipment of real value), employ staff, sign leases, or take on contracts, a company limited by guarantee (CLG) is usually the better fit — it gives the organisation its own legal identity, separate from its members, and caps members’ liability. This comes with more overhead: company registration with the Companies Registration Office (CRO), annual returns, and CLG-specific governance requirements.

A small number of larger or asset-holding charities use a charitable trust instead, but this is unusual for typical community groups and usually only relevant with legal advice.

Changing structure later (e.g. from an unincorporated association to a CLG once you’ve grown) is possible but involves real work — transferring assets, bank accounts, and often re-applying for charitable status. It’s worth thinking a year or two ahead before choosing, rather than defaulting to the simplest option purely for convenience.

3. Write a constitution

A constitution is the group’s internal rulebook. Banks, funders, and (if you register) the Charities Regulator will all expect to see one. At minimum, it should cover:

• Name and purpose (your charitable objects, if relevant) — be specific enough to be meaningful, general enough that you’re not constitutionally locked out of natural growth
• Membership — who can join, how, and whether there are different categories (e.g. adult/juvenile, ordinary/associate)
• Committee structure — the officer roles (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer at minimum), how they’re elected, and term lengths
• Meetings — how often the committee meets, and the rules for the AGM (notice period, quorum, voting)
• Money — how funds are held and spent, and the requirement for a dedicated bank account with more than one signatory
• Amendments — how the constitution itself can be changed (usually by a resolution at the AGM or an EGM)
• Dissolution — what happens to any remaining assets if the group winds up (charities are typically required to direct these to another charitable purpose, not to members)

4. Don’t start from a blank page

Several organisations publish free, adaptable sample constitutions specifically for Irish community and voluntary groups — use one as a starting template rather than drafting from scratch.

• Your county Public Participation Network (PPN) — most publish or can point you to a template
• Irish Rural Link and Localise — publish general-purpose community group templates
• National governing bodies (for sports clubs, e.g. your sport’s national federation) often provide a model constitution affiliated clubs are expected to adapt

5. Elect a committee

At minimum, most groups elect a Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer — often with additional ordinary committee members. Record who holds each role and when they were elected in your minutes; this record is what a bank will ask for when setting up signatories, and it matters for governance generally (see the Governance guide).

• Chairperson — runs meetings, is often the public face of the group
• Secretary — handles correspondence, keeps minutes, manages membership records
• Treasurer — manages the bank account, keeps financial records, reports to the committee and AGM
• Ordinary committee members — share the workload and bring wider representation

6. Open a bank account

Use a dedicated account in the group’s name, never a personal account — this is expected by funders and, if you later register as a charity, by the Charities Regulator’s Governance Code.

Most banks will ask for your constitution, minutes of the meeting appointing signatories, and photo ID plus proof of address for each signatory. Some banks are noticeably slower than others for unincorporated associations — ask other local groups which bank they use before committing time to an application.

• Require at least two signatures for any payment over an agreed threshold
• Review and update signatories promptly whenever committee roles change — a former Treasurer who can still sign cheques a year later is a real, recurring governance failure
• Consider online banking with view-only access for the wider committee, so financial oversight isn’t bottlenecked on one person

7. Decide whether to register as a charity

Not every community group needs to register with the Charities Regulator — registration is a legal requirement only if the group has exclusively charitable purposes (e.g. relief of poverty, advancement of education, other purposes beneficial to the community) and is not exempted.

Registering brings benefits (funder credibility, potential tax reliefs via a CHY number from Revenue) but also ongoing obligations — annual reporting, and full application of the Governance Code. Many small, informal groups (a residents’ association, a small sports club) are not registered charities and don’t need to be. If in doubt, the Charities Regulator’s own website has a self-assessment to help you decide.

8. List your group and keep building

Once you’re up and running, list your group on Community Hub so people can find you. Then work through the Governance, Data Protection and Insurance guides below — these matter from day one for any group handling money, member data, or public events, not just once you’ve grown large.