Sometimes you may not need or want to form an incorporated association to do the community work you want to do. It may be that the project you are undertaking is time-limited rather than ongoing; or perhaps the work of your group is minimal making the incorporation requirements feel excessive; or it could be that you need some time to get your organisation established first, after which you will end up becoming incorporated in your own right. In any of these cases, you will still most likely need at least insurance and protection from personal liability. And that’s where an auspice can help.
By partnering with an established incorporated organisation that can give you these protections, you can still do the work that is important to you without having to go down the incorporation path yourself. The work you do will fall under the scope of your auspicing body, and thus you will benefit from their protections, compliances, policies and processes.
It makes sense to partner with an organisation that has similar objectives to your own. It might be a peak body in your sector, or another organisation like yours that operates in a different area. Whatever the case, the partnership needs to work well for both parties.
Good communication is essential so that all players have a shared understanding of what the partnership means. Both parties need to be clear about each other’s roles and responsibilities to ensure the auspice arrangement works effectively.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a great tool to spell out how the partnership will work, and who will do what and when. In fact I wouldn’t recommend entering into an auspice arrangement without having an MoU in place. They are not difficult to develop – there are plenty of examples to borrow from on the internet.
So don’t let a lack of incorporation get in the way of doing the things you want to – find the right partner to be your auspice and you will still be able to do what is important to you.
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