Before We Begin
You can now find our new explainer graphic —
“CIC vs Charity: What’s the Difference?” — right below this post.
We made it after this week’s unexpected learning curve.
📨 A Funding Lesson We Didn’t Expect
This week, we reached out to a heritage grant fund to ask a simple question:
“What’s the best way to submit our application?”
Instead of guidance, we received a series of emails telling us (incorrectly) that a Community Interest Company isn’t charitable, and that CICs can distribute profits.
We responded — politely, repeatedly — explaining that Proud Gypsy Traveller CIC is:
- Limited by guarantee (no shareholders)
- Asset-locked
- Not-for-profit
- Run by unpaid directors
- 100% of income is reinvested into community benefit
But the replies kept coming — restating the same misinformation with confidence and authority.
A perfect example of mansplaining: confidently explaining something wrong to the person who actually knows what they’re talking about.
Honestly, it could’ve been cleared up with a ten-second Google search.
And the irony?
The fund supports “heritage and knowledge.”
We just didn’t expect to be teaching it.
💡 What We Learned
We never thought we’d need to say this publicly.
We didn’t think we’d have to write “we are charitable” on our website.
But here we are — taking that learning and turning it into something useful.
So, let’s clear this up once and for all.
✅ What a CIC Limited by Guarantee Really Means
“We didn’t think we’d ever have to say we are charitable… but here we are.”
- We are regulated by Companies House and the CIC Regulator.
- We have an asset lock, which legally prevents us from distributing profits.
- We have no shareholders.
- All income and surplus are reinvested back into community work.
- Our governing documents were approved for charitable purpose.
We are every bit as community-focused and mission-led as a charity.
The difference? Our structure ensures that Gypsy and Traveller people remain in control of our own story, heritage, and organisation.
✊ Why This Matters
This isn’t just about one frustrating email thread.
It’s about a bigger issue: how Gypsy and Traveller organisations are still forced to prove legitimacy in spaces that should already understand what inclusion means.
Too often, Gypsy and Traveller organisations are met with unnecessary scrutiny, additional barriers, or “technical” reasons why they can’t access funding.
Sometimes those reasons are simply outdated misconceptions dressed up as “policy.”
Too many funders rely on outdated definitions of “charity,” shutting out grassroots groups doing real, essential work.
We shouldn’t have to defend our existence — but if we must, we’ll do it proudly.
We shouldn’t have to defend our legitimacy to people who could have looked it up.
But if that’s what it takes to open doors for the next generation of Gypsy and Traveller-led organisations, then we’ll keep doing it — loudly, clearly, and with pride.
We are charitable.
Because for us, being a CIC isn’t second best.
It’s a deliberate, protective choice.
A way of saying: our community leads our work, and always will.
❤️ The Bottom Line
We are charitable.
We are legitimate.
And we are here — doing the work, whether people understand the acronym or not.
📎 Proud Gypsy Traveller CIC is a Community Interest Company Limited by Guarantee.
You can verify our registration (No. 16575026) on Companies House.
