What:
The legal requirements for an organisation to claim charitable status differ across nations. Across the United Kingdom and Ireland, there are similar but distinct legal definitions and regulatory bodies which govern charitable status. This includes adherence to legal definitions of what constitutes a charitable purpose and being registered with a recognised overseeing body.
Although the specific stipulations regarding what organisation can legally claim the status of charity differ across the United Kingdom and Ireland, they share a focus on requiring a charitable purpose. These vary across jurisdictions but centre on clear public good, such as alleviating poverty, tackling social inequalities and protecting the environment.
Examples:
https://royalsociety.org/grants
https://www.sciencecentres.org.uk/resources/stem-clubs/funders-database
Deep tech considerations:
- Large charities, such as Cancer UK and Wellcome Trust, have the potential to provide large-scale, multi-year project funding necessary for deep tech ventures.
- They also play a key role in funding early-stage research where commercial dividends may not yet be clear and commercial investment is limited, also relevant for deep tech.
- Charities can be key in establishing connections with a variety of stakeholders, such as service users, policy-makers and researchers. The benefits of these connections are various, including facilitating participatory research methods, establishing research aims, testing and refining prototypes and sharing expertise.
- There are also constraints – charities tend to set funding priorities based on their own agendas, e.g. the Wellcome Trust focuses on funding projects relating to mental health, infectious disease and climate and health. Not all deep ventures will align with these priorities.
- Funding cycles can also be highly time-intensive and competitive, with limited opportunities available.
- If deep tech ventures are geared more towards commercialisation, this may also not be a good fit with a charitable organisation. Charities tend to have less relevance to market deployment, compared to industry partners.
More Information:
Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) (n.d.) Making research happen: Charities’ vital role. Available at: AMRC website (Accessed: 6 July 2026).
Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (n.d.) Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. Available at: Charity Commission for Northern Ireland website (Accessed: 6 July 2026).
Citizens Information (n.d.) What is a charity? Available at: Citizens Information website (Accessed: 6 July 2026).
Citizens Information Board (2018) Relate: Charities and the Charities Regulatory Authority. Dublin: Citizens Information Board.
NI Business Info (n.d.) Set up a charity: Ensure your charity has a charitable purpose. Available at: NI Business Info website (Accessed: 6 July 2026).
Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) (n.d.) Meeting the charity test: Guidance. Available at: OSCR website (Accessed: 6 July 2026).
Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) (n.d.) What is a charity? Available at: OSCR website (Accessed: 6 July 2026).
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) (n.d.) Health Technologies Impact and Translation Toolkit: Charities and the third sector. Available at: UKRI website (Accessed: 6 July 2026).