The Southwold Arts Festival, which hosted its first event last year, has now been formally approved as a charitable organisation.
The Festival now has a constitution and board of trustees, with Bernard Segrave-Daly appointed chairman.
He said: 'I am delighted to be associated with the Southwold Arts Festival in this capacity.
'This new charitable registration will ensure that the festival will be compliant with all charitable requirements and deliver on a voluntary basis a festival that truly celebrates the arts for the benefit of the whole community.'
All income from the first festival was put back into the organisation to establish a base for a second one, which runs from Saturday, June 27 to Tuesday, July 7 and will bring art, music, comedy and drama to the town.
Festival director Lin Le Versha said: 'This will make a huge difference to the festival not just for having achieved charitable status but also because there will be some financial benefits including exemption from VAT on advertising and the opportunity for gift aid donations.'
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