Farang Wanting To Start A Non-profit Organisation In Thailand

[Emxily]

My husband and I have been living in Bangkok for nearly one year. I have a non-imm B visa as i work as a teacher.

We would like to move to a smaller province and open a 'community centre' type thing. We would probably need to also run it as a coffee shop or something to cover costs. We would prefer to run it as a non-profit organisation, to provide community projects such as free English lessons for the poor, and playgroups and advice for young mothers etc. We expect to both be working on this project full time.

We know nothing about opening a non-profit organisation or charity in Thailand and most of the information available seems to be for busnesses centered on making a profit.

Does anyone have any information on how we could go about setting up this organisation, and whether this is even possible. What will we need in order to open such a place? Who should we talk to? Will we need a Thai partner? What visa's can we apply for? Can we open it as a charity?

Any information on starting a non-profit/charitable place for the Thai people would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks.

Edited February 17, 2007 by Emxily

[jakesideas]

Hmmmm not sure where to start but probably the best thing to do is to write a business plan and think about how to raise some start-up money- maybe in your home country. I do know that people pay a lot of money to volunteer in developing countries these days. I am not sure that the coffee shop would cover the costs as the product is not sold for much and so you would need a lot of quantity selling to make much.

I think you have some terrific ideas and I hope some other Thaivisa members can comment.

[bkkandrew]

Sorry tobe flippant, but whaen I read the title of the thread, I couldn't resist...

The answer to starting a non-profit organisation in Thailand is:

Open a regular Thai business!!!

[jakesideas]

Sometimes I too think of funny or amusing things things to write as a reply... but then I change my mind as it doesn't help further the topic that the poster is asking about.... but I guess it's up to you!

[Mid]

Sorry tobe flippant, but whaen I read the title of the thread, I couldn't resist...

The answer to starting a non-profit organisation in Thailand is:

Open a regular Thai business!!!

beat me to it ...........................

[Pink Mist]

well people do we have any advice for these people, work permits, assets etc

[Mid]

given the current conditions , my advice ( for what it's worth ) is not to open a business in Thailand

[Thai-Aust]

Click on below link will direct you to info on how to form your business. I guess it's pretty much the same requirements whether non-profit organisations or for business, but for non-profit ones could have more tax incentives. At least you will have some ideas.

http://www.ethailand.com/index.php?company_formation

Or if you wish to join the existing organisations or have connection with them, follow these links:

http://www.rejoicecharity.com/rejoice2/home/home.html

http://www.pattayaorphanage.org.uk/home/

http://www.fatherjoe.org/

http://disabled.infothai.com/

[PeaceBlondie]

My guess is that there are definite rules, and that if you and your spouse are both farang, you would find it very difficult to fit into the rules. Paul McCartney (that's Sir Paul to you, sir) wrote about "giving it all away to a registered charity." In the USA, it has to meet section 501©(3) or 29 other laws with endless regulations. Good luck. I get the impression that you can't even give things away without permission.

[redbicycle]

My husband and I have been living in Bangkok for nearly one year. I have a non-imm B visa as i work as a teacher.

We would like to move to a smaller province and open a 'community centre' type thing. We would probably need to also run it as a coffee shop or something to cover costs. We would prefer to run it as a non-profit organisation, to provide community projects such as free English lessons for the poor, and playgroups and advice for young mothers etc. We expect to both be working on this project full time.

We know nothing about opening a non-profit organisation or charity in Thailand and most of the information available seems to be for busnesses centered on making a profit.

Does anyone have any information on how we could go about setting up this organisation, and whether this is even possible. What will we need in order to open such a place? Who should we talk to? Will we need a Thai partner? What visa's can we apply for? Can we open it as a charity?

Any information on starting a non-profit/charitable place for the Thai people would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks.

The answer is that.... dun do what is belongs to thai, as a soldier i will take the organization back , this is my duty.

[CSS]

If you are truly wanting to run a non-profit to benefit a Thai community setting up a Thai foundation is not difficult. However, you will need Thai partners. The Foundation that we set up only had three Thai board members to start (and not foreigners), as having foreigners on the board initially slows down the approval time. Foundation status can now be granted by the Provincial office rather than going through Bangkok so the best start is to go talk to officials there. A lawyer can be hired to file the paperwork (probably about 20k baht, but if you have some educated Thais to help you you could do it on your own). If you can prove the Foundation benefits the community then you'll need 200,000 baht to transfer into the Foundation account at start-up, otherwise it's 500,000. That's enough detail to get you started thinking anyway.

[Peter252]

I'm currently in the process of registering a foundation in Thailand. The first thing I did was go to the local office that handles these applications, the Thai lady that works with me said it was called the Amphoe office. We spoke to the lady at length about the process involved. She said that you need to fill in the paperwork with the details of the people who will form the committee. As mentioned earlier in this thread she advised us that having Thai people register the foundation was more likely to get it through, and much quicker. They must be over 20 years old, also they must never have been convicted of a crime. In reality someone older and a respected member of the Thai community is more likely to be accepted then a 20 something. Also mentioned earlier was the money, 200,000 baht if the foundation is for the benefit of the thai community.

The first thing you should do is get the paperwork, make copies and talk to respectable Thai people that you trust and would be interested in working with the organisation. Give them a copy to read through and discuss what your objectives are. They then fill in their details, along with a list of projects that you intend to do. There is a lot more to it, if you are interested in discussing it you can send me a P.M. and I'll send you my number and I'll give you all the info I have.

[steveromagnino]

I'm currently in the process of registering a foundation in Thailand. The first thing I did was go to the local office that handles these applications, the Thai lady that works with me said it was called the Amphoe office. We spoke to the lady at length about the process involved. She said that you need to fill in the paperwork with the details of the people who will form the committee. As mentioned earlier in this thread she advised us that having Thai people register the foundation was more likely to get it through, and much quicker. They must be over 20 years old, also they must never have been convicted of a crime. In reality someone older and a respected member of the Thai community is more likely to be accepted then a 20 something. Also mentioned earlier was the money, 200,000 baht if the foundation is for the benefit of the thai community.

The first thing you should do is get the paperwork, make copies and talk to respectable Thai people that you trust and would be interested in working with the organisation. Give them a copy to read through and discuss what your objectives are. They then fill in their details, along with a list of projects that you intend to do. There is a lot more to it, if you are interested in discussing it you can send me a P.M. and I'll send you my number and I'll give you all the info I have.

It isn't that easy setting up an assocation or non profit foundation registered for charity purposes here in the Kingdom; you may find it easier to set up a charity abroad with the purpose of operating here. If you are an American, then you are no doubt aware of the benefits of doing this in Delaware for instance.

Without a sound business plan for ANY enterprise you are going to struggle. I suggest that whatever you want to do should be set up with the purpose of obtaining funding from the Gates Foundation; unlike most other donors, they actually expect value for their contributions which IMHO is a very very good thing. I have never been so shocked as to hear where the money actually went for most of the charities or organisations I've come into contact with that are 'not for profit'. 'Not for profit' should be rephrased for the most part as 'unable to show value'

I would suggest perhaps that there is a foundation already doing something in this area, and perhaps you can link with one of those. You do need the phoo yai to support you, and invariably this may require connections which can be hard for a foreigner to build.

[Khun Bob]

Could someone post more details on this :

* Where they got the documents to submit from

* Who they contacted

* What they found worked and what they had problems with

* What benefits there are to being involved in a foundation

* What a foundation can and cannot do

* Links to any resources - in thai or in english

* What the structure of a foundation must be

* What positions there are in the board/commitee of the foundation

* What laws/rules govern foundations

Could anyone who is running a foundation in Thailand comment on their experience in general, mentionwing what they do

Thanks

[jazzbo]

I will take a stab at this as I have:

1) Established a not-for-profit corporation in the United States (which has been dissolved).

2) Worked with a Foundation in Thailand and was able to observed detailed operations. At times I advised the Financial Director especially as regards Chart of Accounts accounting for not-for-profits. This Thai Foundation receives Royal Patronage.

My observation is that I would not want to start, as an alien, a not-for-profit organization in Thailand.

Also, at least in the USA, 'Foundation' and 'Not-For-Profit' (same as NGO) are two very distinct entities.

In the USA a Foundation is generally started by a single person, family or other entity as in the 'Tiger Woods Foundation'. It is very restricted in terms of receiving outside funds and must disburse a certain percentage of its assets each year.

A NFP is a corporation established at the State (Provincial) level that, after a ceretain period of qualified operations, may qualify for the IRS 501[C](3) Federal tax-exempt status i.e. persons who make a donation to the NFP can claim the donation as tax-deductable on their tax filings.

The best source of official information is the IRS website page:

http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/ar...d=96099,00.html

'Not for the faint of heart and it would all go smoother if you had a special 'niche' or skill that would differentiate your organization from others -- and never 'compete' head-on with a Thai NGO especially one that has Royal Patronage.

[Khun Bob]

I will take a stab at this as I have:

1) Established a not-for-profit corporation in the United States (which has been dissolved).

2) Worked with a Foundation in Thailand and was able to observed detailed operations. At times I advised the Financial Director especially as regards Chart of Accounts accounting for not-for-profits. This Thai Foundation receives Royal Patronage.

My observation is that I would not want to start, as an alien, a not-for-profit organization in Thailand.

Care to expand on your experiences and why you make the "would not want to start" statement...

[jazzbo]

Khun Bob -- Once again I am only relating my personal experiences. I think I would start by setting up a NFP corporation in the USA. This is very easy -- obtaining 501[c](3) status is not necessary or even desireable if you are starting small. I am not familiar with the details of setting up a Thai-based NGO -- only that you will be competing for donations and grants with other Thai based NGO's. If your funding comes from overseas I believe that operating permits are not too hard to obtain vs. chartering an NGO in Thailand...it also depends how 'unique' is your approach and are you duplicating indigenous Thai efforts.

My NFP was structured to raise funds in the USA and then disburse them to existing NGO's with track records in Thailand and SE Asia...

[earlofwindermere]

We just registered a Foundation in Thailand (this is what it's called here). It took us a year to do - and that was with a lawyer recommended to us by several other Foundations in the country. The process is not difficult but I would strongly suggest working with a lawyer to keep the process going as it can get easily bogged down in some governmental ministry. I do know that we had to get permission from the local Amphur office, Culture department and then the Governor of the province had to sign them. We had to deposit 250 000 baht into a savings account that would be transferred to the Foundation once it was opened. We had 4 Board members (including myself - a farang) and we were also told that it would be quicker without me on the Board.

Once the Foundation is registered, you can apply for a single entry non-O visa and then a work permit. However; the non-O visa needs to be extended for one year... which is another lengthy process. (ie the average in Chiang Mai is around 4 months before receiving the extension). Good luck.

[Khun Bob]

Some positive and encouraging replies...

earlofwindermere - do you have more details on who you dealt with to make it happen that you share ? If you would rather a PM, then up-to-you. It is very encoraging to hear what you have achieved and I hope that your efforts are recognised and your foundation contributes well to the overall good.

Jazzbo - I am considering starting a charity in the UK, and I have contacts with another charity in the UK that helps education of children in North East Thailand. This is a good area and am working on a project to add to their contributions - but this is just at a thought stage at the moment. I have met the people involved and their charity does do good, but is a little diffcult to ensure that the funds are put entirely to their intended purpose, but they are working on this.

My current thoughts are on helping educate disadvantaged adults, together with them working for a good cause in return for their education, accomodation, food etc. I'm not clear if this would be more suitable for a company route, but overall I'm not interested in profits for shareholders - I just want a self supporting model to a degree - with other streams of funding as total self support initially is unrealistic.

At the moment I just wish to explore options for something that I would like to initiate in 3-5 years. I understand alot can change but knowing what has worked now and how it was acheived can be a great help for future reference.

[jazzbo]

Hello KB --

If you wanted to start an NGO for fund-raising in UK I would do something along the following (using the USA model as that is what I know)

As you are interested in NE Thailand, go to a place like Chonabot and make a deal to buy hand-woven silk at wholesale.

Go to the USA (UK) and say that for a donation of $100 you will receive some beautiful silk and the your donations will support such-and-such social activities in rural Thailand.

If you are 501[c](3), and the value of the silk is $10, then $90 of that is tax deductible for the donor. If you do not have such designation, then there is no tax deduction for the donor, but you have to start somewhere. Then you could bring those funds to Thailand and set up some set of conditions so that you have some oversight on the funds. A good approach might be to go to a well-run Thai-based NGO and help them set-up a 'branch' clinic or school at a new location.

3 important things on finances:

At least in the USA, no major foundation or grant-issuing body will even TALK to you unless you are 501[c](3).

It is always better to say to a donor that 100% of their donations (beyond the value received in this case silk)goes to charitable activities and that all your overhead and operating expenses comes from a separate source of funding.

Based on MY experience, you will have much more freedom in your activities if your funds are sourced OUTSIDE of Thailand. This is almost like the reasoning behind having to prove that your funds came from outside of Thailand when you buy a condominium -- they want to know that there is some value-added to the economy.

Beyond all this, if you send a PM we can go into more detail. Over and out.

[udonroyal]

Hello,

It's a very good idea for non-profit organization. I am a teacher I would like to join w/your project and I can find the way to be success. We have a lot of poor students who want to help in the rural area.

Pls contact me by my e-mail ; [email protected]. I would be glad if you can reply by return.

B.regards,

Kru Por