Legal Services for Charities
Your causes and the resources and contributions you make towards a charitable cause is unique to you. If you intend to start a charity, Yuen Law listens intently to your motivations and advise you accordingly. We will help structure something that would free up the founders and members to do the most good, while being acceptable to regulatory bodies and complying to the organisation’s public responsibilities.
Setting up a Charitable Organisation
As your philanthropic mission continues to gain traction, registering an entity will allow you to organise and interact with your philanthropic mission’s stakeholders effectively.
Setting up a registered entity also allows you to separate fully (in some cases) your assets and affairs from that of the entity. It also allows you to receive donations or to disburse cash in a transparent and accountable manner. Depending on your particular cause, your entity may be a company limited by guarantee, a society, or a charitable trust. At Yuen Law we guide clients through the nuances of these structures, providing insights into their respective benefits, protection, and risk.
At Yuen Law, our lawyers help to draft governing instrument or constitution, which outlines details regarding administration of the organisation, composition of the board, how meetings are to be held to ensure that your entity is able to operate smoothly and in compliance with best practices.
Registration for Charity Status
Transparency and accountability are the twin pillars of the charity sector in Singapore. A high degree of transparency and accountability is necessary for your charity to qualify for various income tax exemptions available to your entity and to your donors.
Registering a non-profit organisation and receiving “charity status” are two different steps and one follows the other. After the entity is successfully registered, we can then help with the application for charity status.
Once the Commissioner of Charities grants your organisation charitable status, the organisation will enjoy automatic income tax exemption, a new standing and credibility, as well as momentum in fundraising.
In return, the COC requires designated charities to adhere to more stringent guidelines, including the submission of financial statements and annual reports, maintaining proper donation records, and disclosing of fundraising information to the public.
Registration for Institute of Public Character (IPC) Status
Where applicable, we can also help with the application for Institutions of a Public Character (IPC) status, which is a charity whose activities benefit Singapore society as a whole, and not confined to a group of people based on race, creed or belief. In addition to income tax and property tax benefits, charities that are an approved Institution of a Public Character are authorised to issue tax deduction receipts for qualifying donations.
If you are interested in setting up a non-profit entity in Singapore, we can help you with the registration as well as on-going statutory compliance matters of the entity.
