501(c)3 Yes or No ?

          Believe me when I tell you this has been a VERY tough decision. There are of course advantages and disadvantages to everything, especially when it comes to charitable organizations. I have been vacillating on this for well over a year and have put a lot of thought into it.

Advantages

Contributions are tax deductible

Can apply for grants and large donations  

People believe this makes it legitimate

Disadvantages

IRS Charges $850 a year for the 501(c)3 status

IRS controls who is on the board

IRS controls who the money is distributed to

IRS determines what you may spend the money on

IRS may revoke the 501(c)3 status for many reasons which are poorly defined

          In my opinion the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages to being an IRS approved (501(c)3 charitable organization. Therefore I decided to set up this charity as a for profit company which pays taxes, although taxes are only paid on profits which will be negligible. Not being an IRS approved charity gives us a lot more flexibility in the things we can do to raise funds too.

Saawatdee Meet Kru Nuannoi Timkul

Saawatdee 
Meet Kru Nuannoi Timkul

     Kru Nuannoi Timkul or "Kru Noi" helps underprivileged children even though she has had a stroke and is not rich. She worked in strained circumstances from 1980 until "Baan Kru Noi" was certified by the Department of Public Welfare as able to care for children in 1987.
     Kru Noi grew up in a poor circumstances and her experiences made her understand the poverty of children who do not have the opportunity to get an education. Kru Noi attempts to help these children past the crises in their lives and grow up to be good productive citizens.. She has spent her life helping them and never given up no matter how tough the obstacles or pressures she faced.
     In 1980 she had a stroke which affected her legs and she had to convalesce at her small house in Bangkok. This allowed her to see laborers' children playing in the fields with no opportunity to go to school due to poverty and the lack of required documents such as house registration forms and birth certificates. Kru Noi decided to use her house as a place for the children, to feed them and to teach them to read and write. Since then, she has received a lot of publicity, and she is still accepting new children even though she has amassed about $250,000 in debt in the process.
     Ten years ago, Kru Noi's story received publicity from the mass media. Organizations, foundations and the general public started helping "Baan Kru Noi" by contributing food, clothes, money,  and toys. They also petitioned the government to allow children to study at primary level without official documents.
     Since 1980, Kru Noi has helped over 1,000 underprivileged children, homeless children and children with imprisoned parents to have a chance for education. Now at Ban Kru Noi, there are total of 55 children, aged between 6 and 18 years. The ones not in school are very young children and children with multiple disabilities. Many of these children go home at night while others live at Ban Kru Noi and in houses rented by Kru Noi.
In Ban Kru Noi, there are only 10 members of staff, 4 teachers and 6 support staff who work in 2 shifts. Kru Noi not only works at Ban Kru Noi but also works with other organizations  and foundations and such as Srinartsiam School, Sriwara School and Sithasinee Foundation  in Bangkok and in other provinces.
     On weekdays after school, weekends, public holidays and vacations, many people used to come to visit Baan Kru Noi, but the visits and support have dwindled in recent years. There are still a few volunteers from institutions in Bangkok running academic activities and entertainment for the children, things like teaching computing , art, music, and English as well as occupational activities such as candle making. This builds good relationships and allows other people to share their smiles and kindness with the children. It can also assist the children in changing their behaviors and attitudes so that they can grow up to be good people and productive citizens following Kru Noi's example. She wants the children to be healty, educated and happy and does not require anything in return.

Baan Kru Noi

Baan Kru Noi  literally means house of Kru Noi.

     So what is Kru Noi ? Not what but who. She is a 69 year old Thai lady who provides a home for orphans in Bangkok Thailand. She has been sharing her home with orphans for the past 35 years. She currently has 55 children living in the home. This is the type of orphanage I was looking for, they do not recieve help from the government or any international aid organizations. I spent about 2 hours there and constantly had children hanging onto me. These children are starved for adult attention, although there are some staff members who assist ms Noi there is just not enough time for all the kids to recieve quality time with the adults.

     There is an old article about Baan Kru Noi here . It is interesting but obviously dated as she now has less than half of the 128 children menioned in the article. She no longer receives the many weekend visitors and donations that she did in years past. I am attempting to raise money to help her and other orphanages, so please donate to world orphans fund or on this blog

View the video or scroll down for pictures

preparing lunch for the children

so many needy children

they all sang a goodbye song

Somebody bought KFC for the kids

Kids playing before lunch

No idea what game they are playing

one of the 4 small dogs

Lined up for Ice Cream

Children everywhere like ice cream

The boys got ice creams that look like bannanas

They held them up and said "monkey"

hard to decide which kind they want

older kids supervise younger ones

I think we bought him out

Mercy Center Bangkok

Mercy Center Bangkok

          I finally found a taxi driver who said he knew where the Mercy Center was at. As I suspected he really was not too sure, but we did finally find it. Mercy Center is located in one of Bangkok’s slum areas, I saw at least three large buildings they own. This is anything but a small orphanage, they have quite a few programs and many people depending on them. They own 33 schools in Thailand and support not only orphans but also the poor people of Klung Toey Bangkok. They have a school there and an HIV hospice, not to mention computer systems and training programs for the children and local people.

      On my arrival I was greeted by Ms Prawina Sompong the communications manager for Mercy Center, she informed me that they were having a graduation ceremony and taking pictures would not be possible today. She then introduced me to Mr John Padorr from Chicago who gave me a short but informative tour of the school and hospice areas. At this time they do not have a well structured volunteer program in place, but did seem open to the idea of accepting volunteers.

The building architecture in Klung Toet is reminiscent of Camodia possibly a French influence at some point ? These buildings are beautifuly built but have not been well maintained for many years. Just from looking I would assume that this area was much more affluent in the past than it is now. 

For more information their websie is located at http://www.mercycentre.org/

Baan Deck Orn Phaya Thai

Baan Deck Orn Phaya Thai

(Babies home in Phaya Thai, Bangkok)

      Another wasted day in the attempt to locate this orphanage. I ended up at an adoption center after a ride on the sky train and two taxi rides. Apparently the orphanage has moved to Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Why give to an unregistered charity ?

            Most people consider unregistered charities to be nothing more than scams. Having looked at the requirements for becoming a registered charity I have to disagree.

          The IRS puts a LOT of restrictions on a registered charity. I wanted to open a charity to help support orphanages and street kids and also to give aid for natural disasters. The IRS would not allow the board of a registered charity to be related, especially if anyone gets paid for services. They determine who the board members may be and how the donations are utilized. There are a myriad of ways to lose the 501(c)3 designation, which is not free you have to pay to get and maintain it. The list of rules that you must abide by just to be a registered charity definitely requires the services of a lawyer to insure that you are not breaking the rules. Breaking said rules could get your 501(c)3 status revoked cause you to be removed from the board or even imprisoned. Personally I do not want the federal government or the IRS controlling how the charity is managed. That is the job of the contributors and the board.

          I setup the World Orphans Fund as an unregistered charity so that WE (the donors and the board NOT the government) can determine how it is run and where the funds are spent. I ask only for $1.00 a month from each donor, there are a few reasons for that. First I wanted to keep it a small amount so that even children could afford it (for parents wishing to get their children involved with charity at an early age). I also wanted it to be a small amount so that the donors would not have to worry too much about how their money is being spent. Keep an eye on the website World Orphans Fund and if you are unhappy with the way we spend your money QUIT donating, and you have not lost much. Personally I think you will be VERY happy with the way the money gets utilized, but that remains to be seen. If you have a complaint you can always email worldorphansfund@gmail.com and we will respond to your concerns.

          I can understand people not wanting to risk $50 or more a month on a new charity with no track record, which is the another reason I have kept the requested amount so low. With the donation amount being so low we need to get a LOT of people involved, We need your help to do this.

          I wanted to have the donation of $1.00 be deducted each month from a debit or credit card, unfortunately paypal charges a 30 cent fee plus 5 percent on each transaction and other credit card systems charge similar amounts. This means that 65 cents out of each dollar would actually get to the charity. That is why it is set up to do a $12 donation once a year for 5 years, so the charity receives 93.5 cents of each dollar.  You can of course cancel it at any time that you believe your money is being spent frivolously.

          I hope I have addressed your concerns about donating to an ‘unregistered’ charity and how you can insure that your donations are well spent.

          Please feel free to add your comments      

The role of charity groups

I watched a program recently about feeding hungry people in Kenya. Apparently Kenya is experiencing their worst drought in 20 years. The program indicated that the livestock were dying and because of that the people were starving too. This group had brought in truckloads of food and was distributing it to the people there.

What really surprised me was that there was no water being distributed, and all the food was beans, rice and dried corn. How were they going to prepare this food if they were lacking water ? My understanding is that people can live for 3 weeks without food, but only about 3 days without water. Obviously they were getting water from someone or the drought has not completely depleted their water supply.

My point here is that we are only seeing what they want us to see. They mention that they have been working in northern Kenya for over 30 years. It sees to me that in that amount of time they should have some type of self sustaining system in place . I believe the point of charity is not only to feed people but to educate them so that they can eventually support themselves. The old adage “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” is what charity should be about. Too many of the large charities appear to be more interested in propagating their organization than helping people to help theselves.

Why Make Charitable Donations ?

          Everybody donates to the charity of their choice for their own reasons. While I like to believe that everyone contributes out of kindness, I know hat this is untrue. Many people use these donations as a way of lowering their taxes and some do it because their religion tells them they must if they want to go to heaven. While others want the respect that comes with  making large donations.

          Large amounts of money are donated by these people every year and it is of course appreciated by the charities and recipients. It feeds many children and helps the least fortunate among us. It is used for research  and medical treaments and so many other things.

          So is it wrong to donate for these reasons ? No these are all valid reasons to contribute to charity. I believe though that the people who are seeking no rewards either financially, in the afterlife or earthly are the real Philanthropists among us. They donate only for the self satisfaction of knowing they have made somebody else’s life better without any other reward..

          That is why there is nothing on my blog or my website to identify me. I am not seeking recognition for my good works nor am I looking to receive any other reward besides knowing I have made the world a better place for everyone.

          Like people everywhere I do need to meet my own personal needs. I neither expect nor intend to get rich from this, but I do have to survive while doing the charity work.

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

          Everybody wants to help starving orphans, our hearts are all touched by the pictures we see on television. But how many of us actually do anything about it? I have been as lax as anyone in not doing something to help the world’s most unfortunate children. But I have finally reached a point in my life where I am ready to do exactly that. This year I will be traveling to different parts of the world to assist unfunded orphanages in small villages. I will be starting in Thailand and then Cambodia and Laos. I am hoping to reach some places in the middle east, but that will depend on the political situation at the time. Many times in my life I have wanted to donate to these orphans but just did not have the finances to do so.

          I have set up a private charity for the purpose of helping orphanages and orphans. I know everybody wants to assume it is a scam to make money but this is not the case. I will be getting something from it, but not the amounts the big charities pay their executives. I have set it up as a private charity and will therefore be required to pay taxes on the unspent money each year.

          You can help by donating a small amount, one dollar a month is not a lot to feed hungry orphans. You can donate more although all I am asking is for one dollar a month because we can all afford such a small amount. It is set up to charge you $12 one time a year for 5 years, if you are unhappy with the way the money is being distributed cancel the donation after the first year.

Philanthropy or Scam ?

          It seems like every year we hear about some type of scam concerning charities. Web sites are set up to accept donations and the money is used to support the owners lavish lifestyle, little or none of the money actually gets to the intended recipients. We are constantly told to only give to registered 501c charities to avoid scams. If you look at the results of the big charity organizations though are they really any better than the scams ? The latest figures I have been able to find say that UNICEF actually gives less than ten percent of what they collect to the intended recipients.

Consider the following facts

·       UNICEF CEO Caryl M. Stern $1,200,000 annual salary (100k per month) all expenses and a ROLLS ROYCE

·       The American Red Cross President and CEO Marsha J. Evans
annual salary is $651,957 plus expenses
6 weeks - fully paid holidays including all related expenses during the holiday trip for her and her husband and kids. and 100% paid health & dental plan for her and her family, for life. 

·       The United Way President Brian Gallagher’s annual salary is $375,000 base plus expenses

These are all legitimate and legal 501c3 NON-PROFIT organizations and yet the people who manage them are literally getting rich. I don’t think they should work for free but the compensation seems a bit extreme in my opinion.

     Even many of the religious organizations have pretty poor track records with charitable contributions. They spend a lot of the donations on facility upkeep and staff salaries.

     So why do I see so many charities recently claiming to give 100% to the recipients. The only answer I can see is creative book keeping. If their office space is donated it still has a value and cannot be considered as being given to the recipient. Telephones, computers, websites, salaries and of course the fees paid for incorporation all add to the overhead of any charity.

     I recently researched opening a charity as I was considering creating one to benefit starving orphans. Not only do you need to be incorporated as a non-profit but you also must pay a fee ($400 to $800) to the IRS and then wait up to six months for approval. Then you must follow the IRS guidelines to keep from losing the non-profit status and stay out of prison.

     Fortunately there is a way around getting the IRS non-profit designation. You can apply to an IRS registered charity and work under them. They collect the funds that you raise and disburse them to your organization. The IRS still maintains control over how you utilize the funds though.

     The only way that I can see to open a charity and be able to help your chosen group, is to set up as a for profit company and spend enough on the recipients each year to effectively not show a profit. Any money that you have not spent will be considered income and taxed accordingy.

I have setup a company to accept donations and support small orphanages in third world countries. The web site is here

http://world-orphans-fund.us/

     Disclaimer: Being neither an attorney or CPA nothing in this article should be considered legal or financial advice . You should always check everything with an attorney and a CPA.

On our planet there are millions of starving orphans 
Have you ever dreamed of changing the world ? Making it a better place for everyone? If you could wave your hand and make all the hunger, disease, poverty, war and suffering go away, would you ? I think we have all wanted to be able to do this at some time. Unfortunately few people have the time or resources to make any great changes. Life isn’t fair and it probably never will be. We live in an imperfect world.

By combining our resources though we can make a difference in the world. We won’t stamp out hunger, disease, poverty, war and suffering, but together we can make things a little better for some of the orphans of the world. If we each contribute some of our time and money we can feed, clothe and educate some of our planets most unfortunate kids.

Our goal is to provide food, clothing, education and medical care for as many of these children as we possibly can. This will be accomplished by collecting donations from individuals and companies and distributing the funds to orphanages.

Go to http://world-orphans-fund.us/ for more information