Public fund-raising appeals for foreign charitable purposes require permits from Commissioner of Charities. Do organisations which intend to raise funds and channel the funds to such permit holder need to apply for permits?
If organisations have been duly authorised by the permit holders (i.e. the authorised fund-raisers) to collect donations on their behalf, they are not required to apply for the permits from the COC.
An organisation or a commercial fund raiser who is collecting money on behalf of the permit holder must establish a written agreement between the organisation and the permit holder. The agreement should include:
location of appeal, date of appeal and fund-raising appeal method;
percentage of proceeds that will be given to the charitable institution that is the permit holder;
timeframe within which proceeds must be distributed to the charitable institution; and
remuneration of the commercial fund-raiser, commercial participator or person.