RDSC as a Non-Profit Organisation
Towards 15 years of community service
Dang Ngoc Quang, Executive Director
June 22, 2009
Non-profit organisations are a disctinct group, which has a number of features in their organisational design, and operations. At the stage of its formulation, in 1994, RDSC took the best practices in designing its organisations as a non-profit entity in an environment, where there was a lack of legisations regulating the non-profit sector. The organisation has consistantly been pursueing these principles.
RDSC is organisation operated exclusively for non-profit purposes. Its purposes is to strengthen capacity of the disadvantage groups in rural and mountain nous areas to fight with poverty. The focus of RDSC programme is to support community to organise, to form and develop their own orgnisations in improving their livelihood in a sustainable way based on their indigenouse knowledge. RDSC further supports the community-based organisations and their networks in development policy dialogues with other national policy making bodies, such as government at all levels, and IFIs, e.g. ADB and WB.
RDSC officially registered not as a non-profit organisation under the laws of your country. This is due to the fact that in Vietnam, there is no law reguation for non-profit organisations. The form of the organization is a science and technology service provider, as regulated by the Law on Science and Technology, which is approved by the National Assembly on 09 June 2000. The organisation did not register under the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology organisation (VUSTA), but with the Hanoi Science and Technology Department as required for non-state-owned entity.
According to Article 42 of the Law, income from contracts for research is tax-exempted (tax-free) from the income, and the income from advisory or consultancy service enjoy preferential taxation. Also, income for non-profit projects are exempted from income tax. So, RDSC is required to pay income taxes in Vietnam when it engages in consultancy.
A non-profit characteristic of an organization can be determined when it is dissolved or liquidated. Then, the assets of the organisation are required by law, custom, or by the organisation's governing documents to be distributed to another non-profit group or government agency, to be used for non-profit purposes. In the case of RDSC, its charter states that its assets must be distributed to another non-profit group or government agency, to be used for non-profit purposes. Also, RDSC’s charter requires to use its net surplus (revenues in excess of expenses) to further its stated purposes.
At RDSC, none part of its assets (now or planned for the future) is used to benefit private individuals, other than in the form of services that your organization is authorized to provide as a part of its non-profit purposes, or as reasonable salary payments for services to the organization. RDSC does not make any payments to any of its officers or members of its Board of Directors or other governing body, other than actual expense reimbursements or reasonable salary payments. This is to say that the expences occurred when members of the Board of the Directors attend the board meeting can be reimbursed. If the board members conduct monitoring or evaluation of project or organisation’s activities, they can be paid at the market rate for the services orded by the organisation.
At the registration, according to the law, the founding members are required to make personal investment into the organisations. The amount of the equity remains with the organisations until its liquidation or disolvation. None of the organization's officers or members, who have ownership of the organisation may claim thes assets or any income derived from these assets of the organization. The founding members may have their investnment refunded only at their withdrawal from the organisations as as founder.
RDSC does not engage in political activities, that is the organisation does not carry lobbying activities, such as attempting to influence passage of specific legislation or the outcome of political campaigns by candidates for public office. However, RDSC does engage in advocacy on various development issues. As an example, at the moment, Government of Vietnam is preparing a law on public disclosure of information. Also, the government is preparing the law to actualise the international convention on the rights of the indigenous peoples. In a collective efforts with NGOs in the Community Participation Network, RDSC takes this opportunity to investigate what the current practices of the right to information are exercised by authorities, to inform the process of law making about the needs for information by the disadvantaged groups, and the possible ways to address the needs. Another example is RDSC supports rural and ethnic minority communities to make their voices heard in projects financed by IFI, such as WB and ADB, on issues of compliance to the policies, such as involuntary resettment, or environment, committed by these insitutions.
In its operations, RDSC is controlled by or operated in connection with government and donors. The nature of the relationship is the government control if projects proposed by the organisations fit with the law provisions and priorities of the local development programmes. The government body that makes decisions about projects is the Province People Committee, who decides if they accept a project to be implemented in their territories, and monitors the project implementation.
RDSC is a secular, but not a church-related organization. It does not conduct religious worship. RDSC may be connected with a church-based NGO in a funding relationship. This relationship may governs or provide a control for financial transparency and accountability, but never by the church’s believe.
Being loyal to its non-profit principles, RDSC is refered as a leading local NGO by many national and international development agencies.
Our Contact
Rural Development Services Centre
#2, Block D, Lane 45/39, Hao Nam Str Dong Da, Hanoi, Vietnam
Phone: +84-4-35121175 Fax: +84-4-3 5121175 Email: rdsc@netnam.vn
Authorized representative: Dang Ngoc Quang, Executive Director
List of the full names of the RDSC primary staff and officers, as of June 2009:
1. Dang Ngoc Quang, Executive Director
2. Nguyen Thi Den, Technical Coordinator, Network of Rural Micro-Finance Unions for Women
3. Dang Dinh Thanh, Co-ordinator, Network for Agriculture Extensionists
4. Nguyen Thi Hue, Community Development Officer, Livelihood
5. Nguyen Thi Hong Thanh, Nguyen Thi Hong Thanh,
6. Pham Thi Thanh, Advocacy Officer
7. Dang Hoa Lan, Accountant/Administrator
8. Hoang Thanh Hang, Administrative Assistant
Members of Board of Advisors (similar to the Board of Director), as of June 2009:
1. Dr. Prf. Bui The Cuong, Institute of Sustainable Development
2. Dr. Prf. Hoang Manh Quan, Agro-Forestry University Hue City
3. Ms. Ton Thu Hien, Academy of Finance Sciences
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Last modified:
09/07/2009 09:56:13 AM | 