The income of the new foundation consists of its foundation assets, rent and similar income, if any, its securities, the income of the economic enterprises or companies it owns, the partnerships' profits, and donations and aids.
Pursuant to the official deed of the foundation; provided that it is not contrary to the purposes and activities of the foundation, the foundation may manage the donations made to the foundation in order to achieve the objectives of the foundation, receive aid and make agreements to provide assistance, it may carry out these activities.
DONATION TO THE FOUNDATION
The Regulation on Principles and Procedures of Collection of Aid ("Regulation") defines the concepts of donation and aid, according to which donation is based on acceptance. In practice, a donation is considered as an unrequested support to the foundation. For example, a person or institution transferring cash or in-kind assets to the foundation by applying to the foundation headquarters without any announcement or announcement will be considered as a donation. The relevant donation definition is regulated as follows on the Regulation:
"A person or another private law or public legal person or public institution or organization gives in kind or in cash assets of a person or another private law or public legal person or public institution or organization to a person or another private law or public legal person or public institution or organization voluntarily and without expecting any return."
According to Article 25 of the Foundations Law, foundations may receive donations in cash and in kind from individuals, institutions and organizations in Turkey and abroad.
Cash donations should be received from abroad or made abroad through a bank and this situation should be notified to the Regional Directorate of Foundations to which the foundation is affiliated in writing and via VBYS within 1 month. This notification should be made with the form attached to the Regulation on Foundations and the resolution, protocol and agreement, if any, regarding the donation.
As stated above, although donations to a foundation are not subject to permission as a rule, if this is considered as aid, permission is required in accordance with the Law on Collection of Aid.
COLLECTION OF AID BY THE FOUNDATION
The Regulation defines the concept of aid, according to which, unlike the concept of donation, the concept of aid is demand-based. For example, conducting a charity activity, organizing an event, making an announcement, making an announcement, or creating a section on the website regarding aid shall be considered as aid and permission should be required in accordance with the Law on Collection of Aid. It should be noted that aid is voluntary, and individuals and organizations cannot be forced to provide aid. The relevant aid definition is regulated as follows:
"It refers to the giving or lending of a person or another private law or public legal entity or public institution or organization's assets in kind or in cash; in order to meet the needs of a person or another private law or public legal entity or public institution or organization, directly or indirectly, upon request, free of charge or as a loan."
According to the Collection of Aid Law, it is possible for foundations to collect aid in accordance with the public interest, in order to realize their objectives, to provide assistance to people in need and to perform or support one or more of the public services, provided that they obtain permission.
Procedures to be carried out within the scope of the Permit Application
i. Permit Application: According to Article 6 of the Collection of Aid Law, foundations may not collect aid without permission from the competent authority. Aid collection activities undertaken without authorization shall be immediately banned by security forces and those responsible shall be prosecuted.
ii. Exception to Obtaining Permission: According to Article 6 of the Law on Aid Collection, the President of the Republic determines and announces which foundations working in the public interest may collect aid without obtaining permission.
Accordingly, in order for foundations to gain the status of collecting aid without permission, they must apply with the necessary documents and be granted permission by the Presidency. However, in order for the foundation to make this application, the foundation should first obtain the resolution of Council of Ministers' Decree indicating that the foundation is tax exempt.
iii. Necessary Documents within the scope of Application: Article 6 of the Regulation sets out the documents and information required for the permit application.
Accordingly, the foundation should apply to the competent authority with the Aid Collection Application Form attached to the Regulation, the application petition, and the resolution of the board of directors. In addition to these documents, projects, protocols, budget exploration summaries, building permits and similar information and documents that will help determine the amount of aid to be collected can also be attached to the application form.
It should be noted that the authority applying for a permit may request additional documents during the application.
iv. Authority to Apply: According to Article 7 of the Aid Collection Law, if the aid collection activity covers more than one district of a province, permission should be obtained from the governor of that province, and if it is within the borders of a district, permission must be obtained from the district governor of that district.
If the aid collection activity covers more than one province, permission should be obtained from the governor of the province where the settlement of the real or legal persons who will engage in the aid collection activity is located.
v. Review of the Application and Permission Period: The authority to which the permit application is made shall refer the application to the civil society and relations unit to which the application is attached and the decision shall be notified to the applicant in writing within 2 months at the latest. During the examination, the importance of the work, the competencies of those who will engage in aid collection activities, the suitability of the service to be performed for the purpose and public interest, and whether the aid collection activity will be successful or not will be taken into consideration.
According to the Collection of Aid Law, the permitted period for collecting aid is at the sole discretion of the permitting authority, but in any case, this period cannot exceed 1 year. However, in case of justifiable reasons, this period may be extended by the permitting authorities for a one-time period not exceeding 1 year.
Information on those authorized to collect aid may be published on the website of the authorizing authority and the Directorate General.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
