SEMINAR-DISCUSSION ON “ENDOWMENTS AND THE PRACTICE IN THE CEE COUNTRIES AND USA”

On May 19, 2003 in “Radisson SAS” Hotel in Sofia, the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law Foundation (BCNL), the Open Society Foundation and the Parliamentary Center for European Law Foundation (PACEL) organized a seminar on “Endowments and the practice in the CEE countries and USA”.

Representatives of the Supreme Tax Direction, of the Ministry of Finance, of the Economic Policy Parliamentary Committee, great number of NGO representatives and media were participants in the event.

A lecture on the topic of the seminar was presented by Mr. Robert Thomas, Director of the “Endowments” Program of the international East-West Institute, an expert with large experience in the area of endowments in countries like the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.

Mr. Robert Thomas briefly outlined the legal and financial aspects of endowments and the way these funds are established and functioning in Europe and the USA.

In its essence an endowment means capital or other assets of an NGO, which are separated from the basic capital of the organization and are used for investment in different kinds of financial instruments. The incomes contribute to the permanent financial stability of the organization and ensure long-term sustainability of its main activity in pursuing achievement of its mission and goals.

Quite interesting for the participants were the examples of acting endowments, created by NGOs from CEE countries as the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia which Mr. Thomas shared. The main recommendations the expert addressed to the Bulgarian NGOs were related to the necessity of building lasting partnerships and networks with banks, state bodies and institutions.

In order to be assessed the possibilities for creation of endowments by Bulgarian NGOs, Luben Panov from the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law presented the legal frame for taxation of NGOs and their donors in accordance with the Bulgarian legislation.

During the discussion that followed, the perspectives for funding of the Bulgarian NGO sector and the opportunities for the best practices from establishment and operation of endowments to be adopted by local NGOs for ensuring their financial sustainability were widely discussed.