19-3-19
‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep―And miles to go before I sleep’
Good fellows dwell in happiness because they commit themselves to helping the unlucky ones. To no one’s surprise, the artistes in Hong Kong held numerous charitable concerts and performances from 1987 to 2012 to raise money for the great causes such as giving aid to the victims of natural disasters including Eastern China Flood in 1991, Taiwan Earthquake in 1999, South Asia Tsunami in 2004 and Japan Tohoku Earthquake in 2011. Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild, as the organizer of the above, is one of the biggest art groups in Hong Kong and in totality, it collected huge donations to benefit the calamity-stricken victims outcrying for assistance in Asia.
I am honoured to be the Guild’s Legal Advisor in the 90s & 2000s and went further to be one of the Trustees in managing their Charity Funds. I gained more than contributed. I have learnt a great deal about the fundraising flow and procedures. A university lecturer not long ago approached me requesting information and materials pertaining to the 30 years of these aspirational fundraising projects which are the pride of Hong Kong. I should be afflicted with amnesia at my age but the request awakens me to the need of jotting down some coarse notes about these activities at this point of time when I could still recollect some details. I wish to offer the following as a recountal of the basic steps of fundraising in Hong Kong through concerts and performances (‘Charity’). Since 2012, there has been no more large-scale fundraising campaign by artistes in Hong Kong and thank God, it might be due to the disappearance of catastrophe in Asia! I genuinely hope that my short summary may help the fundraisers when there is unfortunately a need in future for such charity events:
- consult the government of the country where the disaster occurs to confirm they need help and will endorse the fundraising event
- talk to the leaders in the entertainment industry to secure their support
- get a donor to lend or donate a sum of money to cover the initial expenses such as concert production costs
- book the venue and confirm the exact concert date
- approach entertainment and management companies to obtain consent to send their artistes to perform
- form a non-profit Company limited by Guarantee (i.e. if desiring limited liability) or simply arrange for a Charity Trust Deed to be signed by a few Trustees (but incurring unlimited liability). Without such a legal ‘entity’, the donation-collecting banks such as HSBC or Bank of China will not be able to open bank account
- identify and define the beneficiaries who will receive donations. It is desirable to name the international charity institutions as the beneficiaries and they will execute the duties according to the mandate in the Trust Deed
- apply to Inland Revenue Department for a Section 88 tax exemption certificate in order that the Charity is exempt from tax and the donor can treat the donation as a tax-deductible expense
- apply to Social Welfare Department for the approval to conduct fundraising activities in the public places
- contact major banks to open designated bank accounts in the name of the Charity in order to collect easily donations from the public
- compose a theme song for the campaign
- deal with the media such as radio and TV and conclude live broadcast contracts and define their broadcasting rights
- handle numerous copyright contracts so that nobody will claim copyrights against the Charity nor can anyone derive copyrights from the performances
- draft contracts with suppliers and vendors
- recruit many volunteers, especially those who will handle donations by telephone during the concert
- discuss and prepare the production and rundown of the performance
- after the show, tackle legal issues relating to the problematic donations
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