NCSS :: VWO Corner - About VWOs, Charities and IPCs

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About VWOs, Charities and IPCs

What is a Voluntary Welfare Organisation?

A Voluntary Welfare Organisation (VWO) is an organisation that provides welfare services and/or services that benefit the community at large and is not profit-making. There is no legal definition of a VWO, but VWOs are typically registered as a society under the Societies Act, a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act, or as a Trust (under a trust deed).

How to set up a VWO?

There are three options available:

1) To register as a Society

Registration can be done at the Registry of Societies (ROS) website.

2) To incorporate as a Company Limited by Guarantee

Registration Fee

$15 - Application for New Company Name
$600 - Application for Incorporation of a Company Limited by Guarantee

Processing Time

The Companies Act requires that a company’s name must be approved, before the company can be registered. Application for the company’s name and the incorporation will take 15 minutes each after payment. Approval of company’s name may take up to 14 days or longer in some circumstances.

More information is available at the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) website.

3) To form a Trust

You would need to ask your legal advisors or lawyers to do the necessary administrative papers to set up a Trust under the Trustees Act. You may wish to check the Trustees Act for more information.

Summary of the Various Legal Entities

(Correct as at 25 Aug 2010)

	Society	Company Limited By Guarantee	Trust
Registration	A registration fee between $280 to $450 is payable.	A total registration fee of $615 is payable.	Legal advice is needed if you wish to set up a trust under the Trustees Act.
Governing Instrument	Constitution	Memorandum and Articles of Association. Legal fees have to be incurred.	Rules and Regulations/Declaration of Trust/Trust Deed
Assets and Properties	Assets have to be held in a trustee’s name.	Able to hold assets in its name, as it is a legal entity.
Minimum number of people	10 members	1 person
Overheads		Large overheads may be needed to pay for an auditor and a company secretary.

Once a VWO is registered as a legal entity, it may proceed to apply for charity status (for exemption from corporate income tax) and Institutions of a Public Character (IPC) status (to allow VWO to issue tax deductible receipts to donors).

VWO can also apply to become a NCSS member to enjoy member benefits and be connected to a network of other VWOs and the latest developments in the social service sector.