Words of Peace

Words of Peace Global

Chamber of Commerce Amsterdam: 34312991
RSIN: 819929803

Click here for ‘Beleidsplan’, the Dutch (Nederlandse) version of the Policy Plan

May 2023

 

Table of contents

  1. Objective of the foundation
  2. Description
  3. Governance activities
  4. Activities of the foundation
  5. Fundraising
  6. Capital management
  7. General administration
  8. Financial administration

 

1. Objective of the foundation

The text of the bylaws regarding the objective is as follows: “The purpose for which this foundation is established contains charitable, educational and scientific objects, including promoting the message of peace as articulated by Prem Rawat”.In concrete terms, this means that the activities of Words of Peace Global Foundation (further: WOPG) are aimed at informing the general public worldwide about the possibility of personal peace, as offered by Prem Rawat.

2. Description

WOPG, founded in 2008, is committed to transparency and ethical financial practices from top to bottom and is politically and financially independent from any government, political ideology, economic interest, or religious faith.The foundation is non-profit and does not make any distribution of income or other payments for the personal benefit of any private individual. The interests are purely general in their character. WOPG is recognized by the Dutch Tax Authorities as a Public Benefit Institution (ANBI).

WOPG is registered with the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce under number 34312991; the RSIN (formerly fiscal number) is: 819929803. The registered office is located at the address: Tweede J. van Campenstraat 117C, 1073 XR in Amsterdam.

The postal address is: P.O. Box 20627, 1001 NP in Amsterdam.

Information can be found on the website www.wopg.org.

3. Governance activities

The board of WOPG consists of the following members.

  • Mr. Roland Peter Klepzig, chairman, treasurer and CEO
  • Mr. Bart Bender, secretary
  • Mr. Gerardus Theodorus Johannes Heinst, director
  • Mr. Deepak Raj Bhandari, director

The members of the Board receive no remuneration except the covering of expenses.

The board will meet as often as required by the activities, nonetheless at least formally once a year. A report is made of each formal meeting. In between the formal meetings, the board keeps in touch via e-mail, telephone or Zoom.

Amongst other things, the board meetings confirm the decisions, taken by at least two board members in recent months, and discuss the activities undertaken or to be undertaken.

An annual budget is prepared in November of each year for presentation to the Board in December. Revised budgets are prepared if necessary during the year. Prior to 1 July the board shall prepare and draw up the balance sheet and statement of income and expenditure of the foundation. These will be timely posted on the WOPG website in accordance with the current legislation with regard to ANBI’s.

4. Activities of the foundation

WOPG achieves its objectives by means of the following activities.

    1. Supporting events all over the world (conferences, conventions, seminars, meetings) where the message of personal peace and self-knowledge is conveyed. Attendance at such events varies from around 20 to 300,000 people.
    2. Supporting legal entities (organizations and groups of persons) in any part of the world in the pursuit of not-for-profit activities consistent with the charitable objectives of the foundation, as evidenced by the concrete activities of these legal entities.
    3. Providing information to the general public on upcoming events and the need for their financial support, where needed.

Events and meetings are organised throughout the year by promoting them to the general public or supporters, and also on invitation, through the participation of organizations in various countries, such as mentioned in 4.2. Governments and parliaments, educational institutions (including universities), government agencies, large companies, and other interested groups may also act as organising entities for these events.

An overview of the most important events supported by WOPG world-wide is published yearly in the form of an Activity Report on the WOPG website.

Recordings of the events can be viewed on the internet, for example on YouTube; parts of them form the basis of some free courses run by volunteers, such as the Peace Education Program (PEP), which has proved highly effective in many types of institutions worldwide. The Italian Ministry of Justice, for example, has made the PEP available free of charge to all prisons in Italy.

5. Fundraising

In order to be able to fulfil its charitable objectives, WOPG is involved in fundraising campaigns. WOPG receives its revenue exclusively from donations and grants, including occasional bequests. The donations derive mainly from many thousands of individuals around the world, but they also comprise grants from like-minded organisations, such as Words of Peace International, a 501(c)(3) registered charity in the United States.

The single and recurring monthly donations are received via WOPG’s website as well as directly into WOPG’s bank accounts via bank transfers. The Board of WOPG decides the use of the gifts for accomplishing the purposes of the foundation. WOPG will provide a statement of accounts that includes all the donations received

Part of the objective of fundraising, is that the foundation can make donations or grants to legal entities with the same objective, as evidenced by the concrete activities of these legal entities. In the case of donations or grants to foreign legal entities, the current tax regulations are strictly applied, and typically all donations or grants are made on the basis of a written grant agreement, documenting the purpose for which the donation or grant is made. Donations are only ever given to persons or legal entities for the purpose of providing financial support for a not-for-profit activity which is consistent with the scope of activities that would be permitted in accordance with WOPG’s own charitable objectives.

6. Capital management

The capital that has been accrued by the foundation cannot be disposed of by one board member only, but only by two board members acting together. The foundation will not extend more capital than that which is deemed reasonable and necessary for the sound continuation of the anticipated activities related to achieving the goals of the foundation.As mentioned in chapter 5, the Board of WOPG decides the use of the gifts for accomplishing the purposes of the foundation and WOPG will provide a statement of accounts that includes all the donations received.

All payments made by WOPG are made electronically via online banking. Dual authorisation by authorised signatories is in place across all accounts. Only pre-approved payments are authorised. WOPG’s assets are predominantly held in cash. Current accounts are held with the ABN AMRO bank in The Netherlands.

There are no savings or investment accounts.

In order to be able to manage the various processes within WOPG in a structured and controlled manner, the following procedures for providing donations have been drafted.

  • Persons and non-profit organizations who wish to receive a donation must make a request to WOPG.
  • Such donation requests must be accompanied by a description of the purpose for which the donation is to be used.
  • The WOPG board (at least two members) decides whether the requested donation is to be given. The board may attach certain conditions to the provision of the donation with regard to the precise purpose of its use.
  • WOPG expects the recipient to confirm the receipt of the donation with a report showing that the funds have been used for the requested purpose.
  • The board carries out selection management in respect of the funding requests.

7. General administration

The accounts of WOPG are maintained in a clear and transparent way. Management and fundraising costs are regularly evaluated, to ensure that they are limited to the minimum necessary. The following documents, among others, are kept in the administration.

  • Statements of accounts and evidence regarding granted donations.
  • The kind and size of the foundation’s income and capital.
  • The sums spent on fundraising and on the foundation’s management. There must be the existence of a reasonable relationship between the costs and expenses. This will be managed by the board.
  • The amounts paid to any board member for reimbursement of costs.
  • General financial bookkeeping.

8. Financial administration

The financial administration is arranged in such a way that the following points are visible in a transparent way.

  • Management costs are well below the norm, because WOPG works mainly with volunteers. The management policy is aimed at keeping this starting point.
  • The amount of funds used for the fundraising has also been moderate in recent years. The board strives to keep this as a starting point in the recruitment of funds.
  • In addition to the management costs and the costs of fundraising, all available funds are spent in accordance with the statutory objective of the foundation. This policy is of a structural nature.
  • In compliance with the foundation’s statutes, board members are not remunerated, but may be reimbursed for expenses. The policy towards the recruitment and remuneration of the management and the staff is based on the following principles. Whenever possible, management and staff functions on all levels are fulfilled by qualified volunteers. Only when strictly required, management and staff functions of WOPG are fulfilled by employees or contractors. The remuneration of these employees/contractors remains
    modest.
  • Data Security: WOPG uses outside providers for its Donor Management System and its accounting records. Both providers have verified the security of their systems in terms of protecting against data breaches and both regularly back up the data to independent servers. In addition, WOPG also backs up the accounting data, so should it become necessary, accounting records could (with some work) be independently reconstructed without recourse to the provider. Hard copy files and documents are kept at the homes of the WOPG accounting staff until they are kept in the secure archive in Amsterdam. The risk of this is mitigated by the fact that all documents are also filed electronically with more than one member of staff having access.
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