Documentation of Cash and In-Kind Assistance Programs for INGO’s and Associations
 

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak of international and local non-governmental organizations (“NGO”) operating and registered in Turkey have increased in-kind and cash assistance activities.

NGO’s can carry out in-kind and cash assistance as long as these are compatible with the objectives and activities indicated in their founding documents. However, as with any activity, these are required to be documented correctly. This post evaluates the documentation requirements for in-kind and cash assistance activities in the context of INGO’s subject to the Law of Associations and associations.
 

Decision of the Board of Directors

Board of Directors’ decisions have an essential role in preventing criminal and financial liabilities of individuals managing the association. For this reason, it is vital to pass board of director's decisions encompassing issues such as amount, grantees, and period of donation before the cash or in-kind assistance is realized.
 

Documents to be Issued in Exchange for Assistance

 Documents to be issued for cash and in-kind assistance are determined according to the type of donation and the nature of the person or institutions who will be benefiting from the assistance.

Cash Assistance

In the event the beneficiary of the cash assistance is an:
· association, a Certificate of Receipt (Alındı Belgesi) should be issued by the association which is the beneficiary and / or bank transfer receipt should be kept by the donor for expense registration purposes;
· individual or an institution other than an association, the expense voucher (Gider Makbuzu) corresponding to the amount of the donation should be issued by the association that has carried out the cash assistance.

Expense notes (Gider Pusulası) and expense vouchers are sometimes confused with each other or assumed to be the same document; however, it should be noted that they are very different with respect to the purpose of use. Institutions should be especially careful not to confuse these documents.

In-Kind Assistance

In the event the beneficiary of the cash assistance is an:
· association, a Receipt Certificate for In-Kind Donation (Ayni Bağış Alındı Belgesi) documenting the acceptance of the goods or services should be issued by the beneficiary to the donor;
· individual or an institution including an association, Delivery Certificate for In-kind Donation (Ayni Yardım Teslim Belgesi) indicating the content of the assistance should be issued by the donor.
 

Conclusion

Associations should render a board of directors' decision before realizing in-kind and cash assistance activities. Associations engaged in in-kind and cash assistance activities should issue the above-mentioned documents in addition to the decision of the board of directors. Correct and current registration of documents relating to in-kind and cash assistance is vital to achieving governance and bookkeeping compliance.