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China Charity Law Guidebook – Chapter 9: Charitable Trusts & Chapter 10: Information Disclosure (Pt. 8)
We continue with Part 8 of our series on the China Charity Law and other regulations in China in partnership with Shanghai Legal Center for NGO (ForNGO) with Chapters 9 and 10 of the China Charity Guidebook with an overview of charitable trusts and information disclosure, respectively (click the corresponding links to jump to each section). For a full list of articles part of this series, please visit our intro article or sector news page.
Chapter 9 Charitable Trusts
1. Charitable Trusts ABC
1.1 Charitable Trusts - A Type of Trust
The Trust Law was released in 2001, prior to the promulgation of the Charity Law. It was intended to deal with "public trustxvi" cases, discussion of which formed the substance of Chapter 6 of the Trust Law. However, since its conception in 2001, until at the least the promulgation of the Charity Law, there have been relatively few such cases. There are two main reasons why. One is that a competent authority had not been confirmed[1], thus making the process of registering public trusts too vague. The other concerned taxes, given that no tax information is stipulated in the Trust Law. These reasons (especially the first one) explain why the past 15 years only saw the creation of a few public trusts.
In Chapter 5, "charitable trusts" as described in the Charity Law are defined, their legal status clarified, and their various models described. Following the promulgation of the Charity Law, the Circular of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the China Banking Regulatory Commission on Work Related to the Recording of Charitable Trusts (hereinafter referred to as "Circular on the Recording of Charitable Trusts") were released on August 25, 2016. A little less than a year later, on July 26, 2016, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and the Ministry of Civil Affairs jointly issued their Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts. These documents helped establish a regulatory system for charitable trusts in China.
(1) Relationship between Charitable Trusts and Public Trusts
A public trust is a trust established for the public interest, according to Article 60 of the Trust Law. Charitable trusts are a way of acting for the public good through trusts.
Article 44 of the Charity Law states that charitable trusts are public trusts in that they involve trustorsxvii entrusting their assets to a trusteexviii for charitable purposes. The trustee, in accordance with the wishes of the trustor, manages the use of assets in the carrying out of charitable activities.
According to the definitions of "public trust" in the Trust Law and "charitable trust" in the Charity Law, the two concepts are substantially the same. The Charity Law only adds that charitable trusts belong to the category of public trusts. The Charity Law states it shall defer to relevant provisions of the Trust Law wherever matters concerning charitable trusts are not covered adequately. The equivocation of charitable trusts with public trusts helps link the Charity Law with the Trust Law and clarify the two concepts.
With regard to the design of the law, charitable trusts in the Charity Law are more specific and operable compared with those in the Trust Law. For example, establishing charitable trusts no longer requires the appointment of supervisors, thus simplifying the process of information disclosure. The Circular on the Recording of Charitable Trusts and the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts have clarified both the charitable trust establishment process and the approach to the management of charitable trusts by trustees.
Thus, this Handbook does not differentiate between public trusts and charitable trusts. Unless otherwise specified, the description of charitable trusts is also applicable to public trusts.
(2) Concept of Charitable Trusts
According to provisions of the Trust Law[2], trust refers to an act in which the trustor, based on confidence in the trustee, entrusts certain property rights to the trustee to manage in accordance with the intentions of the trustor and needs of the beneficiariesxix. The general structure of a charitable trust is shown below:
The Trust Law covers civil trusts, business trusts, and public trusts. Business trusts have flourished since the release of the Trust Law. Trust companies mainly use trusts for purposes of assembling fund trust plans. The CBSC issued its Administrative Measures for Trust Companies' Trust Plans of Assembled Funds in 2009, making trust plans an important financial product.
Trusts can be classified into public trusts and private trusts, based on whether they are for the benefit of specific individuals. General trust plans and testamentary trusts for children and families belong to private trusts.
Article 44 of the Charity Law stipulates that, "charitable trusts referred to in the law are public trusts and refer to trustors lawfully entrusting their assets to a trustee for charitable purposes and the trustee, in accordance with the wishes of the trustors, managing and disposing of the assets in its own name for the trustors to carry out charitable activities." The qualities of charitable trusts that distinguish them from private trusts are as follows:
a. Established for a Charitable Purpose
According to the relevant provision in the Charity Law[3], a charitable purpose refers to public interest activities voluntarily carried out by natural persons, legal persons or organizations through the donation of property, the provision of services, or other means:
Helping the poor and needy;
Assisting the elderly, orphaned, sick, and disabled, and providing special care;
Alleviating losses incurred by natural disasters, accidents, public health incidents, and other emergencies;
Promoting the development of education, science, culture, health, sports, and other causes;
Preventing and alleviating pollution and other public hazards, and protecting and improving the natural environment;
Other public welfare activities as prescribed in the Charity Law.
Article 7 of the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts reinforces this point, that a charitable trust shall be established for legit purposes. Trusts established for the purpose of carrying out charitable activities are to be categorized as charitable trusts.
Thus, the setting up of charitable trusts for the purpose of serving public interests is their most important feature. The term "public interest" differs from "private interest" in that it refers to the interests of non-specific groups. As charitable trusts are established for charitable purposes, trust assets and the proceeds thereof must be used for charitable purposes.
b. Beneficiaries of Charitable Trusts Must be Non-specific
Non-specific beneficiaries are another important feature of charitable trusts, a quality that differentiates them from other trusts. Charitable trust contracts only stipulate the qualifications and scope of the beneficiaries, while the beneficiaries themselves shall be determined by the trustee. In this way, all such trusts will operate effectively.
c. All Assets and Proceeds of Charitable Trusts Must be Used for Charitable Purposes
Although self-evident, it is important that charitable trusts be used for the purpose they were created. The Trust Law also states that "the property of a public trust and its proceeds must not be used for non-public purposes".
d. The Trustee Must be Specified
The Charity Law clearly stipulates that the trustee of a charitable trust can only be a charitable organization or trust company. There are no restrictions on who can serve as trustees in civil trusts; however, in commercial trusts, they are limited to trust companies. Due to the particularities of charitable trusts, trustees can be charitable organizations or trust companies. Currently, charitable organizations and trust companies oftentimes work together for the best interests of the charitable trusts they are charged with managing.
1.2 Operation of a Charitable Trust
(1) Composition of a Charitable Trust
Charitable trusts are comprised of trustors, trustees, and beneficiaries. They sometimes also include supervisors, custodians, public welfare project executors, investment managers, and other related parties.
Remarks: A solid arrow standards for a mandatory participant while a dotted arrow indicates a possible related party.
a. Trustor of a Charitable Trust
The trustor of a charitable trust shall be a natural or legal person with full civil capacity, or a legally established organization, according to the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts. Neither the Charity Law nor the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts, however, imposes limits on the number of trustors or the amount of trust property.
[Statutory rights of a trustor] According to provisions of the Charity Law and the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts, the statutory rights of a trustor include:
(i) Selection of a trustee. The trustee of a charitable trust may be a trusted charitable organization or trust company confirmed by the trustor;
(ii) Changing of a trustee. If the trustee of a charitable trust violates their fiduciary duty, or is incapable of performing their duties (for example, due to the trustee disbanding, losing their legal qualifications, being lawfully revoked, or declaring bankruptcy), the trustor may change the trustee;
(iii) Remain informed about their trust. The trustee of a charitable trust shall, in accordance with trust documents and upon request, report to the trustor in a timely manner the status of the trust and how the trust's property is being managed and used;
(iv) Selection of a trust supervisor. The trustor of a charitable trust may choose a trust supervisor. Any such supervisor must report to the trustor as needed;
(v) Confidentiality. The personal details, such as the name, designation, address, and contact method, of a trustor shall not be made public if the trustor does not consent to its disclosure.
[Statutory obligations of the trustor] According to provisions of the Charity Law and the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts, the statutory obligations of the trustor include:
Guarantee that the sources of its entrusted property are compliant. Institutional trustors shall entrust trust property only with the approval of a relevant authority and with the assurance that their property was obtained lawfully. Individual trustors shall ensure the legality of the sources of their entrusted trust property.
Transfer the ownership of trust property to the trustee in accordance with a trust contract. Such contracts are necessary for the operation of a trust;
Never use their association to harm the interests of charitable trusts or public interests. Relevant transactions shall be made public and the trustor is not to designate as a beneficiary any whose interests are related to the trustor or trustee.
In addition to the above statutory rights and obligations, the trustor of a charitable trust may specify other rights and obligations as needed in the trust contract.
b. Trustee of a Charitable Trust
Trustees play an important role in charitable trusts. A trustee of can only be a charitable organization or trust company. The former is a legal person registered or recognized as a charitable organization in accordance with the provisions of the Charity Law and the Measures for the Accreditation of Charitable Organizations. The latter is a professional financial institution that is approved by the CBRC and currently working with trusts.
[Difference between charitable organizations and trust companies] Charitable organizations and trust companies differ from each other in their role as trustees:
As mentioned above, these two types of institutions are legal persons with different legal standing;
They are managed by different regulators. If a trust company acts as the trustee of a charitable trust, it is supervised by the Civil Affairs Department and the CBRC. If a charitable organization acts as the trustee of a charitable trust, it is likewise supervised by the Civil Affairs Department, but under a different division;
Both have their own advantages. Charitable organizations are superior in the implementation of charitable projects and accruing social influence, while trust companies perform better in asset management. Therefore, trust companies are usually employed as investment managers for charitable trusts, whereas charitable organizations typically serve as trustees. Non-profit organizations are generally employed as project executors in situations where trust companies are serving as trustees.
[Rights of a trustee] The quintessential right of a trustee is the ownership of trust property, transferred to them by the trustee. Neither the Charity Law nor the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts explicitly state that trustees can obtain trust management fees; however, in practice trust management fees are usually specified in trust contracts.
[Obligations of a trustee] According to the Charity Law and the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts, the statutory obligations of the trustee include:
Applying for the recording of charitable trusts. The trustee shall, within seven days from the date of signing a charitable trust document, report to the Civil Affairs Department of the people's government at or above the county level where the trustee resides for recording;
Fulfill all trustee-related duties. Trustees, in managing the property of charitable trusts, shall carry out their responsibilities honestly and in alignment with the purpose of the trust. They shall manage trust property in accordance with the stipulations of the trust contract and implement agreed-upon trust property management methods. Trustees shall handle all trust affairs in-person. However, if there are extraordinary circumstances or if allowances are made in the trust contract, a trustee may entrust others to handle such affairs on their behalf.
Be faithful. The trustee of a charitable trust shall be loyal to the trustor's requirements and carry out their duties in the trust's best interest. The Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts stipulates that trustees must not take advantage of trust property (e.g. by using it to generate profits for themselves); they are, however, allowed to obtain remuneration as applicable. The property of a charitable trust differs from the property owned by a trustee (inherent property), who shall not seek to possess it as such. Trustees may not conduct transactions that involve inherent property or the property of the trust they are managing, nor can they facilitate transactions involving the trust property assets of different trustors. The only exception is in circumstances when trust documents prescribe otherwise or the trustor approves such transactions insofar as they are made at fair market prices.
Manage trust property. A trustee must separately manage and record both charitable trust property and their own inherent property. They shall also separately manage the property of different charitable trusts by keeping separate accounts. For money trusts, commercial banks should be employed as custodians, and special accounts should be opened for charitable trust funds. For non-money trusts, concerned parties may ask third-parties to keep trust property;
Information disclosure. The trustee of a charitable trust is obligated to disclose all necessary information to the trustor, beneficiaries, trust supervisor (if applicable), Civil Affairs Department, and the public;
Liquidation. When a charitable trust terminates, the trustee is obliged to oversee the trust's liquidation and issue a liquidation report.
[Joint trustee] There is no provision on the number of trustees for charitable trusts in the Charity Law. The Trust Law, however, stipulates that "if there are more than two trustees for the same trust, they are joint trustees. The joint trustees shall handle trust affairs together, but if trust documents prescribe that some specific affairs shall be handled by the trustees separately, those provisions shall be followed." The Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts states the obligation of joint trustees to record their trust as follows: "Where the same charitable trust has two or more trustees, the trustor shall ask one of the trustees that are primarily responsible for the management of the trust to undergo recording formalities under the chapter. The Civil Affairs Department where the recording formalities are undergone shall share the recorded information with the Civil Affairs Departments of the people's governments at or above the county level in the places where other trustees are located."
c. Non-specific Beneficiaries of Charitable Trusts
A beneficiary may be a natural person, a legal person or organization. As mentioned above, the biggest difference between charitable trusts and other trusts concerns the uncertainty of beneficiaries. The Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts stipulates that a trustor must not designate as a beneficiary any whose interests are related to the trustor or trustee.
Since beneficiaries are non-specific, their rights cannot be protected by trust contracts. The Charity Law and the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts prescribe the rights and interests of beneficiaries:
Allow the appointment of a supervisor to protect the rights and interests of beneficiaries: "The trust supervisor oversees acts of the trustee, safeguarding the rights and interests of the trustor and beneficiaries in accordance with the law."
Require the incorporation of beneficiaries in trust documents to include "the scope of beneficiaries and procedures and methods for selecting beneficiaries" and the "ways and methods by which beneficiaries obtain trust proceeds."
Allow changes to the beneficiaries only with agreement from the original trustor or through trust documents. The scope of beneficiaries and the procedures and methods for selecting beneficiaries may be changed only as agreed in trust documents or with the consent of the original trustor.
d. Optional Appointment of Charitable Trust Supervisors
Article 49 (1) of the Charity Law provides that trustors of charitable trusts may appoint trust supervisors as needed. The Charity Law makes the appointment of a trust supervisor no longer a mandatory requirement.
[Duties of supervisors] According to the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts, a supervisor oversees the behavior of a trust's trustee to safeguard the rights and interests of the trustor and its beneficiaries. If supervisors discover that trustees have violated their obligations or are having difficulty performing their duties, they shall report such situations to the trustor, who can choose to take legal action as deemed necessary.
In addition to the statutory duties of supervisors, the parties to a charitable trust may agree on other supervisory powers in trust documents.
e. Banks as Custodians of Trust Property
Since the property of a charitable trust needs to be separated from the trustee's inherent property, the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts specifies that "a certificate on the opening of a special fund account for a charitable trust and a funds custody agreement of a commercial bank (except for non-money trusts)" should be submitted for recording. Therefore, if a trust's property is money, a special fund account shall be opened at the bank serving as the trust's custodian. If such property is not money, a bank shall act as a general custodian and create an account to ensure the trust property's independence.
f. Professional Charitable Trust Investment Manager
The investment manager of a charitable trust is usually a financial institution with asset management capabilities. An investment manager invests the trust's property or offers advice on how to do so according to the trust documents. If a trust company acts as the trustee, it is not necessary to hire an investment manager. If a charitable organization with insufficient investment experience acts as the trustee, an investment manager can be hired to help preserve and increase the value of trust property.
g. Non-profit Organizations as Project Executors of Charitable Trusts
The project executor of a charitable trust is oftentimes a professional non-profit organization responsible for designing and implementing public welfare projects or offering advice on the implementation.
(2) Establishment, Management, and Operation of a Charitable Trust
a. Establishment of a Charitable Trust
The establishment of a charitable trust requires qualified trust parties, a charitable purpose, lawful sources of trust property, written trust documents, and a lawful recording. The process of establishing a charitable trust includes the initiation of charitable trusts, conclusion of charitable trust contracts, transfer of trust property ownership, and the trust's recording.
[Elements of charitable trust documents] Charitable trusts may be established through trust contracts, wills, or other written documents prescribed by laws and administrative regulations. The Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts and the Circular on the Recording of Charitable Trusts stipulate the content of a trust document: (1) The name of the charitable trust; (2) The purpose of the charitable trust; (3) The names, designations, and domiciles of the trustor and the trustee, along with the name, designation, and domicile of the supervisor, if any; (4) The scope of beneficiaries and the procedures and methods for their selection; (5) The scope, type, status, and management methods of trust property; (6) The proportion or amount of annual expenses; (7) The content and method of information disclosure; (8) The form and means in which beneficiaries obtain the trust's interests; (9) The rates and methods for the collection of trust compensation.[4]
[Recording of a charitable trust] The Charity Law stipulates that "the trustee shall, within seven days from the date of signing a charitable trust document, report to the Civil Affairs Department of the people's government at or above the county level where the trustee resides for recording. Those who fail to submit relevant documents to the Civil Affairs Department for recording shall not enjoy any tax preferences." According to statements in the Charity Law, the recording of charitable trusts is a condition for enjoying tax preferences. Charitable trusts do not have to be recorded, but tax preferences are unavailable if they are not recorded. The recording of charitable trusts should be a requirement for establishing and standardizing them, according to statements in the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts.
[Regulation on the recording of charitable trusts] The Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts specifies the departments responsible for recording. When a trust company serves as the trustee, the Civil Affairs Department in the city of registration shall be responsible for recording. When a charitable organization serves as the trustee, the Civil Affairs Department that approved its registration and accredited it shall be responsible for recording.
b. Changes in a Charitable Trust
Changes in charitable trusts include the changing of trustees and changing of a trust's terms.
The Trust Law stipulates that "the regulatory agency of public undertakings shall change the trustee if the trustee of a public trust violates trust obligations or does not have the capacity to perform its duties". That means the law authorizes the regulatory agency to change the trustee. The Charity Law, however, states that "where the trustee of a charitable trust violates trust obligations or has difficulty performing its duties, the trustor may change the trustee. Within seven days of the change, the trustee shall report the change to the Civil Affairs Department where the trust was originally recorded to make a new record." The Charity Law grants the trustor the right to change the trustee. The Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts further describes the circumstances in which the trustee can be changed: "Where the trustee of a charitable trust violates its duties set out in trust documents or disbands unlawfully, loses legal qualifications, is revoked or declared bankrupt (or there are other circumstances where the trustee finds it hard to perform its duties), the trustor may change the trustee."
The trustor and trustee may agree to change the terms of trust contracts. In addition, the following items may be changed in accordance with the stipulations of the trust documents or with the consent of the original trustor: (1) Adding trustors; (2) Adding trust property; (3) Changing the scope of trust beneficiaries and the procedures and methods for their selection; (4) Other circumstances required by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Banking Supervision Institution of the State Council. Changes shall be reported to the Civil Affairs Department where the trust was originally recorded.
c. Termination of a Charitable Trust
[Causes for termination of a charitable trust] A charitable trust shall terminate under one of the following circumstances: (1) One of the causes prescribed in the trust documents is fulfilled; (2) The trust violates its original purpose; (3) The purpose of the trust has been fulfilled and there is no more reason for it existing; (4) The parties of the trust agree to do so after negotiation; (5) The trust is withdrawn; (6) The trust is rescinded.
[Notice on the termination of a charitable trust] When a charitable trust terminates, the trustee shall prepare a liquidation report and submit it to the Civil Affairs Department where the trust was recorded within 30 days. After submission, the trustee shall make a public announcement. If a trust supervisor is being used, a liquidation report shall be approved by the supervisor in advance.
[Principle of similar purposes] If no person or non-specific public entity has the right to own a trust's property when it is terminated, the trustee shall continue to use such property in accordance with its original purpose or transfer the property to another trust or organization with a similar purpose. This behavior requires the approval of the Civil Affairs Department where the charitable trust was recorded.
1.3 Current Tax Policy for Charitable Trusts
China's lacks a tax system for trusts. The Trust Law, Administrative Measures for Trust and Investment Companies, and Interim Measures for the Management of Money of Trust and Investment Companies contain no provisions on trust taxes. The Charity Law and the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts likewise have not made any specific tax provisions for charitable trusts. Thus, there are really no legal provisions on tax policies for charitable trusts. Moreover, charitable trusts are neither legal persons nor organizations as such. Under the current tax system, charitable trusts are not subject to taxation and are simply considered accounting subjects.
Concerning tax incentives, the Charity Law stipulates that charitable trusts shall be entitled to tax preferences. The Charity Law prescribes that "the trustee shall, within seven days from the date of signing a charitable trust document, report to the Civil Affairs Department of the people's government at or above the county level where the trustee resides for recording. Those who fail to submit relevant documents for recording shall not enjoy any tax preferences." The "Promotion Measures" chapter in the Charity Law stipulates that, "where natural persons, legal persons and other organizations donate property for use in charitable activities, they receive tax benefits in accordance with the law."
The tax system of charitable trusts primarily involves the establishment, continuation, and termination of trusts.
a. Establishment of a Trust
When a trustor transfers property to a trustee for use in charity work, a charitable trust has been established. In the establishment of a trust, the plan of a business trust does not involve taxes, such as the capital gains tax. In charitable trusts, trustors donate property for charitable purposes, and so should be entitled to tax preferences in accordance with provisions of the Charity Law. That means trust property can be "tax deductible". No corresponding tax incentives are provided in the existing tax policy.
b. Continuation of a Trust
During the continuation of a trust, the trustee manages property in accordance with the corresponding trust contract and legal provisions, in order to preserve and increase its value. Income from the investment of such property is not subject to taxation, given that neither trust plans nor charitable trusts are subject to tax payments. When investing in trust property as part of a trust plan or charitable trust, the trustee shall pay value-added tax and income tax[5]. The method payment is based on the type of investment and the relevant taxation regulations.
During project execution, when trust property is allocated to beneficiaries or non-profit organizations, tax incentives are not put in place for recipients, despite regulations to the contrary in the Charity Law. Thus, if institutional beneficiaries are entitled to tax exemptions targeted at non-profit organizations, their donation income is subject to tax incentives and can thus be exempted from paying corporate income taxes. Institutional beneficiaries that do not qualify for tax exemptions targeted at non-profit organizations should pay corporate income tax. For individual beneficiaries, the trustee shall withhold and pay personal income taxes.
c. Termination of a Trust
After the termination of a charitable trust, the trustee may continue to use the trust's property for its original purpose or transfer the trust property to another trust or organization with a similar purpose, pending approval from the Civil Affairs Department where the trust was recorded.[6] This section also deals with the collection of income tax from beneficiaries, which is consistent with the implementation of the charitable trust project described above.
2. Practical Guide
2.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Charitable Organizations and Trust Companies as Trustees
Charitable Organization as the Trustee
Trust Company as the Trustee
The Civil Affairs Department which approved its registration and accredited it shall be responsible for recording
The Civil Affairs Department in the city of the trust's registration shall be responsible for recording
Project Operation
Experienced in the operation of charitable projects
Inexperienced in the operation of charitable projects
Overall Strength of the Institution That Operates a Trust Business
Weak and lacks the experience and talent needed to operate a trust business
Brand and Credibility
High credibility with strong influence as a charitable brand
Low credibility and low social recognition
(Trust companies are for-profit organizations, so their ability to run charitable trusts is questionable)
Limited clients, mainly from the charity sector
Many clients who have high interest in charity
Asset Management Capability
Inexperienced in preserving and increasing the value of assets
Strong asset management capabilities; has ability to increase the value of charitable trust property
No preferential tax policy in place; despite the policy problems regarding tax incentives for charitable trusts, foundations and civil society groups that meet relevant conditions among charitable organizations are still entitled to tax deductions for charitable donations, while charitable organizations as trustees are more likely to enjoy tax incentives
No preferential tax policy in place; the trustors and donors of charitable trusts cannot enjoy the same tax benefits as donors of non-profit organizations, since preferential tax policies for charitable trusts have not been put in place
2.2 Comparison Between Charitable Trusts, Foundations, and Special Funds
A trustor can contribute to the public welfare by establishing charitable trusts, foundations, or special funds. These three ways of doing charity work are compared as follows:
Establishment Method
Established through complicated procedures with the approval of the Civil Affairs Department [7]and the registration authority
Signing of a special fund establishment agreement with a foundation
Recording by the Civil Affairs Department[8]. The recording system is adopted for the establishment of charitable trusts
Start-up Capital
The minimum start-up capital for a national public-raising foundation, local public-raising foundation, and private foundation is RMB 8 million, RMB 4 million, and RMB 2 million respectively[9]
Specific regulations of the foundation shall apply
There is no limit on the size of a trust or the amount of trust property
Supervision Mechanism
Civil Affairs Department and professional supervisory unit (in the case of dual management)
Information disclosure and annual reporting
Civil Affairs Department
Foundation that set up the special fund
Other supervision mechanisms as stipulated in a special fund establishment agreement
Trustor
Trust company as the trustee: Civil Affairs Department in the city of the registration location and the CBRC
Charitable organization as the trustee: Civil Affairs Department which approved its registration and accredited it, and the trust supervisor (if needed)
Donated Property Account Management
A foundation has only one bank account and its funds are differentiated based on the range of charitable projects and special funds
A special fund does not have a separate account, and its income and expenses should be fully included in the account of the foundation that it belongs to
For money trusts, a commercial bank should be employed as a custodian; for non-money trusts, a third party should be asked for safekeeping[10]
Preservation and Increase of Donated Property
1) Legitimate process (council resolution + report on important matters)
2) Government-funded property and property that is not allowed for investment in a donation agreement shall not be used for investment;
3) Responsible persons and staff may not work part-time for or receive remuneration from companies in which charitable organizations invest
The value of a special fund shall be preserved and increased in accordance with the legal provisions on foundations, the foundation's rules, and the special fund establishment agreement
Applicable to low-risk assets such as bank deposits, government bonds, central bank bills, financial bonds, and money market funds, unless otherwise agreed by the trustors or trust companies[11]
Taxes in Donated Property Management
Income from investment is subject to income tax
Taxes from special funds are handled by foundations
Trust plans are contractual products and unincorporated organizations do not need to pay income tax
Donation Receipts
Donation receipts can be issued after being claimed
Donation receipts are issued by foundations
Donation receipts cannot be issued directly; foundations often help charitable trusts issue donation receipts designed for public welfare undertakings
High operating costs;
high housing and human costs[12], in which human costs are a major contributor to operating costs.
Low operating costs
Low operating costs;
for a charitable trust, its trustee's management fees and supervisor's remuneration shall not exceed eight one- thousandths of the total amount of charitable trust property each year.[13]
Restrictions on Spending and Costs
The salaries and benefits of staff and the administrative expenses of a foundation shall not exceed 10% of the total expenditure of the current year[14];
other spending and costs shall comply with the Regulations on Annual Expenditures and Administrative Expenses of Charitable Organizations in Carrying Out Charitable Activities
The spending and costs generally do not exceed 10% of the total annual expenditure of a special fund according to a special fund establishment agreement
Minimum Amount for Operation
The Civil Affairs Department requires that the net assets of a foundation at the end of the year should not be less than its registered capital
This is generally stipulated by the internal rules of a foundation and a special fund establishment agreement
There are no relevant provisions
Donors' Control
Donors can serve as members of the council and responsible persons in a foundation, thereby controlling the foundation to some degree.
The rights of the sponsors of special funds are specified in a special fund establishment agreement; sponsors, along with foundations, determine the development direction and public welfare projects of special funds
As trustors of a charitable trust, donors have the right to choose the trustee, change the rights of the trustee, remain informed about the operation of the trust, choose a trust supervisor, and obtain the reports by supervisors on the progress of charitable activities.
Chapter 10 Information Disclosure
1. Information Disclosure ABC
1.1 Systems for Gathering and Releasing Charity Information
Article 69 (1) of the Charity Law stipulates that government bodies at or above the county level shall establish a system for collecting and releasing charity information. The Civil Affairs Departments of such governments shall disclose charity informationxx to the public in a timely manner by way of a unified information platform, as well as provide charity information release services for free. Charitable organizations and the trustees of charitable trusts shall release reliable charity information on the platform stipulated above. The article confirms that these governments are responsible for collecting and releasing charity information. All duties shall be performed by the corresponding Civil Affairs Department, who will also, along with charitable organizations and the trustees of charitable trusts, release charity information.
Systems for gathering and releasing charity information involve coordination among Civil Affairs Departments, statistical departments, and other relevant government departments. These systems not only help regulate and guide information disclosure by charitable organizations, but also ensure their transparency. Once the systems for collecting and releasing charity information are in place, Civil Affairs Departments will begin building the platform needed to publish charity information. They have already built information disclosure platforms with different functions to make charity information and statistics public. Unfortunately, these platforms release scattered information and cannot ensure the integrity, professionalism, authoritativeness, nor timeliness of the released information. Thus, it was necessary to build a single, combined information disclosure platform to allow the public to more easily search for charity information, and to enable governments to collect and analyze data, conduct investigations, and develop charity sector policies. On September 4, 2017, "Charity China" (cszg365.com), a nationwide charity information disclosure platform, was officially launched. This platform was built by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. It reflects the requirement in the Charity Law that participants in charitable activities, charitable organizations, and the trustees of charitable trusts disclose charity information to the public.
1.2 Information Disclosure Obligation of Civil Affairs Departments and Other Relevant Departments
a) The Charity Law Requires Civil Affairs Departments and Other Departments to Publicize Charity Information.
According to Article 70 of the Charity Law, Civil Affairs Departments and other relevant governmental departments shall ensure the timely publication of the following charity information:
(1) Registration information of charitable organizations;
(2) Records of charitable trusts;
(3) The list of charitable organizations with public fund-raising qualifications;
(4) The list of charitable organizations qualified to receive pre-tax deduction receipts for their public interest donations;
(5) Details of preferential tax rates, financial aid, subsidies and other promotional measures for charitable activities;
(6) Information regarding purchasing services from charitable organizations;
(7) Result of any inspections or evaluations of charitable organizations or trusts;
(8) Result of any commendations or penalties of charitable organizations or other organizations and individuals;
(9) Any other information required by other laws and regulations.
The above charity information is important to the management and supervision of charitable activities. In addition, Civil Affairs Departments are obliged to make a public announcement if they revoke the registration certificates of charitable organizations due to violations. To urge such Departments and others to perform their supervisory duties, Article 108 of the Charity Law stipulates that if they or other departmental staff fail to disclose the required information, they will be ordered to make corrections or be punished in accordance with the Civil Servant Law.
b) The Regulations on the Disclosure of Government Information[15] Stipulate That Government Departments Shall Fulfill the Obligation of Information Disclosure.
Charity information is considered government information if relevant governmental departments prepare or obtain it during the performance of their duties and record it accordingly. Based on the Regulations on the Disclosure of Government Information, such information—e.g. basic information about charitable organizations and data on charitable activities—should be made public. Civil Affairs Departments are departments for the registration, accreditation, and supervision of charitable organizations and the recording of charitable trusts and public donation projects, and are thus responsible for publicizing charity information. In addition to these departments, those managing matters concerning finance, tax, and statistics also have access to charity information and must publicize charity information within the scope of their respective duties.
c) Rules on the Disclosure of Credit Information of Social Organizations.
According to Article 6 of the Administrative Measures for Credit Information of Social Organizations[16], the credit information of social organizations includes information on organization details, annual reports, administrative inspections, administrative penalties, and more. The details of an organization include its registration, accreditation, approval, and recording. Annual report information is the annual work report that a social organization prepares and makes public. Administrative inspection information refers to information that Civil Affairs Departments and other relevant government departments develop when inspecting and supervising social organizations. Administrative punishment information includes the types and results of administrative penalties imposed on social organizations, records of illegal acts, the basis for and time of punishments, and the information of departments that impose administrative punishments. Other forms of information not mentioned include the assessment levels and validity periods of social organizations, commendations and rewards obtained from relevant government departments, matters regarding the undertaking of government procurement services or other entrusted services, qualifications for the collection of public donations, tax deductions for charitable donations, and other information related to the credit of social organizations. The above social organization credit information is collected and recorded into social organization information management systems by Civil Affairs Departments, which compile lists of social organizations involved in abnormal activities and which have violated laws and broken trust.
To expedite the establishment of a credit system in the charity sector, 40 government departments and public institutions, including the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), People's Bank of China, Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Central Civilization Office, signed the Memorandum of Cooperation on Encouraging Faithful Acts and Punishing Unfaithful Acts Jointly for Entities Receiving Charitable Donations[17] on February 11, 2018. The Memorandum explicitly requires all parties to provide lists of entities to be encouraged and rewarded for their faithful acts and lists of those to be punished for their unfaithful acts. They must also update their information in accordance with relevant provisions and release it on "Credit China" (creditchina.gov.cn), "Charity China" (cszg365.com), National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn), and the portal website of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The following types of charity participants are entitled to joint incentives: charitable organizations that have been registered or accredited by a Civil Affairs Department and are rated 4A or above, and donors (natural persons, legal persons, and unincorporated organizations) with good donation track records who have made exceptional contributions to poverty alleviation. Charity participants subject to joint punishment are natural persons, legal persons, and unincorporated organizations that have committed dishonest acts. These include: (1) Charitable organizations added by Civil Affairs Departments to lists of social organizations that have seriously violated laws and broken trust; (2) Legal representatives and persons directly in charge of the aforementioned organizations; (3) Donors who are dishonest in their donation activities and who have been held accountable by the people's courts; (4) Beneficiaries who are dishonest in accepting donations from charitable organizations and who have been held accountable by the people's courts.
1.3 Information Disclosure Obligation of Charitable Organizations and Trustees of Charitable Trusts
a. General Information That Charitable Organizations Make Public
According to Article 72 of the Charity Law, charitable organizations shall publicly disclose their Articles of Association, information about the members of decision-making parties, implementation and oversight bodies, annual work reports, financial accounting reports, and other information that the Civil Affairs Department under the State Council requires. This kind of information is called "general information", as it must be made public by all charitable organizations. The Measures for Information Disclosure by Charitable Organizations (Draft for Soliciting Opinions) detail the disclosure of general information and put emphasis on the information disclosure obligations of charitable organizations. For example, Article 4 of the Draft for Soliciting Opinions stipulates that charitable organizations shall disclose information about their founders, major donors, institutional directors, managerial personnel, investees, and other individuals or organizations with control over them on information disclosure platforms within 30 days of it becoming available. While the Charity Law does present a general description of the obligations of charitable organizations to disclose general information, it also omits many of the specific provisions governing this legal area. To ensure the implementation of relevant legal provisions, it is necessary to develop administrative measures for information disclosure by charitable organizations. In preparing the Draft for Soliciting Opinions, stricter requirements for information disclosure by charitable organizations are more likely to increase the burden on them.
b. Disclosure of Information to Specific Individuals or Entities
Charitable organizations may disclose information in the following circumstances: 1) When charitable organizations carry out targeted donations, the organizations shall inform donors of their management and use in a timely manner. Though Article 74 of the Charity Law does not specify how or when charitable organizations should make such notifications, those organizing targeted donations shall maintain effective communication with donors to ensure effectiveness; 2) Charitable organizations should inform beneficiaries of funding standards, work processes, and work regulations. As this kind of information is closely related to the interests of beneficiaries, Article 75 of the Charity Law grants beneficiaries the right to know about it. Therefore, charitable organizations shall not decline to disclose or hide such information.
c. Information Disclosure by Charitable Organizations Qualified for Public Fund-raising
According to Article 73 (1) of the Charity Law, charitable organizations qualified for public fund-raising shall make public information about donations and the implementation of charitable projects. When public donations last for more than six months, information about donations should be publicized at least once every three months, and all relevant information shall be disclosed within three months after the donations have ceased. When charitable projects last for more than six months, information about the implementation of the projects shall be publicized at least once every three months, and all information about the implementation and use of donations shall be disclosed within three months after the projects are concluded.
When charitable organizations carry out public fund-raising through the Internet, they shall publish their fund-raising information on the information disclosure platform required by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, or on a designated charity information disclosure platform. The unified information disclosure platform required by the Ministry of Civil Affairs refers to a special donation information disclosure platform, not the "unified information platform" mentioned in Article 69 of the Charity Law. In addition, charitable organizations are allowed to use their own web portals, official micro-blogs, official WeChat accounts, mobile clients, and other network platforms to publish fund-raising information, according to Article 16 of the Administrative Measures for Public Donations by Charitable Organizations.
According to the Charity Law, different entities have varied information disclosure obligations, as detailed in the table below:
Content to Be Disclosed
Charitable Organization Without Qualifications for Public Fund-raising
Donors in targeted fund-raising
Information about targeted fund-raising and the management and use of donations.
Self-built official website or offline notification.
Information such as funding standards, work processes, and work regulations.
(1) Articles of Association and information about the members of decision-making parties, as well as implementation and oversight bodies;
(2) Annual work report and financial accounting report;
(3) Significant changes to the aforesaid information.
Unified information disclosure platform required by the local government, "Charity China" (cszg365.com), and self-built official websites.
Charitable Organization with Qualification for Public Fund-raising
(3) Significant changes to the aforesaid information;
(4) Information about fund-raising and the implementation of charitable projects.
Unified information disclosure platform required by the local government, "Charity China" (cszg365.com), internet public donation information platforms, and self-built official websites.
Civil Affairs Department and Other Relevant Departments
(1) Registration of charitable organizations;
(2) Record of charitable trusts;
(3) A list of charitable organizations qualified for the collection of public donations;
(4) A list of charitable organizations qualified to issue tax deduction receipts for public welfare donations;
(5) Measures for promoting charitable activities, such as tax preferences and subsidies;
(6) Information on the purchase of services from charitable organizations;
(7) Result of investigations into and the assessment of charitable organizations and trusts;
(8) Commendations and punishments of charitable organizations, other organizations, and individuals;
(9) Other information that should be disclosed as prescribed by laws and regulations.
"Charity China" (cszg365.com) and unified information disclosure platforms required by Civil Affairs Departments at all levels.
Below is a comparison of different information disclosure requirements for charitable organizations and foundations, social service organizations, and civil society groups that do not have the attributes of a charitable organization.
Entity Content to Be Disclosed Relevant Legal Provisions
Charitable Organization
(4) Information about targeted fund-raising and the management and use of donations;
(5) Information such as funding standards, work processes, and work regulations;
(6) Information about fund-raising and the implementation of charitable projects (for charitable organizations qualified for public fund-raising).
Articles 72, 73, 74, and 75 of the Charity Law
Foundation That Does Not Have Attributes of a Charitable Organization
(2) Information on public welfare funding projects, including types, applications, assessment procedures, and the assessment results of public welfare projects; this also includes assessment results (if any) concerning the use of funds after the conclusion of the projects;
Articles 4, 7, and 12 of the Foundation Information Disclosure Methods[18]
(3) Information such as the establishment and termination of a special fund, management framework, and personnel information, all of which should be disclosed promptly in accordance with relevant laws and regulations;
Article 4 of the Circular of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Further Strengthening the Management of Special Funds of Foundations[19]
(4) Detailed information about the income and expenditures of public donations received in the case of emergencies, such as natural disasters, which should be published on an organization's official website and in other media. Such information includes: donation income, donations directly used by recipients, and direct operating expenses related to public welfare projects. If a staff's remuneration, benefits, and administrative expenses are itemized under donated income, such information shall also be published. Where public welfare projects last for more than three months, relevant information should be publicized once every three months and all relevant items shall be disclosed after the projects are concluded;
(5) A foundation should make public the following information: 1) Founders; 2) Major donors; 3) Institutional directors; 4) Investees of the foundation; 5) Individuals or organizations that have control over foundations; 6) Transactions between the foundation and the aforesaid individuals or organizations;
(6) Internal rules of the foundation, which shall be made public on the media designated by the registration authority, a self-built website, or other media easily accessible to the public.
Items 3, 6, and 7 of Article 3 of Several Provisions on Regulating Actions of Foundations (for Trial Implementation)[20]
Social Service Agency That Does Not Have Attributes of Charitable Organizations
(1) Information about the acceptance and use of donations and subsidies, which should be made public;
Article 22 of the Interim Regulations on Registration Administration of Private Non-enterprise Units
(2) Registration certificate, organization code certificate, and other information such as the Articles of Association (or their summary), service items, and fee standards, which should be made public by hanging them on walls at a conspicuous location in the domicile (or service site);
(3) Annual work report, which shall be made public on the website (media) designated by the registration and administration authority.
Item 3 of Article 2 of the Opinions of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Deepening Information Disclosure and Commitment Service Activities of Private Non-enterprise Units[21]
Civil Society Group That Does Not Have Attributes of Charitable Organizations
(1) Information about the acceptance and use of donations and subsidies, which should be reported to the relevant professional supervisory unit and made public promptly;
(2) Report on the previous year's work, which shall be submitted to a professional supervisory unit prior to March 31 each year; the report also needs preliminary approval from a professional supervisory unit, which can be obtained by submitting the report to one prior to May 31 for annual inspection.
Articles 26 and 28 of the Administrative Regulations on the Registration of Social Organizations
[1]The Trust Law stipulates that "The establishment of a public trust and the appointment of trustees shall be subject to the approval of the regulatory agency of relevant public undertakings (hereinafter referred to as regulatory agency of public undertakings). One must not conduct activities in the name of public trust without the approval of the regulatory agency of public undertakings." However, no document has explained the "regulatory agency of public undertakings".
[2]Article 2 of the Trust Law
[3]Article 3 of the Charity Law
[4]The elements of a charitable trust set out in the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts and the Circular on the Recording of Charitable Trusts are basically the same. This manual uses expressions in the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts.
[6]Article 43 of the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts
[7]Articles 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the Regulations for the Management of Foundations
[8]Article 45 of the Charity Law
[9]Article 8 of the Regulations for the Management of Foundations
[10]Article 28 of the Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts
[12]Article 8 of the Charity Law
[13]Article 3 of the Circular on Encouraging Trust Companies to Conduct Public Trust Business to Support Post-disaster Reconstruction (2008)
[14]Article 29 of the Regulations for the Management of Foundations
[15]Regulations on the Disclosure of Government Information, which was adopted at the 165th executive meeting of the State Council on January 17, 2007 and which came into force on May 1, 2008.
[16]Regulation on Social Organization Credit Information Management, which was adopted at the ministerial affairs meeting of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on January 12, 2018 and entered into force on January 24, 2018.
[17]Memorandum of Cooperation on Encouraging Faithful Acts and Punishing Unfaithful Acts Jointly for Entities Receiving Charitable Donations, released on February 11, 2018 and which took effect on the same day.
[18]Foundation Information Disclosure Methods, which was released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on January 12, 2006 and which became effective on the same day.
[19]Circular of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Further Strengthening the Management of Special Funds of Foundations, which was released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and became effective on December 24, 2015.
[20]Several Provisions on Regulating Actions of Foundations (for Trial Implementation), which were issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on July 10, 2012 and took effect on the same day.
[21]Opinions of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Deepening Information Disclosure and Commitment Service Activities of Private Non-enterprise Units, which was released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on September 30, 2007 and became effective on the same day.
xvi Public Trust - A type of trust that is specifically provided by the trust law and corresponds to a private trust, and refers generally to a trust that is established for public interest. According to Article 60 of the Trust Law, "A trust established for any of the following purposes of public interests is a public trust: (1) Helping poor people; (2) Helping disaster victims; (3) Assisting the disabled; (4) Developing education, technology, culture, art and physical education undertakings; (5) Developing medical and sanitation undertakings; (6) Developing environment protection undertakings and maintaining the environment; and (7) Developing other public undertakings of the society."
xvii Trustor - the person who entrusts certain property rights it owns to the trustee to establish a trust.
xviii Trustee - the person who promises to accept the trust, holds trust property, and manages or disposes of trust property.
xix Trust Beneficiary - the person who enjoys the beneficial right and trust interests.
xx Charity Information - According to Article 70 of the Charity Law, the civil affairs departments and other relevant departments shall first make public the following charity information:
(3) The list of charitable organizations with public fund-raising qualification;
(4) The list of charitable organizations qualified for pre-tax deduction receipts for public interest donations;
(7) Results of any inspections and evaluations of charitable organizations and charitable trusts;
(8) Results of any commendations or penalties of charitable organizations or other organizations and individuals;
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text:
Car Ownership and Access to Jobs in Spain
XREAP No. 2008-03
21 Pages Posted: 25 May 2011
See all articles by Anna Matas
Anna Matas
Autonomous University of Barcelona
Josep Lluís Raymond
Josep-Lluís Roig
Date Written: April 1, 2008
This study analyses the impact that job accessibility in public transport has on car ownership. An ordered probit explaining the number of cars per household is estimated as a function of head of household characteristics, household characteristics and job accessibility. The data used in the analysis come from the Microcensus of year 2001 of the Spanish Institute of Statistics for the areas of Barcelona and Madrid. Our results show a significant effect of accessibility on car ownership. Additionally, we carried out simulation exercises in which the expected number of vehicles decreases as accessibility improves. For instance, in the case of households living outside the central city, an improvement of accessibility up to the average level of the central city would offset the effect of the number of working adults on the expected number of vehicles.
Keywords: car ownership, job accessibility, public transport
Matas, Anna and Raymond, Josep Lluís and Roig, Josep-Lluís, Car Ownership and Access to Jobs in Spain (April 1, 2008). XREAP No. 2008-03, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1843170 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1843170
Anna Matas (Contact Author)
Autonomous University of Barcelona ( email )
Cerdañola del Valles
Barcelona, Barcelona 08193

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Performer Ultimate FC8955, our first vacuum cleaner in a closed loop recycling system. Old Philips vacuum cleaners are collected in western Europe and recycled by our partner Coolrec. Our partner Veolia mixes the plastics from the recycled vacuum cleaners with other recycled plastics to create a new high quality recycled plastics grade that is used by our factory in Poland to produce the new Performer Ultimate.
Circular economy thinking has resulted in recycled materials becoming an integral part of Philips product design and Performer Ultimate is the first vacuum cleaner that is specifically designed for using recycled plastics. By co-creating with recyclers and suppliers of recycled materials, we are using our combined expertise to improve the quality of materials.
Besides having a great cleaning performance, the Philips Performer Ultimate uses high amounts of recycled plastics amounting to a total of 1.38 kg of recycled plastics per product. The recycled plastics are used in 5 black parts of which the upper and lower housing of the vacuum cleaner are the biggest parts.
The introduction of recycled plastics in the Performer Ultimate is part of our Circular Economy ambition to introduce recycled plastics in as many products as possible. The recycled plastic used is a 95% post-consumer recycled polypropylene.
Consumers often store vacuum cleaner in garages where temperatures can come close to 0 degrees Celsius. This creates an enormous challenge for our suppliers as they need to create a recycled plastics that can withstand a impact tests at zero degrees, which is difficult to achieve even with virgin plastics. As the source of recycled plastics that we used for previous vacuum cleaner was running out of supply, we had to look for a new source for the Performer Ultimate.
By separately recycling Philips vacuum cleaners, we get access to recycled plastics of which we are certain that it can withstand the critical impact tests at zero degrees. Building this new supply chain in cooperation with Coolrec and Veolia required a closed cooperation between all parties that was built on mutual trust and a willingness to succeed.


Heart disease is more common among blood types A and AB although it remains a threat across the board. The main difference is that A's and AB's tend to have more noticeable problems with high cholesterol while O's and B's tend to have higher triglycerides; usually from the overconsumption of carbohydrates. The higher rate of heart disease in A and AB blood type patients can skew the results of dietary studies, which becomes problematic for the patients with other blood types. If 75% of cardiac patients in a study improve with a low fat diet, most researchers don't worry about the other 25%. They simply recommend the low fat diet for all heart disease patients, catering to the majority but not truly benefiting everyone equally. That's why the conventional wisdom about what constitutes a heart healthy diet differs so much from what I recommend for Blood Types O and B.


The West Coast Hepworths have been with us for a week, and Lux still shows no signs of moving to the UK time zone, although she's not on a Californian one.
1 a.m. LUX wakes up ready to play, so WENDY gets up to look after her.
5 a.m. DAVE wakes up. LUX, WENDY and DAVE hang out.
6 a.m. SUE wakes up. WENDY goes to bed to sleep.
6 a.m. - 8 a.m. SUE and LUX play.
8 a.m. LUX goes to bed. ISAAC and CECE wake up.
8 a.m. – 11 a.m. an ADULT plays with CECE.
11 a.m. CECE goes to bed or falls asleep.
11 a.m. – Noon. Free time for all adults who are not asleep.
Noon. CECE wakes up. SOMEONE plays with her.
12.30 p.m. WENDY wakes up.
1 p.m. ISAAC takes a nap.
1 p.m. – 3 p.m. WENDY, SUE, DAVE and CECE hang out/play. ISAAC may or may not wake up and join in.
3.30 p.m.(ish) LUX wakes up. EVERYONE IS AWAKE! Yesterday we walked down the Monsal Trail to Hassop Station Cafe.
3.30 p.m. - 8 p.m. EVERYONE awake in various moods – somnolent, energetic/too tired to walk and needing to be carried, crabby, hungry, happy, desperate, loving, snippy, tipsy, etc. etc.
8 p.m. CECE goes to bed.
9 p.m. LUX and DAVE go to bed.
10 p.m. ISAAC, WENDY AND SUE go to bed.
10 p.m. – Midnight. EVERYONE IS ASLEEP, though CECE sometimes bucks the trend.
Eating is another matter and will not be dealt with here.
Photos, top left and top right: SNAP!
Do you mean Lux and me??


Arnold & Itkin's car accident attorneys recently filed a case on behalf of a hard-working young man who was injured by the reckless actions of another person. Our client was hurt when the defendant ran a red light and crashed into his vehicle. The force of the collision caused our client's car to flip over.
Our client sustained injuries to his neck, back and other parts of his body because of the crash. These types of injuries are typically painful and require extensive medical treatment. His injuries are a lasting reminder of the defendant's failure to respect the laws of the road. Sharing the road means driving in a way that protects the well-being of others. When a driver neglects safety for even a moment, others are forced to pay for the rest of their lives. Arnold & Itkin is proud to represent this young man and will take every step needed to obtain the justice he deserves. The case was filed in Harris County, Texas.


Incident Details: Keswick Team were requested to assist Wasdale MRT with a search for a family group including two teenage children, who were missing on a walk between Seathwaite and Great Langdale, who had been reported overdue. The Team turned out 15 Team members to go on the hill, with two of the Team's Search Dogs, just as the weather deteriorated. Main footpath routes in the area were covered, and just as if it was looking as if a major escalation was necessary, word came though that the party had turned up at Wasdale Head Hotel. Breathing a sigh of relief, the Team began to withdraw from the hill, but…….


The year has started well for me. Since my last update I've been busy working on projects that I'm passionate about and keeping up with my activities outside of the IDE - still dining out too often, and enjoying my music.
In terms of balance between work and play I'm happy with how it's going right now. I get about 12 hours in a good week to work on my own projects in my own way. Because of the nature of the work and my interests, a lot of that is bootstrapping or dev-ops type stuff for a new technology I want to try out. Sometimes that works and I stumble upon a gem.
I'm very happy with my day job. I work with wonderful enthusiastic people on projects that are never static. There's a constant drive for new features and improving the current user flow. There's also a desire to expand on the technologies, keeping up to date and trying new things.
I work for a firm that writes primarily in Java for the Fintech industry in Leicester. A year ago I had no idea about Java's application in the real world. I wasn't confident about systems development in general. A year on and I'm very comfortable with ideas and techniques that thrive in modern software development.
On the main project I'm assigned to, we're in a team of five. It's a fairly sized system, with around forty screens at a rough guess. It uses Angular 4, with plans to upgrade to the latest very soon. After a very large epic we managed to migrate it bit-by-bit from its previous framework AngularJS.
The migration was tough. For months we had the system in a hybrid state, booting both Angular and AngularJS in tandem. Angular allows this with many tools and classes that can help in downgrading components for the previous framework. It would have been very difficult to keep a separate branch whilst maintaining our pace for new features and improvements.
The back-end is a Spring web system, connected via a REST API. Spring makes writing Java a joy, and I can't wait to have an excuse to try the latest version with better support for Kotlin.
I'm very happy with all aspects of my day job. The potential for what's next keeps me excited for every day. I feel lucky to be in this position.
I've got many projects on with a variety of customers in various sectors. Most of them are brochure websites built on WordPress, but I'm also working on a project that might replace my need to depend on it.
I'm far busier than I have been for a while. I'm managing to almost keep up with it all, but the pace I promise myself and others does not match up to the pace at which I can produce.
To fix this I'm trying to collaborate so that I have more freedom and stricter concerns. The last few years I've been fortunate to have learnt from some very experienced senior developers. One of those lessons is escalation. If there's a problem, shout early, and shout often. Seek help, and don't stay stuck for long.
In an ideal world I'd concern myself with the designs of the products, the proposals, the development and a bit of the environment. Dev-ops is a tough one, because the landscape keeps changing as it does for most areas, but the hope is to have something resilient that you can scale. This is often harder in practice.
I would like to have a few areas that I'm less involved in, such as client relations, marketing myself, service and support, acquisition, and especially negotiation. I'm fairly terrible at these, and I sink a lot of time into admin that I struggle to manage.
I've already gone over what I've escalated and started to bring about change on, but there are other areas that stick out like a giant elephant in a cramped room.
Behaviour and Test Driven Development are modern practices that have seen software development methodologies flourish, allowing fast iterations of software and systems development with a high confidence of quality assurance. I don't need to be an advocate this, the results of this in agile teams speak for themselves, loud and rightfully proud.
In my day job I'm working in a fast paced environment, with a fantastic team of Business Analysts that manually assure the quality of a system, as well as providing domain specific knowledge which allows developers to focus on moving fast.
Now there's contention there in two parts. Why is the quality assurance process manual, and why are the developers not concerned with the domain?
In another spate of "things I should be doing that I'm making excuses for not doing", I've yet to properly get stuck into Domain Driven Design. I think I understand its very basic principles, being that the abstractions of your code should match the behavioural goals of your domain.
I work in domain that I don't fully understand. The domain experts make it their job to fill that hole, and the senior developers have got their domain knowledge from osmosis.
In an ideal world a developer would have more or even a complete knowledge of the domain they're working on. How can a developer be expected to write for a system they do not understand?
In the real world a developer must learn from the bottom. If I had been thrown in to the domain of the Fintech industry, there's a very strong chance I wouldn't have thrived. To learn my role as it is was challenging. I don't think I would have been able to contribute or learn to the standard I'm at now with extra pressure.
And the same goes for behavioural and a test driven process.
But at some point soon a I will reach the ceiling of what I'm doing now and will need and want to concern myself with domain knowledge and test driven development.
In my day job, we're constantly growing, as individuals and as a whole, as should any role in any job. One of my key likes about the office in which I work in is the prospect and visibility of change. We try things. Some of them work. On a technical level, and a managerial one.
Personally, I need to embrace the things I'm not doing. Making excuses isn't going to teach me. An understanding, a desire, and a plan followed by action will.
I've improved at managing myself over the year, in planning and action. For my side projects I have embraced Trello and Google Inbox to make sure that I leave no person or action left for too long. This requires planning and strict prioritisation. If an action or person gets left behind, there's a damn good reason.
Tests start with the developer. In my day job, for our next release (I should've probably noted that our specific team works in a Kanban-esque routine) we will put time into getting our pipeline up to scratch, with automated end-to-end tests. We have previously attempted this, and our lessons from that increase the outcome of any future attempt.
Tests aren't sprints. When working with what is in effect a legacy system, you need to spend some time bringing it up to par. There's no excuse for us letting it slide or not adding tests immediately to the features we add. We have a framework now, and we will run with it.
I haven't touched on how to solve the lack of domain knowledge. I haven't given much thought to a solution. Learning by doing works for now, but at some point myself and the developers around me will have to do more to acquire domain knowledge and implement a process.
One of my worst development sins is calling a project or deadline knowing full well I am not going to make the finish line. It's lying to myself, with the hope that the blind confidence will lead me through.
Another one is being very distinct in my analysis. Calling things black and white that are not.
Learning is a series of mistakes whereby you eventually stop making them. For years in my work in and out of the day job I have made mistakes. I don't feel shame for this, but when those mistakes are made again, I do ring the alarm bells.
I didn't used to. I'm shy by nature, and have tendencies to silently fail, without escalation.
This has been the biggest change in my working process and I'm glad to say that my line-manager is now sick of my voice. But I don't often go to them with the same issues. I move up, and find new ones. I learn from the old ones, and help share the knowledge.
This time next year I hope to be in a position where I am asking less questions on development and providing more answers. The questions next year will be on the subjects I've highlighted here: the domain, the development processes, and the managerial practices.
Here's to another one. If it moves as fast as the previous, I'll probably be there before I've caught breath!
This post started as a catch all for my usual updates, but with a bit more detail. It soon turned into a 3,000 word essay, with twelve points merged into a single post.
I've had a few ideas spinning around. The difference now is it's in a system where I can track it. I can review, add notes, and prioritise ideas (go and sign-up for Trello or similar right now - unless you already are).
I took the monolith post and split of the first two headings to present a more coherent series of points.
One of the reasons behind delaying the post was I wanted to showcase what I haven't yet done. I'm happy to say that bar the meta paragraph, all of it is a retrospect, not a flaky promise.
I took the 400 words and by the time I finish writing it'll probably be 1,800. I'm glad I could flesh out some finer points, rather than cram in everything on my mind like a huge word vomit.
I like this model and going forward we'll see how it goes.


Most of the people are sure that perfect holiday is to visit some exotic location, getting tan and enjoying ancient buildings. However each year more and more travelers decide to modify this fashion and better want to explore large capitals in our continent, not always located in the southern part of map.
Which alternative will be better for your requires?
When we are taking whole week off at work it is relevant to have an opportunity to rest a lot during this time. That's why really fascinating concept is to book all inclusive offer in a travel agency to any southern location. Right now the most popular are Greek islands, which may offer plenty of great monuments. You have a lot of options to select. When you wish to have fun even at night Corfu should be the best idea. This is the isle designed for younger people, so many of night clubs are open till the morning. Or maybe you like to explore any European buildings? In that case Bologna and Barcelona will be the most interesting.
If you're not an admirer of hot weather you better think about a journey to Scandinavia, area filled with interesting cities. You can easily arrange it by yourself, or go to travel agency, which are providing all inclusive tours to Norway or Finland for example. Summer is the best season to visit northern lands, then weather in Oslo or Stockholm is perfect, not very hot, but sunny and with no rain.
Especially Iceland may be tempting, in that country you will see great examples of wild nature and astonishing architecture. Also United Kingdom is famous for summer holidays, mainly when you are fan of medieval buildings. You may find many of beautiful castles in Scotland for instance.
← Next vacations in Canada? Good idea!


PRELIMINARY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS HERE ON THE HAWK REPORT.
HERE'S THE FINAL BRAKE DOWN AS SEEN BY THE PRIVATE POLL.
FEAR OF SOCIALISM LIVES TO KILL THE DYING AMERICAN FINANCIAL MARKETS .
THIS ELECTION WILL DECIDE THE DIRECTION OF COUNTRY.
SEE OTHER STORIES AND PREDICTIONS ,HERE.
We need more on this subject.
"CHANGE"OBAMA NEEDS TO HAVE BIDEN TO HAVE A HEALTH PROBLEM AND BAILOUT AS VP AND HAVE HILLARY COME ON BOARD THE TICKET.
THIS WAS REPORT ED EARLIER ON THE WEB SITE.
U. S. SENATORS AND U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SHOULD BE BANNED FROM RUNNING FOR THE PRESIDENT. THEY SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO RESIGN BEFORE THEY CAN RUN. THEY CAN RUN, BUT THEY CAN'T HIDE.
THE VP DANCE: BIDEN vs Hillary IS IN. I DON'T THINK "JOE" CAN LEAD, SO IT'S NO GAIN FOR THE DEMOCRATS.


There are a number of open source CAD designs for living hinges available to download, this is a good place to start especially when in the prototyping phase, then you can tweak the designs as you wish.
We started by testing the great range of designs by the folks over at Instructables, (download their living hinge designs here), to see which design would work well for our project: a self-standing flyer holder. We are working at a reasonably small scale, our flyers are A6 size, so the hinge needed to work on a small scale. We needed to utilise a living hinge to enable the 'lid' of the flyer holder.
Once we cut the Instructables designs from our chosen material (3mm plywood) it was clear that some of the designs did not offer the flexibility required at that scale, so quickly we narrowed it down to two options. We settled on Instructables 'Parametric Kerf #3' (header image). The simplicity of the design and repeating curved shapes offered us a great deal of flexibility without forfeiting too much structural integrity.
Some of the simpler living hinges can make the piece very fragile, and depending on the end use, may not be suitable. Since our flyer holder is going to be moved around and touched by lots of people, we went with quite a tight design that was not easily breakable.
We made a few subtle tweaks to the spacing, (namely elongated the shapes slightly and tightened up the spacing in between) then we designed the ret of our holder to be assembled with finger jointed edges.
A note on grain. Initial testing leads us to believe that the hinge should run along the grain, not across it. This adds more flexibility to the timber, as rather than working against the grain, you are harnessing it's structural composition.
Adding a living hinge element to your project can add interest and more importantly, more possibilities with the materials you use. We highly recommend running a range of tests and prototyping your design first to make sure you achieve the desired result. Get started on your next project by downloading our laser cutting template.
For further information on general laser cutting, please check out our FAQs for some guidelines.


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Ballyhoura Development CLG
Is your Town Age Friendly?
Is your town age-friendly? Are the facilities and services in your town easily accessible to older people?
A significant social change identified by many communities across the Ballyhoura area is one of the 'ageing population'.
Everyone hopes that as they grow older, they will be supported to stay in their own home, be listened to and taken seriously, be able to work or volunteer, enjoy a good social life, and have access to good information and healthcare. Communities are anxious to plan for the future and ensure their communities are physically and social ready to support older people to continue to have a sense of belonging, feel safe and feel valued.
An initiative to develop a network of Age Friendly Towns in Cork is welcomed by Ballyhoura Development. The funding, from Cork County Council, will support towns to become more age friendly so that communities will be great places in which to grow old.
The Age Friendly approach to planning improves life for everyone in the community because environments, services and systems which are designed to be accessible and open to older people also benefit children and young people, their parents and people with disabilities.
Four Age-Friendly towns have already been established in Co Cork, one of which is in the Ballyhoura area - Mitchelstown. Mitchelstown is an example of an Age-Friendly town where initiatives to date have been hugely successful, and underpinning the success has been that the process has been led by older adults in bringing key stakeholders together to prioritise the changes needed and in implementing the changes that are contributing to a better quality of life.
Applications are now being sought from interested towns for Age Friendly status under the County Cork Age Friendly Town Fund. Along with support for the successful towns, funding of €5000 per year, for two years, will be available to enable implementation of the Age Friendly Initiatives.
Application forms are available from Mary Creedon ([email protected] or 021 4285557) or Noelle Desmond ([email protected] or 021 4285161) through the Cork Age Friendly Office.
Closing date for applications is Friday March 27th 2020 at 4pm.
Author: Catherine Smyth
Supporting Parents Information Talk
A suite of information resources for parents on 'how to support my child'.
Start Your Own Business Info Session
An information session with the overview of the initial steps when starting your own business.
Supporting Parents of Children with Anxiety
An evening course starting on the 17th of February for parents to discuss their children's anxieties and how to respond to it.
A morning course starting on the 1st of February for parents to discuss their children's anxieties and how to respond to it.
New Life in Historic Castleconnell Building
LEADER funded Community Centre in Castleconnell is bringing new opportunities for the community.
Christmas Cookery Classes for Women in Kilmallock
Women in Kilmallock took part in Christmas Cookery Classes supported by Ballyhoura Development's East Limerick Traveller Project and Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board.
Ballyhoura Development Receives Mayor's Recognition
Ballyhoura Development has been officially recognised by the Mayor of Co Cork, Cllr Ian Doyle, for its positive contribution and support to local communities throughout the Covid 19 crisis.
Historic Graves on its way to East Limerick
The Historic Graves training project has now completed its work in North Cork and is moving to East Limerick.
Healthcare Opportunities for Women 2021
This programme provides unique and tailored supports to women who have been out of work and want to build the confidence and skills to return to the workplace.
Ballyhoura Afterschool Attendees Keep Busy at Home
Staff at Ballyhoura Development Afterschool Services continue to support children and families who use the service.
Managing Worry & Anxiety in Children & Promoting Wellbeing
Family Support and Information Morning hosted by East Limerick Family Support Network.
Mindfulness & Relaxation
Learn how to practice mindfulness through breathing methods, guided imagery and other practices to relax the body & mind to aid in reducing stress.
Updated Supports for Businesses Impacted by COVID-19
On May 18th 2020, the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation published updated details of supports available to businesses impacted by COVID-19. Available to download here.
Children families and wellbeing community Community development Culture Tourism and Heritage digital skills employment employment supports Enterprise and employment Environmental Sustainability jobs jobs club Lifelong Learning social enterprise tourism volunteer volunteering
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Intuitive, feature-rich, and secure online sports league management
" Boxleague.net is user friendly and efficient way to run squash leagues for any club wishing to operate a league. Support is always there when needed. Highly recommended. "
Brian Wilkins, Huron Oaks Squash Club, Canada
I've forgotten my...
Managing an online sports league should be easier than playing in it.
Finding a professional quality online league management service with all the features needed by the administrator, that can be customized to your club's needs, that's easy for players to use, and where data is secure, can be difficult.
BoxLeague.net is an online service for squash, racquetball, tennis and badminton leagues - in fact for pretty much any sport in which two players or two doubles teams complete against each other. Club administrators can setup and manage their leagues, and players can login to see their league standings, input match results, contact other players, even maintain private notes about past opponents, to help prepare for future matches.
This website has been designed by sports league managers, and implemented by programmers with decades of experience of building industrial-strength software systems. Some of the key features of the system are displayed below, with a complete listing available here.
All new accounts can use the BoxLeague.net service for free for 3 months, without any restrictions on usage. After that the fully functional entry-level service remains free for as long as you want to use it, with some limits on the maximum number of active players, admins and concurrent leagues. For Clubs whose usage exceeds these limits the subscription-based service has a number of different pricing options to suit your Club's needs. Click here for subscription level and pricing information.
OK, sign me up and let's get going!
• Match Scheduling
• Support for both Singles and Doubles
• Fully Customizable Scoring including Cancellations and 'No-Shows' • Customizable Bonus Points for most/all matches played
• View Current and Past League Standings • Easy League 'roll-over' from one period to the next
• Indication of which matches have yet to be played • Automatic League Rank Calculation
• Country and Time Zone Customization
• Match Histories, with Performance Analysis
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See Full Feature List...
Try It Out For Free
Getting started is easy. You can create a new BoxLeague account in a few minutes and start testing the system to see how it works.
The free entry-level service is fully functional - everything that the subscription-based service offers is available. After 3 months there are some restrictions on how many active players and administrators can be enrolled ant any one time, and how many leagues can run concurrently. If you don't need anything more then the free service, congratulations - it carries on being free! If you like the system and do need to upgrade, you can do so at any time. And there's no term commitment - you can cancel your subscription any time you like.
Sign Me Up...
If there's anything you'd like to know about BoxLeague.net that isn't covered here, feel free to drop us a line and ask for more information.
We're always very happy to recieve comments and suggestions about the service, and we rely on input from our users to know what features you like, which need improving, and which need to be added, to make this the best online service available for squash, racquetball and tennis clubs.
Talk to Us...
Every website needs to have an 'About Us' Page, it seems. We can't imagine why you'd have any interest in a bunch of geeks who write software, but if you really want to know more about us, our interest in squash, how we came to build this system, what we had for lunch today, who are we to judge?
We promise that there are no pictures of us. That's the last thing you want to see. Really.
Cheese Sandwiches...
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