A new legislative framework that will govern the conduct of the fundraisers was prepared by the Ministry of Interior and submitted to the Parliament for a vote yesterday. The aim is, on the one hand, to increase transparency and accountability in the conduct of fundraisers and, on the other hand, to ensure that the contributions collected exclusively serve the purpose of the fundraiser.
The cause and occasion for the preparation of a new legislative framework were also cases of fundraisers where huge sums of money were collected for specific purposes related to treatments abroad and par & # 8217; all the medical expenses were eventually covered by the state, the beneficiaries or their families refused to give the money and appropriated it. Under current law, the Fundraising Authority could not claim them. With the bill submitted to the Parliament by the Minister of Interior Mr. Nikos Nouris, the beneficiaries or their family members will be obliged to give the money to the state.
In particular, the Law on Fundraising was passed in 2014 with the aim of establishing a legal framework based on which issues of granting licenses for fundraising and criminalizing the conduct of illegal fundraising are regulated. The bill submitted to the Parliament yesterday seeks to modernize the basic legislation in order to:
- Institutionalize the participation of the Ministry of Health in the whole process, as about 50% of the applications for fundraising concern applications individuals seeking financial assistance for health issues. The Fundraising Authority has instituted cooperation with the Ministry of Health, which, with this Law, is put on a more proper footing with the participation of a representative of the Ministry of Health as a member of the Fundraising Authority.
- Make effective the control of the utilization of the money collected in the framework of a fundraiser. .
The new provisions
The bill that the Parliament is called to vote on includes, among others, the following new provisions:
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- The Minister of the Interior by decree will from time to time determine a sum of money, called the minimum amount, which may be different for natural and legal persons, beyond which may be set as a condition in the license, such as one or more of his bank accounts fundraisers are made & # 8217; on behalf of the organizer and the director general of the Ministry of Interior jointly, and that a joint consent will be required for the payment of expenses. Also, the Fundraising Authority may stipulate that in order to withdraw amounts, its approval will be required in advance.
- No fundraising license will be granted in case the person benefiting from the purpose of the fundraiser exhaust the services provided by the state in terms of health rehabilitation and/or financial assistance and or compensation and or if such assistance has been refused.
- Fundraising will not be granted to legal entities wishing to raise money through fundraising to support their charitable activities unless they document that the proceeds will be used for the purpose of the fundraiser.
- For revenues over € 20,000, the revenue and expenditure accounts will be audited by an approved auditor, whose costs will be covered by the fundraiser.
- The beneficiary, in whose favor the fundraiser is conducted, does not become the beneficiary of the money or assets that remain unallocated after the service of the defined purpose of the fundraiser. In the event that it appears that the proceeds from the fundraiser exceed the needs for which the fundraiser was conducted, the Minister of the Interior orders the organizer to reimburse the amount of the overdraft, which will be deposited in the permanent fund of the Republic.
- In case the Fundraising Authority has serious indications that the fundraising money is not available for the specified purpose of the fundraising, then it can ask the credit institution to stop providing the organizer with the possibility of withdrawals from the fundraising bank account without the written approval and the credit institution must comply.
- A person who pursues a purpose other than the intended purpose of the fundraiser or uses misleading messages to mislead the public into contributing to a fundraiser is guilty of an offense, his sentence is subject to a fine not exceeding € 5,000 or to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or to both of these sentences.
