Charity status
Songtsen's legal & administrative structures
Songtsen is a group of people working together through a number of different administrative structures in several countries. Songtsen, the Association du Centre d’Études de Chanteloube (which includes Siddhartha) and Éditions Padmakara are all registered as non-profit organizations under French law. Kangyur Rinpoche Foundation is a registered non-profit organization in Portugal, the UK, and the U.S.A. (For more information, please see Songtsen's Departments).
Songtsen's affiliations
In order to support Songtsen's international activities and to facilitate tax-deductible donations, some of Songtsen's affiliated groups have been working to establish Songtsen in various other countries. Songtsen is now registered in Portugal as Songtsen, Casa da Cultura do Tibete. Songtsen is currently in the process of being registered in Finland and Spain.
Songtsen’s foundations
The organization’s projects are supported internationally through Songtsen's foundations, which are legally-recognized and registered as non-profit organizations in five countries.
Donations by cheque should be made out to one of the following Songtsen foundations and mailed to Songtsen’s principle office in France (see donation methods). Direct bank transfers can easily be performed using the online donation form or they can be arranged with your bank using the account details for one of Songtsen’s foundations below.
Songtsen’s foundations exist in the following countries:
The Kangyur Rinpoche Foundation was first founded in 1980, honoring the great Tibetan master, Kangyur Rinpoche. It was created to support Songtsen’s main activities, devoted to continuing the compassionate work that made up Kangyur Rinpoche’s life. KRF is registered as a non-profit charity organization in the UK, the USA, and in Portugal where the foundation is known as Fundaçao Kangyur Rinpoche.
The Fondation Padmasambhava is the foundation incorporated as a non-profit charity organization to represent Songtsen’s activities in France. The foundation was named after the great 8th century master, Padmasambhava, who established Buddhism in Tibet. This foundation is Songtsen’s main administrative structure in France.
Fondation Padmasambhava is under the aegis of the Fondation de France, a private foundation that provides assistance to select non-profit organizations in France. The foundation has provided valuable support to Songtsen through Fondation Padmasambhava. As Fondation Padmasambhava is under the support of the Fondation de France, cheques should be made out to ‘Fondation Padmasambhava - Fondation de France’.
“Fondation de France acts as a private and independent entity that helps to bring to life, projects of a philanthropical, educational, scientific, social or cultural nature. Focusing on a small number of exemplary operations, Fondation de France is a highly regarded foundation, providing philanthropic support and assistance within all the fields of general interest.”
– Description from the Fondation de France website.
Fondation d’Entraide Bouddhique Internationale
The Fondation d'Entraide Bouddhique Internationale was founded in Switzerland to assist Songtsen's activities and to support tax-deductible donations for Swiss patrons.
Other helpful links