Vietnamese law does not specificall

Vietnamese law does not specifically define the term “not-for-profit organization” (“NPO”). Rather, based on the various regulations for the establishment and operation of organizations with not-for-profit purposes, it is possible to conclude that Vietnamese law allows for the establishment and operation of the following five types of NPOs:

Social relief establishments(“SREs”), including state-owned and privately-owned establishments. The purpose of an SRE is to assist individuals experiencing social difficulties, including orphans, abandoned children, HIV/AIDS-infected children, HIV/AIDS-infected persons in poor households, elderly persons, seriously disabled persons, victims of domestic violence, victims of sexual abuse, victims of human trafficking, victims of forced labor, and other groups in difficult circumstances that may qualify for such assistance.
Social funds and charitable funds(“funds”). A social fund is a fund established for not-for-profit purposes to support and encourage the development of culture, education, health, sports, science, and other public development purposes. A charitable fund is a fund established for not-for-profit purposes to remedy difficulties caused by acts of God, fire, and other adverse problems, as well as to help patients with terminal illnesses and other persons in difficulty.
Associations. An association is a voluntary organization of Vietnamese citizens or organizations conducting the same business, having the same interests, or united by a common goal. An association operates to protect and advance the lawful rights and interests of its members and the community. Associations may exist for various reasons (e.g., animal or environmental protection, cultural activities, educational activities, professional activities, or sports activities).
Scientific and technological organizations(“STO”). An STO is an organization engaged in scientific or technological research and development, or scientific or technological service activities. Because the other categories of NPOs are more narrow and the definition of STO is relatively broad, in Vietnam domestic NPOs with a general purpose are often established as STOs by default, even if such NPOs do not have a purely scientific or technological research purpose in practice. According to the new regulations of STOs in early 2014, STOs are classified based on their source of capital contribution, as public STOs, non-public STOs, and foreign-invested STOs.
International non-governmental organizations(“INGO”). An INGO is a non-governmental organization, social fund, private fund or other form of social and not-for-profit organization established in accordance with foreign law with not-for-profit operations in Vietnam in the areas of developmental assistance or humanitarian aid.
The NPO forms listed above comprise the primary NPO forms specifically contemplated by Vietnamese law. However, in practice, there are a number of informal types of NPOs in Vietnam which also perform charitable and not-for-profit functions, including voluntary groups, clubs, and political and religious organizations. Although not necessarily recognized by law, these NPOs gather contributions from their members and give direct support to beneficiaries, which may include SREs, funds, associations, STOs, and INGOs that are duly established. However, as one might expect, Vietnamese law is generally silent on specific provisions applicable to these informal NPOs. Thus, theseNPOs aregenerally outside ofthe scopeof this Note.

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