FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is your overall mission?
As a community of donors, we inspire others to join us in alleviating poverty in East Asia by empowering small, but high-impact NGOs to be sustainable and transparent.
Why does TFish Fund have its focus in East Asia?
a. There is a large gap between the rich and the poor, especially as economies grow in this region.
b. Nonprofit work is newly developing here, and we want to provide a framework to promote philanthropy and address complex social issues.
c. Local nonprofits in East Asia often lack transparency. Unless they are held accountable, it is difficult to know whether well-meaning donations ever reach the intended recipients.
How can I know that 100% of my donation reaches the beneficiary?
TFish Fund has partnered with the Chao Foundation, which has pledged to cover online transaction fees and overhead expenses to ensure that 100% of your donation reaches the beneficiary. In addition, donation amounts are updated weekly and made public on the program's page. Both donors and NGOs have access to the information on the website and can verify the amount given and received. NGOs have access to this public information to check for any discrepancies and confirm the donation received matches. Making this information public allows for donors and NGOs to be rest assured that it is indeed 100%.
Why is the name Transparent Fish?
The Indian glassy fish has a striking transparent body, revealing its bones and internal organs; the male develops a dark edge to the dorsal fin. It is a beautiful depiction of our goal to develop a responsible and honest philanthropy culture in East Asia. The name “Transparent Fish” was chosen to reflect our core mission of facilitating a culture of transparency and accountability within the nonprofit sector in East Asia.
How do we know when our donation reaches the beneficiary?
Donors can track their donations in the quarterly donor book we publish for each NGO, where their names, donation amount and the project name which was donated to. For example, if you make a decision in October, you can anticipate to check Quarter 4's Donor Report book in December for your name and the project updates and impact from your support.
What is unique about donating to TFish Fund versus any other organization?
a. We are highly selective about the NGOs we partner with, so you know your donations arrive in the right hands.
b. We send 100% of your donations to projects that help people in need.
c. We publicize donation information and create reports so you can track the impact of your donation.
How do you select the NGOs? What is the selection criterion?
TFish NGOs are local grassroots with a strong track record for impact and sustainability, which display commitment to transparency and financial accountability. At TFish Fund, we are selective about who we accept as strategic partners. Out of 350 NGOs who were considered this application round 2011, only 20 (5.7% selective) have fit our criteria and are given an opportunity to apply. We look for grassroots organizations or NGOs who have financial need and have similar values as we do. They should be committed to spreading a spirit of philanthropy and willing to perform financial transparency. By working closely only with those NGOs that show extreme dedication to these goals, we can make sure these partners receive a very high standard of service from us.
I see four stars on the website, what does that mean?
The four stars are our TFish Transparency Ratings for financial disclosure, which are given at every quarter. Partner NGOs must complete the financial disclosures #1-4 each month (see How It Works page). Monthly information is reported quarterly to donors. If partner NGOs do not meet this minimum, they cannot receive funding from us until the next quarter. If they consistently fail to meet these requirements, they will be disqualified from being our partner and will no longer have access to our services
What is the difference between the financial book and the annual report book?
Annual Report books are designed to display an NGO’s key information such as key project milestones, expense breakdown and project stories in an easily digestible format. The financial book displays raw financial data about how an NGO spends its money, divided into broad categories of income, project expenses and administrative expenses.
When will the fund be distributed to the NGO?
Funds are distributed to the NGOs on a quarterly basis.
How do I track my donations if I want to be Anonymous?
We will ask donors who wish to remain anonymous to the public to provide a tracking name or code, or we can assign one to you. Typically we use “Anonymous” with initials appended at the end (e.g. Anonymous JTL, Anonymous MY). This transparency practice proves our 1-to-1 matching protocol that prevents “double dipping.”
As a community of donors, we inspire others to join us in alleviating poverty in East Asia by empowering small, but high-impact NGOs to be sustainable and transparent.
Why does TFish Fund have its focus in East Asia?
a. There is a large gap between the rich and the poor, especially as economies grow in this region.
b. Nonprofit work is newly developing here, and we want to provide a framework to promote philanthropy and address complex social issues.
c. Local nonprofits in East Asia often lack transparency. Unless they are held accountable, it is difficult to know whether well-meaning donations ever reach the intended recipients.
How can I know that 100% of my donation reaches the beneficiary?
TFish Fund has partnered with the Chao Foundation, which has pledged to cover online transaction fees and overhead expenses to ensure that 100% of your donation reaches the beneficiary. In addition, donation amounts are updated weekly and made public on the program's page. Both donors and NGOs have access to the information on the website and can verify the amount given and received. NGOs have access to this public information to check for any discrepancies and confirm the donation received matches. Making this information public allows for donors and NGOs to be rest assured that it is indeed 100%.
Why is the name Transparent Fish?
The Indian glassy fish has a striking transparent body, revealing its bones and internal organs; the male develops a dark edge to the dorsal fin. It is a beautiful depiction of our goal to develop a responsible and honest philanthropy culture in East Asia. The name “Transparent Fish” was chosen to reflect our core mission of facilitating a culture of transparency and accountability within the nonprofit sector in East Asia.
How do we know when our donation reaches the beneficiary?
Donors can track their donations in the quarterly donor book we publish for each NGO, where their names, donation amount and the project name which was donated to. For example, if you make a decision in October, you can anticipate to check Quarter 4's Donor Report book in December for your name and the project updates and impact from your support.
What is unique about donating to TFish Fund versus any other organization?
a. We are highly selective about the NGOs we partner with, so you know your donations arrive in the right hands.
b. We send 100% of your donations to projects that help people in need.
c. We publicize donation information and create reports so you can track the impact of your donation.
How do you select the NGOs? What is the selection criterion?
TFish NGOs are local grassroots with a strong track record for impact and sustainability, which display commitment to transparency and financial accountability. At TFish Fund, we are selective about who we accept as strategic partners. Out of 350 NGOs who were considered this application round 2011, only 20 (5.7% selective) have fit our criteria and are given an opportunity to apply. We look for grassroots organizations or NGOs who have financial need and have similar values as we do. They should be committed to spreading a spirit of philanthropy and willing to perform financial transparency. By working closely only with those NGOs that show extreme dedication to these goals, we can make sure these partners receive a very high standard of service from us.
I see four stars on the website, what does that mean?
The four stars are our TFish Transparency Ratings for financial disclosure, which are given at every quarter. Partner NGOs must complete the financial disclosures #1-4 each month (see How It Works page). Monthly information is reported quarterly to donors. If partner NGOs do not meet this minimum, they cannot receive funding from us until the next quarter. If they consistently fail to meet these requirements, they will be disqualified from being our partner and will no longer have access to our services
What is the difference between the financial book and the annual report book?
Annual Report books are designed to display an NGO’s key information such as key project milestones, expense breakdown and project stories in an easily digestible format. The financial book displays raw financial data about how an NGO spends its money, divided into broad categories of income, project expenses and administrative expenses.
When will the fund be distributed to the NGO?
Funds are distributed to the NGOs on a quarterly basis.
How do I track my donations if I want to be Anonymous?
We will ask donors who wish to remain anonymous to the public to provide a tracking name or code, or we can assign one to you. Typically we use “Anonymous” with initials appended at the end (e.g. Anonymous JTL, Anonymous MY). This transparency practice proves our 1-to-1 matching protocol that prevents “double dipping.”