October 14, 2020
Dear TPAA members, families, and friends,
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you the best of health and happiness. The year 2020 is shaping up to be one of the most difficult and trying times in our lives. COVID-19 pandemic touches all of us in ways never before imaginable. I am saddened by the loss of our members, their families, and friends. I hope those who are still affected by this pandemic recover and return to normal very soon.
TPAA Foundation continues to assist with fundraising/transfer to help our Alma Maters in Thailand. TPAA medical mission projects are going strong with “Save Sights Project” and “Save Baby Life Project”. They are led by Dr. Chintana Paramagul and Dr. Wichest Boonyapredee respectively. The Thai Medical Women Association’s Scholarship Program for Rural Female Medical Students saw a significant increase in donations in the last two years. Several TPAA members led an effort and raised funds to make the Thai Scholars Fellowship Fund at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health a permanent endowment. The first recipient is now admitted to HSPH. Besides, several more donations benefiting rural hospitals in Thailand and other worthy causes flowed through the Foundation.
The Foundation financial statements were audited for the last three years because the annual contributions exceeded $300,000. There were issues with the 2017 and 2018 audit reports. We identified the issues and worked with our accountant/auditor to correct the problems. The Foundation adopted Governance Policies which are the three policies deemed essential for NFP organization. They are conflict of interest policy, record retention policy, and whistleblower protection policy. We also adopted a financial policy with a corresponding spending policy. I am happy to report that all necessary policies are in place. Our 2019 accountant/auditor provided the Foundation with an unqualified opinion.
The Foundation operating cost for the last three years was much higher than in the past mainly because of the audit of the financial statements, which cost $8,000 annually. For the year 2019-2020, there was also an attorney’s fee of about $9,000 to set up all of the policies mentioned above and other legal advice. The General Fund account is pretty much depleted. Please consider donating to the General Fund to help reduce the risk of financial difficulty that the Foundation will otherwise experience in the near future.
TPAA Foundation is in the process of issuing email addresses to relevant officers and committee members. It is necessary and advisable that the Foundation maintains its own website. Please visit the TPAA Foundation website https://tpaaf.us where you can review the above policies and Amended and Restated Bylaws.
Respectfully submitted,
Apinan Thitipraserth, M.D.