Grounds and reasons
Many Vietnamese and foreign friends as well as partners suggested that “If you want to build an inheritable, large, and sustainable Foundation that is supportive for many people, you should remove individuality”.
Although the current Foundation is operated with full procedures, charters, public reports, and year-end audits, it still contains individuality, namely:
- Its name remains personal: Tony.
- No inheritance: If the founder is at risk, the Foundation shall fail to maintain its operation.
- The current Foundation mainly depends on personal funds and friends’ support, which is unsustainable for remaining its operation.
Transparency, publicity, and clarity in records are very important for achieving a long-term companionship of domestic and foreign enterprises that wish to partner with the Foundation. Therefore, it shall leave benefactors with several unnecessary suspicions about the name “Tony Foundation”.
In consideration of the aforementioned reasons, the Foundation decided to change its name from “Tony Foundation” to “Be Better Foundation”. Upon changing the name, the Foundation will implement plans of action to operate as a methodical, systematic, and inheritable charity, including:
- To have an investment strategy for communication to spread long-term charity spirit in the community.
- To have a professional fundraising personnel strategy.
- To recruit more personnel to work professionally in addition to volunteer members, to have a proper personnel assessment and salary mechanism because the Foundation cannot be sustainable if it only relies on volunteers (who only join when they have free time).
- To build an inheritable charity, with the operating mechanism as a professional and sustainable organization, not depending solely on the founder or any individual.
Why choose the name “Be Better”?
The key importance is not the Foundation’s legal name, but how the Foundation operates. The legal name itself cannot fully interpret the Foundation’s actions and meanings. However, if possible, we want the Foundation to indicate meaning or a message in its name.
Why is the name in English, not Vietnamese?
In fact, the majority of Vietnamese people have an intermediate English level. The English name provides the Foundation with an easy approach to foreign funding sources. Moreover, the English name is shorter and easier to remember. “Be better” has 3 syllables, instead of “Quỹ vì ngày mai tươi sáng” or “Quỹ Ươm mầm thế hệ trẻ”, etc. which are longer. It would be confusing in case the original Vietnamese name of the Foundation is translated into English. For example, “Quỹ ươm mầm” – the Vietnamese name sounds good when reading, but it is difficult to translate into English accurately and well. If we translate “Quỹ ươm mầm” into English as “Seeding Foundation”, then the semantics is different and causes misunderstanding like a farming foundation!
Based on the definition of the two words “Be” and “Better” in the dictionary, when they are combined, “Be Better” can have the meanings as follows:
- To become better.
- To help improve/make something better.
- To help someone become better (physically or mentally).
- To live better.
- To encourage, and motivate them to make everything better.
Changing the name and improving how the Foundation works are a new step that shows the serious and long-term commitment of all the Foundation members. We hope that you and the benefactors will continue to accompany the Foundation in the next years.
In the process of name conversion, incurred procedures are unavoidable. In case of unexpected difficulties, we much appreciate your companionship with sympathy.
Best regards,
Founder: Tran Van Tinh (Tony Tinh)
