A nonprofit organization (sometimes abbreviated to "not-for-profit", "non-profit", or "NPO") is an organization whose primary objective is to support some issue or matter of private interest or public concern for non-commercial purposes. Nonprofits may be involved in an innumerable range of areas relating to the arts, charities, education, politics, religion, research, or some other endeavor. It has been suggested that Apocopation be merged into this article or section. ... An organization or organisation (read more about -ize vs -ise) is a formal group of people with one or more shared goals. ...

The difference between nonprofit and for-profit organizations

Most experts consider that it is the legal and ethical restrictions on the distribution of profits to owners or shareholders which fundamentally distinguishes nonprofits from commercial enterprises. A more precise term is 'not-for-profit', rather than 'nonprofit', and this is often used in legislation and texts. Wall Street, Manhattan In economics, business refers to the social science of managing people to organize and maintain collective productivity toward accomplishing particular creative and productive goals. ...

Nonprofits generally do not operate to generate profit, a characteristic widely considered to be the defining characterisitic of such organizations. However, a nonprofit organization may accept, hold and disburse money and other things of value. It may also legally and ethically trade at a profit. The extent to which it can generate income may be constrained, or the use of those profits may be restricted. Nonprofits therefore are typically funded by donations from the private or public sector, and often have tax exempt status. Private donations may sometimes be tax deductible. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Income, generally defined, is the money that is received as a result of the normal business activities of an individual or a business. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A donation is a gift to a fund or cause, typically for charitable reasons. ... The private sector of a nations economy consists of those entities which are not controlled by the state - i. ... < [[[[math>Insert formula here</math>The public sector is that part of economic and administrative life that deals with the delivery of goods and services by and for the [[government </math></math></math></math> Direct administration funded through taxation; the delivering organisation generally has no specific requirement to meet commercial... In the United States, tax exempt status is a status granted to non-profit organization, such as churches and charities by the IRS, in reference to income tax. ... A tax deduction or a tax-deductible expense, is an item which is subtracted from gross income in order to arrive at the taxable income. ...

Additionally, a nonprofit organization may have members as opposed to shareholders. A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or company (including a corporation) that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a joint stock company. ...

Nature and goals

Nonprofit organizations often are charities or service organizations; they may be organized as a not-for-profit corporation or as a trust, a cooperative, or they may be purely informal. Sometimes they are also called foundations, or endowments that have large stock funds. Most foundations give out grants to other nonprofit organizations, or fellowships to individuals. However, the name foundations may be used by any not-for-profit corporation -- even volunteer organizations or grass roots groups. A nonprofit may be a very loosely organized group, such as a block association or a trade union, or it may be a complex structure such as a university, hospital, documentary film production company or educational book publisher. Allegorical personification of Charity as a mother with three infants by Anthony van Dyck Charity, meaning selfless giving, is one conventional English translation of the Greek term agapē. // Etymology In the 1400, charity meant the state of love or simple affection which one was in or out of regarding one... A Not-for-profit corporation is a corporation created by statute, government or judicial authority that does not issue stock. ... A charitable trust (or charity) is a trust organized to serve private or public charitable purposes. ... A cooperative (also co-operative or co-op) is an association of persons who join together or co-operate, to carry on an economic activity of mutual benefit. ... A Foundation is a type of philanthropic organization set up by either individuals or institutions as a legal entity (either as a corporation or trust) with the purpose of distributing grants to support causes in line with the goals of the foundation. ... A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution, with the stipulation that it be invested, and the principal remain intact. ... A stock fund or equity fund is a fund that invests in Equities more commonly known as stocks. ... A grant is money given to an individual or an organization that does not hold an obligation of repayment. ... A Foundation is a type of philanthropic organization set up by either individuals or institutions as a legal entity (either as a corporation or trust) with the purpose of distributing grants to support causes in line with the goals of the foundation. ... This group of political volunteers is working to promote voter turn-out. ... Grassroots democracy is the political processes which are driven by groups of ordinary citizens, as opposed to larger organisations or wealthy individuals with concentrated vested interests in particular policies. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Western Illinois University A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees at all levels (bachelor, master, and doctorate) in a variety of subjects. ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Film production on location in Newark, New Jersey. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ...

In many countries applying Germanic or Nordic law (e.g. Germany, Sweden, Finland), nonprofit organizations typically are voluntary associations, although some have a corporate structure (e.g. housing corporations). A voluntary association usually is founded upon a principle of one man–-one vote. A large, nation-wide organization usually is organized as a league: the local level has a town- or county-level association with natural person membership, these associations being members of the national association. This is perceived to give the local level the maximal autonomy, while it also protects the organization from the financial blunders of any single association. The organization of such leagues (e.g. trade union or a party) may be extremely complex. Often there are separate laws regulating usual, "idealist" associations (anything from a sports club to a trade union), political parties and religious denominations, restricting each type of organization to its chosen field. A voluntary association (also sometimes called just an association) is a group of individuals who voluntarily enter into an agreement to form a body (or organization) to accomplish a purpose. ... The Housing Corporation is the Non-departmental public body that funds and regulates housing associations in England. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... A political party is a political organization subscribing to a certain ideology or formed around very special issues. ... Note that this kind of denomination is not that of a coin or banknote. ...

Legal aspects

Most countries have laws which regulate the establishment and management of nonprofit organizations, and which require compliance with corporate governance regimes. Most larger organizations are required to publish their financial reports detailing their income and expenditure for the public. In many aspects they are similar to business entities though there are often significant differences. Both nonprofit and for-profit entities must have board members, steering committee members, or trustees who owe the organization a fiduciary duty of loyalty and trust. A notable exception to this involves churches, which are often not required to disclose finances to anyone, not even its own members if the leadership choose. Corporate governance is the set of processes, customs, policies, laws and institutions affecting the way a corporation is directed, administered or controlled. ... The term business entity refers generally to any organization engaged in business activities, regardless of legal structure. ... A fiduciary is a person who occupies a position of trust in relation to someone else such that he is required to act for the latters benefit within the scope of that relationship. ... // Origins of Christian places of worship The architecture of Christian worship space grew out of the regular meetings of the followers of Christianity in private houses (see 1 Cor. ...

Formation and structure

In the United States, nonprofit organizations normally are formed by incorporating in the state in which they expect to do business. The act of incorporating creates a legal entity enabling the organization to be treated as a corporation under law and to enter into business dealings, form contracts, and own property as any other individual or for-profit corporation may do.

Nonprofits can have members but many do not. The nonprofit may also be a trust or association of members. The organization may be controlled by its members who elect the Board of Directors or Board of Trustees. Nonprofits may have a delegate structure to allow for the representation of groups or corporations as members. Alternately, it may be a non-membership organization and the board of directors may elect its own successors. In common law legal systems, a trust is a relationship in which a person or entity (the trustee) holds legal title to certain property (the trust property or trust corpus), but is bound by a fiduciary duty to exercise that legal control for the benefit of one or more individuals... A voluntary association (also sometimes called just an association) is a group of individuals who voluntarily enter into an agreement to form a body (or organization) to accomplish a purpose. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

A primary difference between a nonprofit and a for-profit corporation is that a nonprofit does not issue stock or pay dividends, (for example, The Code of the Commonwealth of Virginia includes the Non-Stock Corporation Act that is used to incorporate nonprofit entities) and may not enrich its directors. However, like for-profit corporations, nonprofits may still have employees and can compensate their directors within reasonable bounds. State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner Official languages English Area 110,862 km² (35th)  - Land 102,642 km²  - Water 8,220 km² (7. ... Managing director is the term used for the chief executive of many limited companies in the United Kingdom and some other English speaking countries. ... Managing director is the term used for the chief executive of many limited companies in the United Kingdom and some other English speaking countries. ...

Some critics of corporations argue that when corporations donate to charities to reduce taxes, the companies whitewash their reputations, sometimes benefitting in terms of marketing and public relations purposes. In some countries, e.g. in civil law European states, the idea of deductible donations is not endorsed as it is considered to violate the popular sovereignty. In a democracy, the people, i.e. the parliament, arguably should be able to decide where the tax money goes. Some people believe that when donors who indirectly decide on the use of their taxes, the donors are engaging in an act that should be the privilege of parliament, not of individuals. In countries where donations are not tax-deductible, the state may assume a larger role in supporting nonprofit organizations.

Tax exemption

In many countries, nonprofits may apply for tax exempt status, so that financial donors may claim back any income tax paid on donations and so that the organization itself may be exempt from income tax. In the United States, after a recognized legal entity has been formed at the state level, it is customary for the nonprofit corporation to seek tax exempt status with respect to income tax. That is done by applying to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS, after reviewing the application to ensure the purpose of the organization meets the conditions to be recognized as a tax exempt organization (such as a charity), issues an authorization letter to the nonprofit granting it tax exempt status for income tax purposes. The exemption does not apply to other Federal taxes such as employment taxes. In the United States, tax exempt status is a status granted to non-profit organization, such as churches and charities by the IRS, in reference to income tax. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... A donation is a gift to a fund or cause, typically for charitable reasons. ... The United States imposes an income tax on the taxable income of individuals, corporations, trusts, decedents estates and certain bankruptcy estates. ... Seal of the Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the United States government agency that collects taxes and enforces the tax laws. ...

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom nonprofit organizations which take the form of charities must generally be registered with the Charity Commission. Other organisations which are classified as nonprofit organizations in the U.S., such as trade unions, are subject to separate regulations, and are not regarded as charities in the technical sense. The Charity Commission is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities (and hence to some extent most churches) in England and Wales. ...

Issues faced by nonprofits

Main article: Capacity building

Capacity support is an ongoing problem faced by nonprofits that rely on external funding to maintain their operations, largely because nonprofit organizations have little control over their source(s) of revenue. Increasingly in the United States, many nonprofits rely on government funds to support their operations, often through grants, contracts, or customer-sided subsidies, such as vouchers or tax credits. The form of revenue is quite significant, as it influences the reliability or predictability with which the organization can hire and retain staff, sustain facilities, or create programs. Increasingly, there are few sources of revenue that allow nonprofits to develop their organizational capacities. Capacity building is assistance which is provided to entities, usually developing country governments, which have a need to develop a certain skill or competence, or for general upgrading of performance ability. ... A grant is money given to an individual or an organization that does not hold an obligation of repayment. ... A contract is any promise or set of promises made by one party to another for the breach of which the law provides a remedy. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... A voucher is a certificate which is worth a certain monetary value and which may only be spent for specific reasons or on specific goods. ... Within the Australian, Canadian, United Kingdom, and United States tax systems, a tax credit is an item which is treated as a payment already made towards taxes owed. ...

Examples

The largest nonprofit organization in the United States is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has an endowment of approximately $27 billion. The second largest is the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which has an endowment of approximately $11 billion. Elsewhere in the world, the largest nonprofit organization is probably the British Wellcome Trust, which is a "charity" in British usage. Note that this assessment excludes universities, at least a few of which have assets in the tens of billions of dollars. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the worlds largest charitable foundation. ... The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is a United States non-profit medical research institute based in Chevy Chase, Maryland and originally founded by the aviator and engineer Howard Hughes in 1953. ... New Wellcome Trust building on Euston Road The Wellcome Trust is a United Kingdom-based charity established in 1936 to disburse the fortune of the pharmaceutical magnate Sir Andy Palmer and the income of Burroughs Wellcome & Co. ... Western Illinois University A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees at all levels (bachelor, master, and doctorate) in a variety of subjects. ...

Some nonprofits which are particularly well known, often for the charitable or social nature of their activities conducted over a long period of time, include the following:

• AIESEC
• Amnesty International
• Better Business Bureau
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Cato Institute
• GlobalGiving
• GGIP
• The Nature Conservancy
• Red Cross
• The Rotary Foundation
• Special Olympics
• WWF
• YMCA
• PBS
• UNESCO

However, there are also millions of smaller nonprofit organizations that provide social services or the arts to people throughout the world. There are more than 1.6 million nonprofits in the United States alone. AIESEC’s official logo since 1991 AIESEC is The international platform for young people to discover and develop their potential. As a global, student-run, non-profit organization, AIESEC looks to create tomorrows leaders, today through the facilitation of an internship exchange program. ... Amnesty International logo Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international, non-governmental organization with the stated purpose of promoting all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards. ... BBB logo The Better Business Bureau, founded in 1912, is an organization based in the United States and Canada devoted to honest business. ... Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a non-profit organization dedicated to organizing mentorships between adults and children. ... The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the worlds largest charitable foundation. ... The Cato Institute is a large libertarian, non-profit public policy research foundation (think tank) headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Institutes stated mission is to broaden the parameters of public policy debate to allow consideration of the traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets, and... GlobalGiving (formerly known as DevelopmentSpace) is a unique service that directly connects donors with grassroots projects in the developing world. ... GGIP, or Gesellschaft für Gesundheit, Information and Prävention e. ... The Nature Conservancy is a land trust founded in 1951 in the United States. ... The Anarchist Black Cross was originally called the Anarchist Red Cross. The band Redd Kross was originally called Red Cross. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Rotary Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. ... Postage stamp Special Olympics is an international organization that helps people with intellectual disabilities develop self confidence and social skills through sports training and competition. ... WWF, the global environment conservation organization, was constituted and registered in 1961 pursuant to Sections 80 et seq. ... YMCAs in the United States and Canada use this logo. ... PBS re-directs here; for alternate uses see PBS (disambiguation) PBS logo The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a non-profit public broadcasting television service with 349 member TV stations in the United States. ... UNESCO logo UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ... A social worker is a person employed in the administration of charity, social service, welfare, and poverty agencies, advocacy, or religious outreach programs. ...

On the Internet

Many nonprofit organizations use the .org top-level domain when selecting a domain name to differentiate themselves from more commercially-focused entities which typically use the .com space. In the traditional domain categories as noted in RFC 1591, .org is for "organizations that didn't fit anywhere else" in the naming system, which implies that it is the proper category for noncommercial organizations if they are not governmental, educational, or one of the other types with a specific TLD. It is not specifically designated for charitable organizations or any specific organizational or tax-law status, however; it encompasses anything that does not fall into another category. Currently, no restrictions are enforced on registration of .com or .org, so you can find organizations of all sorts in either of these domains, as well as other top-level domains including newer, more-specific ones which may fit particular sorts of organizations such as .museum for museums. Organizations might also register under the approprate country code top-level domain for their country. .org (organization) is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) used in the Internets Domain Name System. ... A top-level domain (TLD) is the last part of an Internet domain name; that is, the letters which follow the final dot of any URL. For example, in the domain name wikipedia. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Domain Name System. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... .museum is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) used exclusively by museums, museum associations, and individual members of the museum profession, as these groups are defined by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). ... A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is a top-level domain used and reserved for a country or a dependent territory. ...

Organizations with local, regional, or national chapters might give them subdomain addresses in a hierarchical structure, such as florida.example.org for the Florida chapter, and miami.florida.example.org for the Miami group within the Florida chapter. However, in some cases local chapters register separate domains such as miamiexample.org, which can produce inconsistency in the naming structure; if they do not coordinate their naming, another chapter might get an inconsistent name such as example-fortlauderdale.org.

See also

• Charities
• Community Organizations
• Foundation (charity)
• List of organizations
• Not-for-profit corporation
• 501(c) - Tax status in the United States
• Non-commercial
• Nonprofit technology
• Program evaluation
• Social economy

// Legal definitions A charity is a trust, company or unincorporated association established for charitable purposes only. ... // Community Organization Community organizations are nonprofits that operate within a single local community. ... A Foundation is a type of philanthropic organization set up by either individuals or institutions as a legal entity (either as a corporation or trust) with the purpose of distributing grants to support causes in line with the goals of the foundation. ... This page is a list of lists of organizations and a list of otherwise unclassified organizations. ... A Not-for-profit corporation is a corporation created by statute, government or judicial authority that does not issue stock. ... 501(c) is a subsection of the United States Internal Revenue Code (), which lists 28 types of tax exempt non-profit organizations. ... A non-commercial enterprise is work that values other considerations above and beyond that of making a profit. ... Nonprofit technology comprises information and communication technologies that support the goals of nonprofit, nongovernmental, third sector, grassroots, and other organizations. ... Program evaluation is essentially a set of philosophies and techniques to determine if a program works. It is a practice field that has emerged, particularly in the USA, as a disciplined way of assessing the merit, value, and worth of projects and programs. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards and make it easier to understand, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Laws

• Commonwealth non-profit laws
• European Union non-profit laws
• People's Republic of China non-profit laws
• Republic of India non-profit laws
• Japan non-profit laws
• Russian Federation non-profit laws
• United States of America non-profit laws

A Non Profit Organisation can be registered in India under Registrar of Societies or by making a Trust deed. ... Laws regarding non-profit organizations in the United States of America relate to taxation, the special problems of an organization which does not have profit as its primary motivation, and prevention of charitable fraud. ...

External links

• VITA europe, a fortnightly newsletter, written in English, realized by Vita non profit content company in collaboration with a network of European partners aiming at stimulating and encouraging the non profit sector leaders.
• The Quiet Revolution in Non-profit Capacity Support, Jonathan Peizer, 2003
• Idealist.org, a database of 50,000 organizations around the world.
• Helpful Resources, Links, Newsletter, and Assistance
• The Malian Foundation provides free products and services catering to the needs of charitable causes worldwide.
• How to Build a Nonprofit for Your Community — Using mozdev.org as an example.
• How to Start a 501c3 Nonprofit Organization at WikiHow
• Capaciteria: over 1000 free nonprofit capacity support resources by category
• Nonprofit Charitable Orgs (U.S.)
• Charities Directorate (Canada)
• Database of Indian NGOs and International Funding Agencies
• Community Organization Fundraising provides free advice and resources for community fundraisers.en:Non-profit