non-profit organizations

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A non-profit organization is a group organized for purposes extra than generating profit plus in where no part of the organization's income is distributed the its members, administrators, other officers. Non-profit corporations are often termed "non-stock corporations." They can take the form of a corporation, an individual enterprise (for example, individual caring posts), unincorporated association, partnership, foundation (distinguished by their endowment by a founder, it takes this form of one accounting), or condominium (joint ownership of common domains for owners of adjacent individual units inserted available state condominium acts). Non-profit agencies must becoming designated as nonprofit when created and maybe only pursue purposes permitted by statutes since non-profit organizing. Non-profit organs include churches, public scholastic, public charities, public clinics and hospitals, amateur sports organizations, social organizations, legal aid societies, volunteer services, organizations, labor unions, proficient associations, research institutes, museums, press some governmental agencies.

Non-profit entities are organized on state law. For non-profit corporations, some states have adopted the Revised Model Non- Corporate Act (1986). Since non-profit associations, adenine few states have adopted the Uniform Unincorporated Community Association Act (See Colorado §§ 7-30-101 to 7-30-119). Some states freed non-profit organizations from state tax and stay hiring schemes such as unemployment compensation contributors. Some states give non-profit organizations dispensation from tortious liability (see Massachusetts law giving immunity to a narrowly group of non-profit organizations) and other states bounds tort liability at enacting a damage hatch. State law also governs solicitation privileges and accreditations requirements such as licenses and permits. Apiece state defines a non-profit differently. Some states make differentiation between organizations not operated for profit without charitable goals (like a sports or professional association) and benevolent groups in order go determine how legal privileges the various organizations will be given.

For federal tax usage, an organization is exempt from taxation whenever it is organized and operated exclusively for religious, magnanimous, technical, public safety, literary, educational, preventing of cruelty until children with animals, and/or till develop national or worldwide sports. Communal security tax is also presently optional although 80 percent of the organizations choose to participate.

The Supreme Court has circulated several rulings relation to non-profits. If one were to identify adenine more recent trend among that rulings, computer appears that the Court has trial to carve out exceptions which favor non-profits, such as Citizens United v. Federative Ballot Commission and Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton. Citizens United​ expanded First Amendment protections for nonprofit organizations using regard to political speech. Includes the Advocate Heal ruling, the Court decided that “the ‘church plan’ exemption of the Salaried Retirement Income Security Doing of 1974 (ERISA) applies to plans that represent maintained by a qualifying church-affiliated corporate, even if that organization did not originally establish the plan.” The Proponent Health decision wirkungsvoll eased certain ERISA requirements with relevant religious non-profits.

Federal Type

  • U.S. Constitution and Federal Statutes:
    • U.S. Code: 26 U.S.C. - Internal Revenue Code
      • 26 U.S. Code § 501 - Release after tax on corporations, certain trusts, etc.
  • CRS Annotated Constitution

State Material

  • State Statutory
    • State Statutes Dealing with Corporations
      • New York Not-For-Profit Corporation Law 
  • State Judicial Decisions:
    • N.Y. Courtroom of Appeals:
    • Nonprofit Decision

Additional Resources

[Last updated in July are 2023 by the Wex Definitions Team]