Charitable organization
[5] Until the mid-18th century, charity was mainly distributed through religious structures (such as the English Poor Laws of 1601), almshouses, and bequests from the rich.
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam incorporated significant charitable elements from their very beginnings,[6] and dāna (alms-giving) has a long tradition in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism.
[7] During the Enlightenment era, charitable and philanthropic activity among voluntary associations and affluent benefactors became a widespread cultural practice.
Societies, gentlemen's clubs, and mutual associations began to flourish in England, with the upper classes increasingly adopting a philanthropic attitude toward the disadvantaged.
Appalled by the number of abandoned children living on the streets of London, Captain Thomas Coram set up the Foundling Hospital in 1741 to care for these unwanted orphans in Lamb's Conduit Fields, Bloomsbury.
[10] Another notable philanthropist of the Enlightenment era, Jonas Hanway, established The Marine Society in 1756 as the first seafarers' charity, aiming to aid the recruitment of men into the navy.
They raised public awareness about their activities through the emerging popular press and generally enjoyed high social regard.
The Enlightenment era also witnessed a growing philosophical debate between those advocating for state intervention and those believing that private charities should provide welfare.
The political economist, Reverend Thomas Malthus (1766–1834), criticized poor relief for paupers on economic and moral grounds and proposed leaving charity entirely to the private sector.
During the 19th century, a profusion of charitable organizations emerged to alleviate the awful conditions of the working class in the slums.
The Labourer's Friend Society, chaired by Lord Shaftesbury in the United Kingdom in 1830, aimed to improve working-class conditions.
In 1844, it became the first Model Dwellings Company – one of a group of organizations that sought to improve the housing conditions of the working classes by building new homes for them, all the while receiving a competitive rate of return on any investment.
This was one of the first housing associations, a philanthropic endeavor that flourished in the second half of the nineteenth century, brought about by the growth of the middle class.
Octavia Hill (1838–1912) and John Ruskin (1819–1900) were important forces behind the development of social housing, and Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) exemplified the large-scale philanthropy of the newly rich in industrialized America.
[18] Towards the end of the 19th century, with the advent of the New Liberalism and the innovative work of Charles Booth in documenting working-class life in London, attitudes towards poverty began to change.
Currently, these jurisdictions include New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory.
It regulates approximately 56,000 non-profit organizations with tax-exempt status, along with around 600,000 other NPOs in total, seeking to standardize state-based fund-raising laws.
[23] A Public Benevolent Institution (PBI) is a specific type of charity with its primary purpose being to alleviate suffering in the community, whether due to poverty, sickness, or disability.
Examples of institutions that might qualify include hospices, providers of subsidized housing, and certain not-for-profit aged care services.
This document has to explain the organization's purposes and structure.Most French charities are registered under the statute of loi d'association de 1901, a type of legal entity for non-profit NGOs.
However, for an organization under the statute of loi 1901 to be considered a charity, it has to file with the authorities to come under the label of "association d'utilité publique", which means "NGO acting for the public interest".
C21 LFN 2004 (as amended), which exempts from income tax corporate organizations engaged wholly in ecclesiastical, charitable, or educational activities.
[clarification needed] Charity law in the UK varies among (i) England and Wales, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Northern Ireland, but the fundamental principles are the same.
[40] The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 subjects charities to regulation by the Electoral Commission in the run-up to a general election.
The main disadvantage of a trust is that, like an unincorporated association, it lacks a separate legal entity, and the trustees must themselves own property and enter into contracts.
Compulsory registration of organizations from the deemed list began in December 2013, and it is expected to take three to four years to complete.
The benefits of 501(c)(3) status include exemption from federal income tax as well as eligibility to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions.
The organization must refrain from undertaking a number of other activities, such as participating in the political campaigns of candidates for local, state, or federal office.
[59] Most tax-exempt organizations are required to file annual financial reports (IRS Form 990) at the state and federal level.
[further explanation needed][70] Mathew Snow of American socialist magazine Jacobin criticized charity for "creating an individualized 'culture of giving'" instead of "challenging capitalism's institutionalized taking.
