Types
In the United States, an entity with "foundation" in its name would generally be expected in most cases to be a charitable foundation. However, an organization may have the word "foundation" in its name and not be a charitable foundation of any sort. However, state law may impose restrictions. For example, Michigan permits its use only for nonprofits with "the purpose of receiving and administering funds for perpetuation of the memory of persons, preservation of objects of historical or natural interest, educational, charitable, or religious purposes, or public welfare." The distinction between charitable organizations and non-profit organizations elaborates on this point.
The Internal Revenue Code defines many kinds of non-profit organizations which do not pay income tax. However, only charitable organizations can receive tax-deductible contributions and avoid paying property and sales tax. For instance, a donor would receive a tax deduction for money given to a local soup kitchen if the organization was classified as a 501(c)(3) organization, but not for giving money to the National Basketball Association, even though the NBA is a non-profit association. Neither a public charity nor a foundation can pay for or participate in partisan political activity, unless they surrender tax-exempt status including voiding the deductibility of any tax deductions for donors after the surrender or revocation date.
Tax-exempt charitable organizations fall into two categories: public charities and private foundations. A community foundation is a public charity. The US Tax Code in 26 USCA 509 governs private foundations. Meanwhile 26 USCA 501(c)(3) governs public charities.
Read more about this topic: Foundation (United States Law)
Famous quotes containing the word types:
“As for types like my own, obscurely motivated by the conviction that our existence was worthless if we didn’t make a turning point of it, we were assigned to the humanities, to poetry, philosophy, painting—the nursery games of humankind, which had to be left behind when the age of science began. The humanities would be called upon to choose a wallpaper for the crypt, as the end drew near.”
—Saul Bellow (b. 1915)
“The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivations and the richer their experiences. We must widen the range of topics and goals, the types of situations we offer and their degree of structure, the kinds and combinations of resources and materials, and the possible interactions with things, peers, and adults.”
—Loris Malaguzzi (1920–1994)
“He’s one of those know-it-all types that, if you flatter the wig off him, he chatter like a goony bird at mating time.”
—Michael Blankfort. Lewis Milestone. Johnson (Reginald Gardner)