Non-profit organizations

Non-profit organizations
Name	Non-profit organizations
Formation	Ancient to present
Type	Varied
Purpose	Philanthropy, advocacy, service
Region served	Worldwide

Non-profit organizations are institutional entities formed to pursue missions other than generating owner profits, often operating alongside United Nations, European Union, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Council of Europe frameworks. They appear in civil society alongside entities such as Amnesty International, Red Cross, Greenpeace International, Médecins Sans Frontières and Oxfam and interact with actors like Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Rockefeller Foundation and Gates Cambridge Trust. Their legal forms vary across jurisdictions including models found in United Kingdom, United States, Germany, France and India and are shaped by instruments such as the Charities Act 2011 (UK), Internal Revenue Code, Companies Act 2006, Indian Trusts Act 1882 and Civil Code of Quebec.

Definition and Legal Status

Non-profit organizations are defined by statutes and court decisions in jurisdictions like Supreme Court of the United States, European Court of Human Rights, Supreme Court of India, Cour de cassation (France) and Bundesverfassungsgericht and by regulatory bodies such as the Charity Commission for England and Wales, Internal Revenue Service, Charity Commission for England and Wales and National Tax Service (South Korea). They commonly obtain tax-exempt status via provisions such as 501(c)(3), Gift Aid, tax exemption in Canada, Tax Deductible Gift Recipient (Australia) and Value Added Tax exceptions, while corporate forms include arrangements under charitable trust law, company limited by guarantee, association registration, cooperative law and foundation law.

History and Development

Organized philanthropy evolved from medieval institutions like Hospital of St Bartholomew and Charity School movement to modern foundations such as the Rockefeller Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Wellcome Trust and Ford Foundation and to international NGOs exemplified by International Committee of the Red Cross and League of Nations era actors. Movements such as the Enlightenment, Industrial Revolution, Progressive Era, New Deal, decolonization and Cold War influenced expansion and professionalization, while landmark events like the Great Depression, World War II, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and Millennium Summit reshaped roles and resources.

Types and Structures

Organizational types include charitable foundation, membership organization, trade association, professional association, mutual aid society, community interest company, social enterprise, cooperative, religious order and public benefit corporation. Structures range from unitary boards used by Harvard University and Yale University to dualistic models seen in German Vereinsrecht and Dutch Stichting arrangements; incorporation choices reference models under Companies Act 2006, Trusts Act, Civil Code (France) and Associations Incorporation Act.

Governance and Management

Governance features boards of directors or trustees influenced by best practices from Institute of Directors, OECD guidelines, International Non-Governmental Organizations Accountability Charter and standards used by Charity Commission for England and Wales, Internal Revenue Service and European Foundation Centre. Management draws on leadership models promoted by figures and institutions such as Peter Drucker, John Kotter, McKinsey & Company, Harvard Business School and Stanford Social Innovation Review, and uses tools like strategic planning from World Health Organization, United Nations Development Programme, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grantmaking frameworks and risk management guided by ISO 31000.

Funding and Financial Management

Funding sources include philanthropic grants from Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Soros Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust, government contracts from entities such as United States Agency for International Development, European Commission, Department for International Development and World Bank loans and social finance instruments like social impact bonds, venture philanthropy, crowdfunding platforms exemplified by Kickstarter and GoFundMe, and revenue-generating activities like fee-for-service models used by Médecins Sans Frontières clinics and Red Cross services. Financial management adheres to accounting standards such as International Financial Reporting Standards, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and auditing practices used by firms like Deloitte, PwC, KPMG and Ernst & Young.

Activities and Impact

Activities span humanitarian relief by International Committee of the Red Cross, public health campaigns by World Health Organization partners and Médecins Sans Frontières, conservation by World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace International, human rights advocacy by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and education by institutions such as Oxford University, Cambridge University, Harvard University and Stanford University. Impact assessment employs methodologies from Randomized controlled trials used by J-PAL, outcome mapping from World Bank evaluations, cost-effectiveness analysis promoted by Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and policy influence tracked in processes like Paris Agreement negotiations and Sustainable Development Goals monitoring.

Regulation and Accountability

Regulation involves registration and oversight by agencies such as the Charity Commission for England and Wales, Internal Revenue Service, Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, Office of the Registrar of Societies (Malaysia) and courts including Supreme Court of the United States and European Court of Human Rights, and compliance with laws like Charities Act 2011 (UK), Internal Revenue Code, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and General Data Protection Regulation. Accountability mechanisms include external audit by firms such as Deloitte and PwC, transparency initiatives like Open Data, reporting standards from International Aid Transparency Initiative and governance codes developed by OECD and Council of Europe.

Category:Nonprofit sector