Every year, millions of people help the disadvantaged. There are organizations that help the poor with food and housing, that seek to raise public awareness about an environmental threat, or that rescue animals. Today there are both public charities and private ones.
An organization that promotes the common good without asking for payment is known as a charity. The earliest one was the Foundling Hospital started by a compassionate aristocrat in London in 1741 to provide shelter, food, and a better future for abandoned children who were existing on the streets. Shortly afterwards another wealthy philanthropist founded the Magdalen Hospital, where girls for whom prostitution was the only means of support could be given other options.
Some, like the Foundling Hospital begun in 1741 in London or the Magdalen Hospital founded a few years later, sought to keep helpless children off the streets and educate them for a better life. Others gave plots of land to the poor, which allowed them to grow food for themselves. This 'teach a man to fish' approach was a practical way to offer help.
A charity can feed the poor, save feral animals in the city, preserve land for future generations and for wildlife, dig wells for villages without clean water, build hospitals or clinics, or provide other kinds of aid. An educational organization can function as a non-profit. In America, the IRS tax code determines the status of a charitable organization. Other countries also regulate beneficent organizations; each region has different requirements that must be met to qualify for exemption to taxes or regulations.
In the United States, a publicly presented charity is one that has many donors and is actively and directly engaged in furthering its mission. Private ones are foundations that are funded by one individual, corporation, or other donor. For example, industrialists like Andrew Carnegie funded public libraries, founded children's homes, built hospitals and universities, and did other good works with their money.
This sort of charity has many individual donors who make one-time or regular contributions. It may also receive funds from the government or from private charitable organizations, often called 'foundations'. A non-profit in good standing with the IRS will pay no taxes on the donations, grants, or other funding it receives. There is potential for fraud and greed in the system, but by and large much good is done and many people helped.
People who would like to make sure their gifts are used wisely can check the rating of charities they are interested in. There are organizations (non-profits themselves) which evaluate other organizations. They give high marks to those with low administrative costs, effective use of funds to accomplish their missions, and visible benefits.
Some charities are localized, like ones that work in Appalachia or in a particular African nation. Others may be international, with outreach in many countries. Some may limit their efforts to providing scholarships for minority students or to protecting the habitat for one species, while others may have flexibility in how they help. There are those that are more political than others. Anyone who wishes to help the less fortunate will be able to find a way to give.
An organization that promotes the common good without asking for payment is known as a charity. The earliest one was the Foundling Hospital started by a compassionate aristocrat in London in 1741 to provide shelter, food, and a better future for abandoned children who were existing on the streets. Shortly afterwards another wealthy philanthropist founded the Magdalen Hospital, where girls for whom prostitution was the only means of support could be given other options.
Some, like the Foundling Hospital begun in 1741 in London or the Magdalen Hospital founded a few years later, sought to keep helpless children off the streets and educate them for a better life. Others gave plots of land to the poor, which allowed them to grow food for themselves. This 'teach a man to fish' approach was a practical way to offer help.
A charity can feed the poor, save feral animals in the city, preserve land for future generations and for wildlife, dig wells for villages without clean water, build hospitals or clinics, or provide other kinds of aid. An educational organization can function as a non-profit. In America, the IRS tax code determines the status of a charitable organization. Other countries also regulate beneficent organizations; each region has different requirements that must be met to qualify for exemption to taxes or regulations.
In the United States, a publicly presented charity is one that has many donors and is actively and directly engaged in furthering its mission. Private ones are foundations that are funded by one individual, corporation, or other donor. For example, industrialists like Andrew Carnegie funded public libraries, founded children's homes, built hospitals and universities, and did other good works with their money.
This sort of charity has many individual donors who make one-time or regular contributions. It may also receive funds from the government or from private charitable organizations, often called 'foundations'. A non-profit in good standing with the IRS will pay no taxes on the donations, grants, or other funding it receives. There is potential for fraud and greed in the system, but by and large much good is done and many people helped.
People who would like to make sure their gifts are used wisely can check the rating of charities they are interested in. There are organizations (non-profits themselves) which evaluate other organizations. They give high marks to those with low administrative costs, effective use of funds to accomplish their missions, and visible benefits.
Some charities are localized, like ones that work in Appalachia or in a particular African nation. Others may be international, with outreach in many countries. Some may limit their efforts to providing scholarships for minority students or to protecting the habitat for one species, while others may have flexibility in how they help. There are those that are more political than others. Anyone who wishes to help the less fortunate will be able to find a way to give.
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Get a summary of the things to consider before selecting public charities and more information about a great charity organization at http://tableofplentyhmb.org/board-of-directors now.