Nonprofits : Overview
Nonprofit Definition
Nonprofits Defined
The term “nonprofit” means different things to many different people. People often use the words “nonprofit” and “tax exempt” interchangeably. Congress has created almost three dozen types of tax-exempt organizations in different sections of the tax code. These include Section 501(c)(4) (social welfare organizations, homeowners associations, and volunteer fire companies), Section 501(c)(5) (includes labor unions), Section 501(c)(6) (includes chambers of commerce), and Section 501(k) (child care organizations). Each section identifies certain conditions that must be met to be exempt from paying federal income taxes. The one common condition is not paying out profits (“no part of the organization’s net earnings can inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual”); hence the term, “nonprofit.” Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code refers to “public charities” (also known as charitable nonprofits) and “private foundations.” The tax code considers “churches and religious organizations” (which the IRS defines to include mosques, synagogues, temples, and other houses of worship) to be "public charities.” (Source: National Council of Nonprofits)
Nonprofit Sector Overview
- Charities and Nonprofits. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)Tax information, tools, and resources for charities and other tax-exempt organizations.
- The Nature of the Nonprofit Sector, 4th editionThe Nature of the Nonprofit Sector is a collection of insightful and influential classic and recent readings on the existence, forms, and functions of the nonprofit sector―the sector that sits between the market and government. The readings encompass a wide variety of perspectives and disciplines and cover everything from Andrew Carnegie’s turn-of-the-century philosophy of philanthropy to the most recent writings of current scholars and practitioners. Each of the text’s ten parts opens with a framing essay by the editors that provides an overview of the central themes and issues, as well as sometimes competing points of view.
The fourth edition of this comprehensive volume includes both new and classic readings, as well as two new sections on the international NGO sector and theories about intersectoral relations. The Nature of the Nonprofit Sector, Fourth Edition is therefore an impressively up-to-date reader designed to provide students of nonprofit and public management with a thorough overview of this growing field.
The Nonprofit Sector : A Research Handbook, Third Edition by
ISBN: 9781503608047Publication Date: 2020The nonprofit sector has changed in fundamental ways in recent decades. As the sector has grown in scope and size, both domestically and internationally, the boundaries between for-profit, governmental, and charitable organizations have become intertwined. Nonprofits are increasingly challenged on their roles in mitigating or exacerbating inequality. And debates flare over the role of voluntary organizations in democratic and autocratic societies alike. The Nonprofit Sector takes up these concerns and offers a cutting-edge empirical and theoretical assessment of the state of the field. This book, now in its third edition, brings together leading researchers--economists, historians, philosophers, political scientists, and sociologists along with scholars from communication, education, law, management, and policy schools--to investigate the impact of associational life. Chapters consider the history of the nonprofit sector and of philanthropy; the politics of the public sphere; governance, mission, and engagement; access and inclusion; and global perspectives on nonprofit organizations. Across this comprehensive range of topics, The Nonprofit Sector makes an essential contribution to the study of civil society.
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