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Generally speaking, a nonprofit organization is an organization whose primary purpose is to achieve an objective other than the obtaining of profits. A "charitable" organization, however, is a narrower category. The term encompasses nonprofit organizations whose operations principally benefit the general public, usually with additional restrictions around application of assets, lobbying, political activity, and individual benefits to their members.

Every year, the American Bar Association names recipients of its annual "Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer Awards." Recipients are recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to the nonprofit sector. This year, our senior counsel, Martha Lackritz-Peltier, was awarded the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award for "distinguished service by an attorney in the nonprofit sector who is under the age of 35 or has been in practice less than 10 years." 

An earlier post about 501(c)(3) schools discussed the many requirements that must be satisfied in order for a school to be recognized as a charity under section 170(b)(1)(a)(ii) of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code). In this post, we specifically explore the requirement that schools not discriminate against students on the basis of race, particularly with respect to non-U.S. schools.

Missed our webinar, "Data Privacy in the Post-Internet Age"? Access the full webinar recording and related documents here. 

This one-hour webinar recording covers frameworks for managing data and considers the effects the regulations are likely to have on foundations and nonprofits. It includes learnings from one foundation and from the field, and consider best data practices.

Topics covered include: 

Around the globe, more rigorous data privacy regulation is the trend. The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), adopted by the EU Parliament in April 2016, went into effect May 25, 2018. The California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), approved June 28, 2018, will go into effect on January 1, 2020.

Laws like GDPR have a direct impact on the work of U.S. foundations and nonprofits in several ways:

As discussed in a previous post, certain countries have legal entity types and tax exemption or charity requirements in their jurisdictions that contain helpful provisions with respect to equivalency determination (ED). One such country is Israel. In this post, we will explore Israeli nonprofit and tax exemption requirements that NGOsource often relies on for ED certifications.

Children with intellectual disabilities are particularly hard-hit by poverty and all of the barriers that come with it: lack of access to education, employment, nutrition, and overall health. Persistent exposure to "toxic" stress, including extreme poverty, can damage the developing brain and result in lifelong difficulties with learning, behavior, and physical and mental health. Even if services for these children are available in a given community, families that live below the poverty line are unable to afford accessible education and therapy services. 

Contributed by Tonatiuh Paz Aguilar, Investigador, ControlaTuGobierno, A.C.

In general, Guinean communities recognize the importance of school and its capacity to open up doors through community development and to provide children with invaluable knowledge and training. Despite this recognition, however, primary school enrollment and completion rates in the country continue to be low. Among the contributing factors are insufficient resources, household responsibilities, lack of teachers, and community perceptions. 

CW: The following article references sexual abuse and violence.