Prompted by a conversation among nonprofit leaders about the public’s and media’s general lack of knowledge about nonprofits, this article targeted at journalists briefly discusses some basics of federal tax laws applicable to 501(c)(3) organizations and common state corporate and charitable trust laws applicable to nonprofits.

Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3)

豁免用途

A 501(c)(3) organization must have one or more of the following豁免用途：宗教，慈善，科学，测试公共安全，文学，教育目的，或以促进国家或国际业余体育比赛（但前提是不活动的一部分涉及体育设施或设备的提供），或用于预防的虐待儿童或动物。

Operational Test

A 501(c)(3) organization must be主要操作（尽管这个词的使用只规约）的一个或多个免税的目的。如果是出于其他目的（例如，要进行无关的业务）运营，这些活动必须是相对于豁免功能活动单薄。

私人利益禁止

A 501（C）（3）组织不得胙时是超过附带的，定量和定性，到它的免除目的深化任何个体的益处。为必要的服务，合理的赔偿不会对雇员或承包商授予禁止私人利益。但毛多付任何个人或实体将违反私人利益prohibition, which under egregious circumstances could result in revocation of the organization’s tax-exempt status.

Private Inurement Prohibition

A 501(c)(3) organization may not confer upon any insider in a position to influence or control use of the organization’s assets (like a director or officer) any part of its gross or net earnings without equal value in return. Like the private benefit prohibition, the prohibition against私人inurementis not violated by reasonable compensation to an insider for necessary services. But gross overpayment to an insider could be deemed a violation of the private inurement prohibition, which would result in revocation of the organization’s tax-exempt status.

Excess Benefit Transactions (Public Charities)

事务，其中的501（c）（3）公益慈善机构在丧失资格的人赋予（例如，如董事或管理人员的内幕）超过假定这样的人正在向组织回报值的好处是超额利益交易。过量的好处事务可以导致在该丧失资格的人（谁也必须将超出部分返回到组织），并在极端恶劣的情况下，在谁批准知道这将导致在该赋予了过多的利益交易董事征收惩罚税丧失资格的人。组织必须要小心无糖或低息贷款业内人士介绍，过度补偿，并针对该组织没有义务支付过去服务的补偿（包括奖金）。无论补偿合理或过度依赖于所有的事实和情况，包括慈善组织的大小。性和合理性可能，在某些情况下，是非常慷慨的（例如，大学橄榄球教练）。

Self-Dealing (Private Foundations)

A transaction between a 501(c)(3) private foundation and a disqualified person (e.g., an insider or substantial contributor), including compensation paid by the private foundation to the disqualified person, may be a prohibited self-dealing transaction subject to penalty taxes. But there are severalexceptions，包括补偿支付给符合持牌资格人士为personal servicesreasonable and necessary to carrying out the exempt function of the private foundation (e.g., management, legal, accounting) if the compensation is not excessive. Note that private foundations are subject to more restrictions than public charities because of the lower likelihood and expectation of public accountability where the donors are the same persons or related to the same persons who control the private foundation.

游说（公益慈善事业）

A 501（C）（3）公益慈善机构可以从事游说活动受到一定限制。游说不能整体活动的重要部分。但对于组织已经取得了非常简单501（H）选，whether lobbying is substantial is measured only by its expenditures and not by its volunteer activities. Moreover, the level of lobbying permissible under 501(h) is relatively generous (e.g., 20% of its first $500,000 of exempt purpose expenditures).

政治运动干预

A 501（C）（3）组织不得从事政治运动干预，including endorsing or otherwise supporting (or opposing) a candidate for public office. Certain voter education or registration activities may not violate this prohibition if conducted in a non-partisan manner. On the other hand, lobbying activities on wedge issues separating two candidates timed to take place only immediately before an election may be considered political campaign intervention.

Public Disclosures

A 501（C）（3）需要提交国税局组织（多数为501（c）（3）比教会其他组织）必须公开可用其1023表豁免申请，通常，它的形式990在过去三年每年的信息回报。

检查是否一个组织是免除在的501（c）（3）

Exempt Organizations Select Check是用于检查一个组织是否正在为501（c）豁免一个有价值的在线工具（3）。这是定期更新，通常一个更好的方法来验证一个组织是否正在免除比IRS豁免函的审查（这可能是很老的）或过去的申请表格990（可以免费在做Guidestar）。教会是从提出要求承认的的501（c）（3）免税地位，不得对EO选择检查或导星上市。

State Corporate Laws

管理文件

掺入和章程的条款是一个非盈利性组织的主要管理文件。一个公司必须采取行动，在其管理文件的规定。

Boards of Directors

A nonprofit corporation is governed by its board of directors. While the board may delegate management to the corporation’s officers, committees, employees, or management company, the board is ultimately responsible for all of the activities and affairs of the corporation and for the exercise of all corporate powers.

董事的权力

Individually, a director has no inherent power other than to vote on matters before the board and to inspect and copy corporate books, records, and documents. Collectively, as the board, directors have ultimate authority and power over a corporation, subject to certain limitations (including membership rights for corporations with voting members) which may be codified in the corporation’s governing documents. But some directors may hold other positions (e.g., officer positions) that have been delegated with individual authority.

Fiduciary Duties

每位董事都应负有谨慎和忠诚的受托责任的公司。一般情况下，注意义务要求各董事以合理的谨慎行事在管理该公司，其中包括提供财务和方案监督，采取措施，以确保符合外部法规和内部政策（服从的义务），保护慈善资产被滥用或浪费，并设置了公司的未来发展方向。忠诚的义务要求各董事以诚信行事的公司的最佳利益，包括其中的导演有兴趣在某一事项冲突或暴露机密信息。

Self-Dealing (Corporate Law)

A director may be prohibited under state corporate laws to enter into a transaction with the corporation in which the director has a material financial interest except under certain conditions and pursuant to certain procedures. Generally, a majority of the directors (not including the vote of the interested director) must approve such transaction after disclosure of the director’s interest. In addition, either (1) the board must have considered and in good faith determined after reasonable investigation under the circumstances that the corporation could not have obtained a more advantageous arrangement with reasonable effort under the circumstances or (2) it must be shown that the corporation in fact could not have obtained a more advantageous arrangement with reasonable effort under the circumstances.

国家慈善信托法

任务限制

通常，慈善非盈利性组织不得滥用其资产，其陈述慈善宗旨（使命）不一致。因此，如果一个公司的使命仅限于在加州艺术教育，它不能使用其资产，以在尼泊尔提供抗震救灾。

更改任务

慈善非营利性公司可能能够通过修改其管辖文件，以改变它的使命，但这并不意味着其之前收购的资产可用于新的使命。因此，如果公司从支持艺术教育改变了它的使命在加州在美国支持科学教育，其资产收购任务的变化可能是前restricted to use in furtherance of its original mission。

受限礼品

如果一个慈善的非营利性组织接受由捐助者仅限于特定用途的礼物时，corporation must ensure such restriction is observed。因此，如果礼物被限制在旧金山使用，该公司不能用礼物基金计划在奥克兰或者如果公司在旧金山的部分以外工作，以资助其一般行政费用。

Fundraising

A nonprofit must comply with适用的融资法律在慈善募捐，包括在必要时国家官方慈善机构（通常是总检察长）注册，并通过或代表非营利性的确保通信的真实性进行互动时。在比掺入可能需要在这样的状态下登记的状态以外的状态，但这些法律的强制执行慈善招揽可能是不均匀的涣散，部分是因为法律似乎不适合和过于繁琐对于基于互联网的招揽不专门针对居民用较小的非营利组织的外国政府（见Charleston Principles）。