Charitable organization.

Types of Charitable Organizations

A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are

philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the
public interest or common good).

The legal definition of a charitable organization (and of charity) varies between countries and in
some instances regions of the country. The regulation, the tax treatment, and the way in which
charity law affects charitable organizations also vary. Charitable organizations may not use any
of their funds to profit individual persons or entities. (However, some charitable organizations
have come under scrutiny for spending a disproportionate amount of their income to pay the
salaries of their leadership).

Financial figures (e.g. tax refund, revenue from fundraising, revenue from sale of goods and
services or revenue from investment) are indicators to assess the financial sustainability of a
charity, especially to charity evaluators. This information can impact a charity's reputation with
donors and societies, and thus the charity's financial gains.

Charitable organizations often depend partly on donations from businesses. Such donations to
charitable organizations represent a major form of corporate philanthropy.

Early systems

Until the mid-18th century, charity was mainly distributed through religious structures (such as
the English Poor Laws of 1601), almshouses and bequests (богадельни и завещания) from
the rich. Christianity, Judaism and Islam incorporated significant charitable elements from their
very beginnings and dāna (alms-giving- милостыня) has a long tradition in Hinduism, Jainism,
Buddhism and Sikhism. Charities provided education, health, housing and even prisons.
Almshouses were established throughout Europe in the Early Middle Ages to provide a place of
residence for poor, old and distressed people (бедствующие люди); King Athelstan of England
(reigned 924-939) founded the first recorded almshouse in York in the 10th century

Enlightenment charity

In the Enlightenment era charitable and philanthropic activity among voluntary associations and
rich benefactors (благотворитель) became a widespread cultural practice. Societies, gentleman's
clubs, and mutual associations began to flourish in England, and the upper-classes increasingly
adopted a philanthropic attitude toward the disadvantaged. In England this new social activism
was channeled into the establishment of charitable organizations; these proliferated from the
middle of the 18th century.

This emerging upper-class fashion for benevolence resulted in the incorporation of the first
charitable organizations. Captain Thomas Coram, appalled (потрясен) by the number of
abandoned children living on the streets of London, set up the Foundling Hospital in 1741 to
look after these unwanted orphans in Lamb's Conduit Fields, Bloomsbury. This, the first such
charity in the world, served as the precedent for incorporated associational charities in general.

Jonas Hanway, another notable philanthropist of the Enlightenment era, established The Marine
Society in 1756 as the first seafarer's (моряк) charity, in a bid to aid ( в попытке помочь) the
recruitment of men to the navy. By 1763 the Society had recruited over 10,000 men; an Act of
Parliament incorporated it in 1772. These organizations were funded by subscription and run as
voluntary associations. They raised public awareness of their activities through the emerging
popular press and were generally held in high social regard – some charities received state
recognition in the form of the royal charter.

Charities also began to adopt campaigning roles, where they would champion a cause and lobby
the government for legislative change. This included organized campaigns against the ill
treatment of animals and children and the campaign that eventually succeeded at the turn of the
19th century in ending the slave trade throughout the British Empire and within its considerable
sphere of influence.

Growth during 19th century

During the 19th century a profusion (изобилие) of charitable organizations emerged to alleviate
the awful conditions of the working class in the slums. The Labourer's Friend Society, chaired by
Lord Shaftesbury in the United Kingdom in 1830, aimed to improve working-class conditions..
In 1844 it became the first Model Dwellings Company – one of a group of organizations that
sought to improve the housing conditions of the working classes by building new homes for
them, at the same time receiving a competitive rate of return on any investment. This was one of
the first housing associations, a philanthropic endeavour that flourished in the second half of the
nineteenth century brought about by the growth of the middle class.

There was strong growth in municipal charities. The Brougham Commission led on to the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which reorganized multiple local charities by incorporating
them into single entities under supervision from local government.

Philanthropy became a very fashionable activity among the expanding middle classes in Britain
and America. Octavia Hill (1838-1912) and John Ruskin (1819-1900) were an important force
behind the development of social housing, and Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) exemplified the
large-scale philanthropy of the newly rich in industrialized America. In Gospel of Wealth (1889),
Carnegie wrote about the responsibilities of great wealth and the importance of social justice. He
established public libraries throughout the English-speaking countries as well as contributing
large sums to schools and universities. A little over ten years after his retirement, Carnegie had
given away over 90% of his fortune.

Towards the end of the 19th century, with the advent of the New Liberalism and the innovative
work of Charles Booth on documenting working-class life in London, attitudes towards poverty
began to change, which led to the first social liberalwelfare reforms, including the provision of
old age pensions and free school-meals.

Since 1901

During the 20th century charitable organizations such as Oxfam (established in 1947), Care
International and Amnesty International greatly expanded, becoming large, multinational, non-
governmental organizations with very large budgets.

Since the 21st century

With the advent of the Internet, charitable organizations established a presence in online social
media and started, for example, cyber-based humanitarian crowdfunding such as GoFundMe.

There are many people around the world who are still under poverty. For this they cannot get a
proper treatment or provide proper education to their children. This leads to the increase of
poverty as well as illiteracy. Even there are many states that are affected by natural disasters.
Charitable organizations are also meant to provide them shelter, foods and many other necessary
items.

Animal Charities

Animal charities are just what they sound like—a way to support, protect, and conserve animals
and wildlife. Because of how broad this charity is, it often breaks down into four distinct
subcategories:

 Wildlife Conservation Organizations

 Hunting and Fishing Conservation Groups
 Pet and Animal Welfare Organizations
 Zoos and Aquariums

Now, depending on which category interests you, you should do further research to find the
charities that truly match up with what you want to support. If you want to conserve savannas
and the wildlife within them, then you’ll need to do your research to find charities that pursue
that goal. It’s never a good idea to indiscriminately support a charity—doing your research can
ensure a good selection.

Arts and Culture Charities

Whereas animal charities help protect and conserve animals and wildlife, arts and culture
charities preserve artistic and cultural heritage. This can manifest in a variety of ways, from
celebrating the arts to conserving the history of different art forms. Again, similar to animal
charities, there are subcategories for this type of charity:

 Public Broadcasting and Media

 Museums and Art Galleries
 Libraries and Historical Societies
 Performing Arts

It may not seem like these qualify as charities, but a lot of these organizations work and survive
off some sort of donation. Without support from their communities, a lot of these charities
wouldn’t survive.

Community Development Charities

Think about your community. You know there are always things that could benefit from
improvements or enhancements (совершенствование). You know there are areas and people
who struggle more than others, for whatever reason, and they are a part of the community as
well. To keep your community supported, Community Development Corporations (CDCs) are
501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. They function to support and revitalize communities,
especially those that are impoverished or struggling. Affordable housing projects are the most
common example of these charities.

Education Charities

Education charities are again, exactly what they sound like: charities that work and serve
students from every age group, pre-school to graduate school and beyond. Since this is such a
broad category, some of these charities serve as educational institutions, while others focus on
making education more accessible and effective for different people and communities. We’ve
listed a few common subcategories below:

 Private Elementary, Junior High, and High Schools

 Scholarships and Financial Aid Services
 School Reform and Experimental Education
 Different Support for Students, Teachers, and Parents

The realm of education charities is a vast one, and there are so many avenues to support. Again,
do your research to find the scenario you most want to support. Whether it be inner-city students,
first-generation college students, or school supplies for impoverished areas, there’s a charity that
exists for you to support.

Environmental Charities

Similar to animal charities, environmental charities focus on preservation, appreciation, and

sustainable development for the environment. Where animal charities work to protect wildlife,
environmental charities strive to preserve our planet in a myriad of ways. There are two primary
subgroups when it comes to this type of charity.

 Environmental Conservation and Protection

 Parks and Nature Centers

Here again, we can see that there is so much underneath these categories—so much that helps
establish these charities—from small organizations that work to plant more trees, to charities that
seek to preserve the natural beauty around the world. There is always some type of
environmental charity you can support that hardly takes any effort on your part.

Health Charities

Probably one of the most common types of charities you know of is health charities. There’s
such a wide variety of organizations that fall under this category that you may not even realize
that some of your favorite organizations are health charities or support other health charities (like
the way GreenDrop supports the American Red Cross). Here are a few of the common
subgroups:

 Disease and Disorder Charities

 Medical Research Charities
 Patient and Family Support Charities
 Medical Services and Treatment

As you can see, health charities cover everything from supporting and treating people who are
sick and disabled, working on cures for diseases, and even promote public awareness.

Human Services

Human services is another broad charity category. It takes a lot of different life experiences into
consideration and ends up being the “fallback” category for a lot of organizations because it is so
general and all-encompassing. Typically, you’ll find the following groups underneath the human
services charity category:

 Children’s and Family Services

  Food Banks, Food Pantries, and Food Distribution
 Homeless Services
 Multipurpose Human Service Organizations
 Social Services
 Youth Development, Shelter, and Crisis Services

Keep in mind that this is not an all-encompassing list of the different human services subgroups.
Depending on the charity you decide to support, they could target way more than what’s listed
above.

International NGOs

Now comes one of the top-guns in the charity world—International Non-Governmental

Organizations (NGOs). These are typically charities that have headquarters in one country but do
a lot of work in numerous other locations and countries. Often, these organizations will overlap
with other types of charities we listed above:

 International Development NGOs

 Disaster Relief and Humanitarian NGOs
 Conservation NGOs
 Child Sponsorship Organizations
 Peace and Human Rights NGOs

Hopefully, this guide to the different types of charities provided you with further insight into all
the ways you can support your community and the world at large. And when you’re looking for a
Human Services charity to support, turn to GreenDrop. We partner with International NGOs and
other Human Services charities, as well, so you can know that you’re making a difference. From
Red Cross donations to Purple Heart, you can take the simple step toward making a difference.

Public charity

A public charity is an organization that primarily offers grants and gets their support from the
public. This means that public charities often receive their funding from multiple sources, like
individual citizens, private foundations and government agencies. A public charity can also earn
funding from fees they can charge for certain charitable services, like cleaning up a public space
or holding charity events. Public charitable organizations can include facilities like hospitals,
churches and organizations that provide financial donations or other services to their community.

Private foundation

A private foundation is a charity that is run by an individual, a family or a corporation. Private

foundations typically get their financial support from sources like the family who owns the
foundation, the corporation running the foundation or other private sources who donate in order
to keep the foundation in business. Because a private foundation usually receives funding, they're
required to pay out a certain percentage of their earnings in grants and charitable activities. There
are three types of private foundations, which are independent, family and corporate.

Community foundation

A community foundation is a charitable foundation that focuses on giving grants to programs in

a specific community. This might include providing funding for after school programs,
educational programs at community centers and events that promote concepts that benefit the
community as a whole, such as public health or environmental sustainability. Community
foundations can also offer support through grants such as scholarships, giving circles or
programs that allot funds to families or organizations in a community that require financial
support.

Corporate foundation

A corporate foundation, or company-sponsored foundation, is a charitable organization that is

established and funded by a corporation. Because they receive funding from the corporation that
runs them, corporate foundations typically have extensive options for charity and often create
initiatives that help them distribute funds to communities or programs in need. Corporate
foundations also frequently donate to causes that relate to their industry in order to support
employees in the field. Another way corporate foundations engage in charity is by taking part in
corporate giving programs that provide grants and donations to other charitable organizations.

Independent foundation

An independent foundation is a type of private foundation that typically receives funding from a
single source. This source might be an individual or a group that provides endowments to the
foundation to fund its charitable initiatives. Because independent foundations have stable
funding from a single source, they do not usually engage in fundraising or other forms of seeking
public support. Many independent foundations start as family foundations or corporate
foundations and transition to functioning as an independent foundation after a few years of
operation.

Grant-making foundation

A grant-making foundation is a charitable organization that functions as a public foundation and

focuses on organizing and distributing grants. Grant-making foundations can also sometimes
operate as public charities, as they can provide support to public organizations and communities
and receive their funding from fundraising and public events. The main purpose of a grant-
making foundation is to create grants that they can offer to members or groups in a community
that need financial support.

Supporting organization

A supporting organization is a type of public foundation that provides support to another charity
or foundation. When a supporting organization attaches itself to another organization by
partnering with it or offering it support, the supporting organization takes on the public charity
status of whichever organization it contributes to. This means that a supporting organization can
function in multiple public sectors and serve a wide array of foundations and communities, as
long as their support adheres to legal guidelines.

Arts foundation

An arts foundation is a charitable organization that's dedicated to supporting the arts. This might
include actors, musicians, visual artists and anyone who creates art or performs for a living.
While many arts foundations are privately funded by donors, there are also public arts
foundations that engage in fundraising and operate as public foundations. Arts foundations give
support to artists by providing grants and scholarships that can fund artistic projects and
performances.