Non-profit organizations

Although this course is primarily for people who want to make money with their ventures, I think it is also prudent for you to know about non-profit organizations. Although your primary objective is to make money, in order to become an effective and open-minded entrepreneur you must have a comprehensive understanding of all types of business structures.

Maybe at some point in your entrepreneurial life you want to get involved in a charity or create one for yourself, away from your primary business. For this purpose you could form a non-profit organization, which is an entity in which no portion of its profits are shared among its partners, trustees and shareholders.

If you are taking this course, chances are that at this moment you have no intention of becoming part of this type of organization. But in the event that one day you do want to start such an entity to help the less fortunate, this lecture will help you.

Characteristics of nonprofit organizations

Many of the most successful entrepreneurs, after achieving all their goals through their ventures, look for ways to start their own non-profit charities. And if you, too, manage to achieve this success, you may want to start one as well.

A nonprofit organization has the ability to take the form of a corporation, sole proprietorship, partnership or foundation, although it differs from these in that it has a single founder.

It can also be transformed into a condominium or a trust, with unified ownership of the common property of its owners. Non-profit entities must be delimited in this way from the moment they are created and are only allowed to have non-profit objectives, as they are regulated.

Non-profit organizations can include public schools, churches, hospitals, political organizations, research institutes, museums and even some government organizations. Depending on the country or locality in which the organization is founded, laws and statutes may exempt them from paying taxes and contributing to unemployment funds.

Also, in many countries and localities, governments grant nonprofit organizations exemptions from tort liability, while in other places these liabilities are only reduced.

Each local government also controls the application waivers and accreditation requirements, as well as the permits and licenses of these organizations. And they are also defined differently depending on the location. In some places they may be defined as a charitable entity, as a sports society, or as a professional association.

In case the non-profit organization is managed and administered only for religious, charitable, scientific, public safety, educational, against violence to children and animals or for the promotion of national sports, it will be completely exempted from taxation.

Eighty percent of the non-profit entities, although it is not mandatory, decide to form a non-profit corporation. This process is almost identical to forming a regular corporation, except that its owners must also apply for tax exemptions with local governments.

Steps to Forming a Nonprofit Organization

If someday you want to honor a family member or feel passionate about a specific cause, the following will give you a general idea of how to form your own nonprofit organization to honor and erect your legacy as an entrepreneur.

As you will see, these are the main steps to creating a nonprofit organization. You can also appreciate that there are a few extra steps to keep an eye on. This way you can get a general idea of all the legal bifurcations and requirements of forming a nonprofit organization.

When you want to create a nonprofit corporation you must choose a name for it, just like a regular corporation. It must comply with the regulations and bylaws of the registration offices where you live. For this I advise you to visit