The three words ” foundation Especially in some public welfare activities, the name of the so-and-so foundation is always seen. So, what does a foundation mean?
What is the meaning of foundation
A foundation ( charitable foundation , foundation) refers to a non-profit legal person established in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations for the purpose of engaging in public welfare undertakings using properties donated by natural persons, legal persons or other organizations.
Foundations are divided into foundations that raise donations from the public and foundations that are not allowed to raise donations from the public. According to the geographical scope of fundraising, public fundraising foundations are divided into national public fundraising foundations and local public fundraising foundations. According to the ” Foundation Management Regulations “, a foundation must be registered with the civil affairs department to operate legally, and it is a non-governmental non-profit organization by its nature.
The characteristics of the foundation
As a basic social organization and institutional form, foundations are different from governments, enterprises, and general non-profit organizations. Public welfare, non-profit, non-governmental and fund trust are the basic characteristics of foundations.
- Public welfare
The public welfare of foundations is embodied in three aspects: First, foundations originate from donations and are an institutionalized and organized form of public welfare donations; second, foundations have clear public welfare purposes; third, foundations have clear public welfare purposes , benefiting specific groups and society as a whole through various project activities. Public welfare determines that the foundation is essentially a social welfare organization.
- Non-profit
Non-profit is reflected in the operation and management of the foundation and its corresponding institutional norms, which are manifested in three aspects: First, there is a non-profit distribution and income restraint mechanism, which requires the donors and actual entrusted managers of the foundation to Second, there is a non-profit organization operation and management mechanism, which requires the foundation to have a self-control mechanism to effectively avoid higher risks and higher returns; third, there is a non-profit property preservation mechanism, It is required that the foundation shall not change its property and property rights structure by means other than donations.