{"id":4250,"date":"2015-08-26T00:01:31","date_gmt":"2015-08-26T04:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=4250"},"modified":"2015-08-26T00:01:31","modified_gmt":"2015-08-26T04:01:31","slug":"public-charity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/08\/public-charity\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Charity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-4251 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/IRS_Form990-2014-e1437588254901.png\" alt=\"IRS_Form990-2014\" width=\"250\" height=\"323\" \/>Wonkiness Alert<br \/>\nThis post is only (or mostly)<br \/>\nfor those interested in nonprofit minutiae.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are two basic types of 501(c)(3) organizations: public charities and private foundations. Private foundations are limited in the deductions available to contributors, are subject to excise taxes, and have a different and more complicated Form 990 (990PF) to fill out. (In addition, they are required to distribute a minimum percentage of their assets every year, but this is not an issue for most nonprofits.) If approved as a 501(c)(3) an organization is a private foundation unless it proves otherwise.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">With me so far?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">An organization can be classified a public charity under section 509(a) of the tax code. (Gee, this is so much fun!) For those who are still awake and paying attention, here are the four categories of public charities:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>509(a)(1): \u201ctraditional\u201d public charities\u2014broad-based public support (public charity status is based upon public support) as defined, are you ready, by paragraphs 170(b)(1)(A)(i)-(vi)<\/li>\n<li>509(a)(2): gross receipts\/service provider organizations (<em>e.g.<\/em>, museums, symphony orchestras)<\/li>\n<li>509(a)(3): supporting organizations (foundations that wholly support a public charity)<\/li>\n<li>509(a)(4): test for public safety<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What possessed me to bore my readers with this information was the realization that there are two significant elements of terminology in the tax code of which members of the nonprofit arts community should be aware. One, that is mentioned from time to time, is that the word &#8220;arts&#8221; does not appear in the language establishing 501(c)(3)&#8217;s. The arts must either fall under education or charitable organization.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The other is what I&#8217;ve presented here. <strong>Every arts organization is, in the eyes of the tax code, a public charity. I think it&#8217;s worth our while to consider what that means (or should mean) in the ways we conduct our business and interact with our communities.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If you made it this far, congratulations. Now go do something that can be considered summer fun.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Engage!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Doug<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every arts organization is, in the eyes of the tax code, a public charity. What should that mean in the ways we conduct our business and interact with our communities?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Public Charity: The IRS considers nonprofit arts organizations public charities. Do we act like it?","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[12,13,22,18],"class_list":{"0":"post-4250","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-principles","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-community-engagement","10":"tag-public-good","11":"tag-terminology","12":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/IRS_Form990-2014-e1437588254901.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-16y","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":868,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2011\/12\/occupy-lincoln-center\/","url_meta":{"origin":4250,"position":0},"title":"Occupy Lincoln Center (Thanks, Scott)","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"December 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Nope, this is not my title. It is blatant theft from Scott Walters' multi-part blog on the topic. For those of you who have not seen the posts, here are links to the first two: Occupy Lincoln Center-Part I and Occupy Lincoln Center-Part II. The thing about kindred spirits is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/4328577925_e7fa3d3295_t.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3387,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2014\/01\/dark-future\/","url_meta":{"origin":4250,"position":1},"title":"Dark Future?","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"January 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"A re-examination of 501(c) status is on the horizon. This will pit social service providers against all others. In the face of this threat, we must learn to more fully engage with our communities.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Overview&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/TunnelOpening.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3120,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/08\/not-or-and-but\/","url_meta":{"origin":4250,"position":2},"title":"Not &#8220;Or&#8221;, &#8220;And&#8221;, but . . . .","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"August 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A recent Op-Ed piece by Peter Singer in the New York Times, \u201cGood Charity, Bad Charity\u201d, has been the subject of considerable discussion in the arts world. Singer's premise is that a way to make choices in charitable giving is to evaluate social return on investment. He specifically compares \"health\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"NotOrAndBut","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/NotOrAndBut-211x300.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1572,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/05\/public-utilities\/","url_meta":{"origin":4250,"position":3},"title":"Public Utilities-Private Amenities","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Another highlight for me of the recent American Association of Museums Conference was a brief presentation by Ford Bell, President of AAM. In a very short welcoming speech, he said two things that will stick with me for a long time. A while back (in Bimodal Engagement) I mentioned that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Overview&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3161,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/10\/examining-the-mission-model\/","url_meta":{"origin":4250,"position":4},"title":"Examining the &#8220;Mission Model&#8221;","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the past five to ten years, much discussion has taken place about the need for revised business models for the arts industry. On the expense side this comes from recognition of the labor cost challenges faced by the performing arts and the capital cost struggles of edifice-centered organizations (museums\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"MissionMotel","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/MissionMotel-300x199.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3659,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2014\/08\/rationales\/","url_meta":{"origin":4250,"position":5},"title":"Rationales","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"August 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Which reasons are more important in becoming more effectively engaged with the community\u2013the \"moral\" ones or the practical ones?","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Why?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Why-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4250"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4254,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4250\/revisions\/4254"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}