In Russia, there are many types of various organizations. Non-profit associations are considered one of the most common. They are not business entities, although they may be related to revenue generating processes.
The concept and types of non-profit organizations
Before considering the tasks of such structures, it is necessary to determine what the meaning of these terms is.
As a non-profit organization, you can define an organization that does not set a profit as its key goal and, as a result, does not distribute the income received among the participants. Such structures can pursue various goals and can be aimed at the sphere of education, charity, cultural life, the formation of social, managerial and scientific projects. The role of key goals can be played by health protection, development of sports and physical culture, protection legitimate interests and the rights of citizens and even the satisfaction of their spiritual needs.
This list can be continued, but the essence will remain the same - various types of nonprofit organizations are focused on helping certain social groups.
Key differences
For a better understanding of the fact that the structure of a non-commercial format is, it is worth paying attention to its features. And this, first of all, will be their social character. In other words, they always unite either legal entities (various organizations) or ordinary citizens.
Such communities are formed exclusively on a voluntary basis and exist on public money. At the same time, an opportunity for entrepreneurial activity is open to them. But the basis for such an initiative can only be the achievement of the statutory goals. It is worth noting the fact that different types of non-profit public organizations receive certain benefits from the state regarding the payment of taxes.
Legal basis
As for the legislative framework governing the various facets of the activities of such structures, it is worth looking for it in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, and in more detail, in the section “Non-Profit Organizations”. It is here that contains all the characteristics relating to the civil status of such communities and the procedure for obtaining them, as well as the operation of any property.
In addition, the concept and types of non-profit organizations are also defined in the above section. In this branch of the law you can find all the necessary information about what activities and how exactly charitable foundations can be engaged. It also fixes the requirements that should be reflected in their constituent documentation of various types of non-profit organizations.
What you should know about legal entities
There are a number of features that are inherent in the associations of various organizations, the activities of which can be described as non-profit. These differences distinguish them from the background of those communities of legal entities that are profit-oriented.
These features are as follows:
- The initial limitation of legal capacity that all types of non-profit organizations can count on, implying a union of legal entities. In other words, they can be active exclusively in those areas of activity that are fixed in the law and constituent documentation.
- The possibility of using entrepreneurship is available exclusively within the framework of the need to achieve the goals identified as the reasons for creating the organization. This may be the acquisition of securities or the launch of production, the provision of services or participation in business entities. Thus, the activities of non-profit organizations can be quite extensive, but they should always have an objective basis. But here it is important to consider the possibility of one exception.
- To create a non-profit organization, any forms permitted by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and any other laws may be used.
- Another important feature is the fact that any types of non-profit organizations whose forms do not match the fund or the consumer cooperative cannot be declared insolvent. This means that if such communities turned out to owe money to creditors, then there is no reason to transfer them to bankruptcy status through a court decision. But such an organization can be liquidated, and its property will be used to repay the debt. If funds remain after this process, they will be directed towards achieving the goals for which the BUT was originally created.
Beneficiaries
When studying non-profit organizations, the goals and types of these structures, it is worth paying attention to the fact that they can not only be the initiators of charitable activities, but also accept certain funds from volunteers and benefactors. Such donations take several key forms:
- preferential or disinterested transfer of property to property, including intellectual resources and cash;
- gratuitous offer of rights to use, dispose or own any objects or property rights;
- free performance of work or provision of services by philanthropists who are legal entities.
As a rule, BUT is created without a fixed validity period. An exception may be those organizations whose statutes contain such data. As for the status of a legal entity, its BUTs are received as soon as their state registration is completed. It should be noted that registering non-profit organizations is quite difficult. This will require a lot of time, because you have to deal with a large number of legal forms. Because of this, the process of developing constituent documentation can also be quite a troublesome task.
Kinds legal forms nonprofit organizations
If you study the law of the Russian Federation and the Russian Civil Code, you will find that there are clear forms of non-governmental organizations that can be used to create them:
- Consumer cooperatives. They are used if it is planned to unite people on a membership basis in order to make up for their own needs for certain services and goods. In this form, the unitary contributions are the initial material base of the organization.
- Religious and public organizations. In this case, the basis for the unification of persons is the unity of their views. The structure itself is created to implement goals that are common to participants.
- Funds. They definitely should pay attention, understanding what types of legal entities non-profit organizations may include. Funds should be understood as associations that do not have membership and are based solely to achieve goals that are useful to society. As the main tool through which the tasks of such an organization are carried out, it is possible to determine the use of property. All funds are transferred into the ownership of the fund by the founders.
- Nonprofit Partnerships. The main types of non-profit organizations include a form of association based on membership.It can be created both by legal entities and by citizens.
- State corporations. In this case, the founder may be the Russian Federation. A special law was issued to form such a structure. As the key goals of this NGO, it is possible to determine the fulfillment of any socially useful, as well as managerial and social functions.
- Associations and unions of legal entities. Such associations use a membership system. The types of finance of non-profit organizations of this type can have several types, depending on the particular form of structure.
- Autonomous BUT. In this case, membership is not relevant. The key tasks are determined by the provision of services in the field of law, healthcare, science, sports, education, etc.
More about finance
All types of non-profit organizations need constant funding. In order to provide such associations with the necessary means, several paths permitted by law can be used:
- income received through equity participation in commercial organizations;
- profit, the source of which is entrepreneurial activity;
- donations and voluntary contributions;
- proceeds from the founders of the organization.
Financial and economic support for NGOs can also be provided by federal, local and regional self-government bodies. Various types of non-profit organizations may receive such assistance in the form of a partial or full exemption from payment for the operation of municipal and state property, tax benefits, and access to government orders.
Financial management
Initially, it is worthwhile to understand that all types of financial resources of non-profit organizations that they will use are determined by the associations themselves. But at the same time, according to the law, they are required to have an estimate of income and expenses or an independent balance sheet. Such estimates are a prerequisite for all associations. They are also used as an organization’s financial plan.
Such a plan can be drawn up with a breakdown into quarters, and for the year as a whole. Moreover, in the case of launching several projects at the same time, the best option would be to draw up estimates for each of them individually.
As for the definition of the items of expenditures and revenues of budgetary structures, significantly more stringent requirements apply to them.
Principles of financial accounting BUT
The key area in which accounting is used is the fixing of target revenues and expenses, as well as the consideration of the movement of property.
It is important to understand that the funds received in the organization to perform certain tasks must meet the target costs, otherwise it makes sense to talk about the misuse of finances. The concept and types of non-profit organizations are initially considered as a means of achieving goals that are relevant for certain social groups, so funding should be directed in this direction.
Moreover, such a principle does not at all imply the need to use all the funds received during the year, on the contrary, finances can be distributed over several years.
Summary
Different types of legal entities, commercial and non-profit organizations are always created for a specific purpose. And if we talk about the latter, it is worth noting that the mission of such structures is important for society, since with their help changes are achieved that improve the situation of specific social groups.
