Foundation (nonprofit organization)

A foundation (also a charitable foundation) is a legal category of nonprofit organization that will typically either donate funds and support to other organizations, or provide the source of funding for its own charitable purposes. Foundations incorporate private foundations and public foundations.

This type of non-profit organization differs from a private foundation which is typically endowed by an individual or family.

One of the characteristics of the legal entities existing under the status of "Foundations", is a wide diversity of structures and purposes. Nevertheless, there are some common structural elements that are the first observed under legal scrutiny or classification.

Some of the above must be, in most jurisdictions, expressed in the document of establishment. Others may be provided by the supervising authority at each particular jurisdiction.

There is no commonly accepted legal definition in Europe for a foundation. There is a proposal for a European Foundation, a legal form that would be recognised throughout Europe, see European Foundation Project.

The term "foundation," in general, is used to describe a distinct legal entity.

Foundations as legal structures (legal entities) and/or legal persons (legal personality), may have a diversity of forms and may follow diverse regulations depending on the jurisdiction where they are created.

In some jurisdictions, a foundation may acquire its legal personality when it is entered in a public registry, while in other countries a foundation may acquire legal personality by the mere action of creation through a required document. Unlike a company, foundations have no shareholders, though they may have a board, an assembly and voting members. A foundation may hold assets in its own name for the purposes set out in its constitutive documents, and its administration and operation are carried out in accordance with its statutes or articles of association rather than fiduciary principles. The foundation has a distinct patrimony independent of its founder.

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