foundations

In broad terms, an organization is formed by groups of people that have a set goal or goals in common. Business organizations may range in size from only two people to thousands. These goals or ideals have several aspects that need to be considered and are either explicit (recognized and deliberate) or possibly implicit (behind-the-scenes or unrecognized). The ideal solution is to carefully consider and establish these features during the planning process.

Normally, members of an organization have some type of image or ideal about how the workings of an organization should go and how things should look when everything is going right, according to the overall mission or goal. Most types of businesses or foundations work towards a common goal and follow several general approaches, in order to reach their goal. An organization has many subsystems, including programs, departments, etc. and every one of them have their own way of working; however, they all need to work together in order to reach that common goal.

It can help to think about organizations as systems and to put it simply, the system is looked at like a collection of different parts that work together in a very integrated way with each other, so that the original main goal may be accomplished. This goal could be something as small as performing community service work or working on a fundraiser for charity. This system has different inputs, that when processed, will produce a particular output that will accomplish the goal of that particular organization.

When dealing with a charitable organization there are certain tax laws and exemptions that are applied and the Internal Revenue Service has information on all types. For example, an organization has to be operated and organized exclusively for exempt purposes and none of the earnings may inure to any private individual or shareholder. Nor can it attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and may not participate in any type of a campaign activity for or against any political candidate.

The Internal Revenue Service has a list of most exempt organizations and tax deductible contributions; however, some may not be on the list if they are waiting for their application to be reviewed. Others that may be eligible for exemption without submitting an application, including churches and their integrated auxiliaries, conventions and/or associations of churches and most other public charities. It is always a good idea to check with the IRS if any particular organization is not listed but is claiming that their exemption is valid. Follow whatever instructions the IRS states.