The work of charitable foundations in Europe has its own peculiarities. In the developed countries this is the name of the organization, which operates outside the government and is aimed at obtaining socially significant, not financial, benefits.

The task of the charitable foundation in Europe is implementation of a number of target programs, which are specified in the Charter, as well as assistance in various spheres of society.

A charitable foundation in Europe can take one of three forms:

Charitable Company.
Incorporated organization.Unincorporated association.

About 1/3 of the organizations are characterized by having a corporate structure, which gives the right to carry out many projects – available to both individuals and legal entities. They can keep staff (including volunteers), work under agreements and contracts, rent property (movable, immovable).

In this case, the founders are not responsible for the actions they take within the framework of the work of the charitable foundation. If it is not a corporate body, individuals are directly liable.

Charitable company

This is the name of a foundation that has a corporate form and a broad membership of its members. Here there is no financial remuneration for the work, the main document is the Charter. The charitable company has the right to independently distribute the proceeds (monetary, non-material). In ¾ cases, the organization is created with the form of OPF and provides charitable activities.

Incorporated organization

A united organization assumes a large membership of the founders. Each co-owner has the sole right to make decisions on the appointment of committee members, management of the organization, changes and additions to the Charter, implementation of goals and objectives. Joint organization does not work in the interests of the founders, also a third independent person can join the work.

Important! Especially popular in Europe are the organizations which have passed registration in the form of an SJC. Decisions in this case are made by board members.

Unincorporated association

An unincorporated association is relevant when the participants have low requirements for their assets. About half of the registered organizations choose the “trust” form of governance – it occurs when the founders are not going to hire a large staff and/or want to do business for their own personal benefit outside of the charity.

To determine the choice of the charitable foundation form, in Europe the following factors are taken into account: the purpose and strategy of work, methods of achievement, management process, relationships with third parties, sources of funding, the level of responsibility of the founders, participation in grant projects, etc. In the top list of charitable foundations in Europe are: Stichting INGKA Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and The Church Commissioners for England.