A foundation is a fairly common form of non-profit organization. In Russia, many charitable foundations are successfully operating, as well as funds created to assist certain types of activities, public spheres of life or social groups of the population (for example, funds to support the development of science, education, culture, sports, etc.). The number of registered private foundations has been increasing in recent years.

Features of the foundation as a non-profit organization

The Foundation is a unitary non-profit organization, i.e. organization without membership. The fund can be established by citizens and (or) legal entities on the basis of voluntary property contributions. Thus, the fund can be considered as a kind of “association of property”, and not “association of persons”.

The activities of the foundation must be aimed at socially beneficial purposes stated in the charter: charitable, cultural, educational or other social goals. For example, the most popular in terms of the purposes of their creation:

• charitable foundations that carry out charitable activities in the interests of society as a whole or certain categories of citizens;
• funds for the preservation of public works or public heritage;
• research support funds;
• funds to support education or support the development of an educational institution;
• funds for the support, development and protection of small businesses and entrepreneurship; and others.

A feature of the foundation, in addition to the lack of membership and specific purposes of creation and activity, is also its property isolation. The property transferred to the foundation by its founders (founder) is the property of the foundation. The founders of the fund do not retain property rights in relation to the property transferred to the fund and are not liable for its obligations, and the fund is not liable for the obligations of its founders. The Foundation has the right to use property only for the purposes specified in its charter. The property of the fund remaining after its liquidation and settlements with creditors is not subject to distribution among the founders.

As a rule, a fund is first created with funds from the founders, and later attracts other financial resources, for example, donations, proceeds from events, income from business activities, etc.

At the same time, the foundation has the right to engage in entrepreneurial activities, but only those that are necessary to achieve the socially beneficial goals for which it was created as reflected in its charter, and which corresponds to these goals (social, charitable, cultural, educational and others). However, it should be borne in mind that the foundation, like any non-profit organization, does not have the right to engage in professional business activities that require obtaining permission or a license from a government agency (for example, carry out banking and (or) financial transactions, construction, medical activities and etc.). To carry out such activities, foundations have the right to create business companies or participate in them. Also, the fund does not have the right to carry out entrepreneurial activities aimed at making a profit at the expense of persons to whom the fund must provide property and financial assistance.

The foundation can dispose of its property independently, through its management bodies. For example, he has the right to allocate grants (earmarked funds) to other public or charitable organizations to support charitable projects, and establish various scholarships and awards.

At the same time, the fund is obliged to annually publish publicly available reports on the use of its property (reports on the fund’s receipts and expenditures).

Features of fund management

The creation of a fund is carried out as a result of its establishment by decision of the founders. The fund can be created by a single founder. However, the functions of the founders are limited to the procedure for creating a legal entity; further, they do not participate in the management of its activities. The management of the fund is carried out by the governing bodies provided for by its charter, while the fund is free to choose its governing bodies.

For example, the highest governing body may be the Fund's Board, which determines the main directions of its work. The current management of the fund’s activities can be carried out by a sole executive body - the President or Director, or a collegial body - the Directorate, etc. Special committees, councils, etc. may be created to manage certain types of fund activities. (for example, the Council on the Use of Endowment Capital, which determines the goals and procedure for using income from endowment capital generated through voluntary donations).

In addition, the fund is required to have an external supervisory body - the fund's board of trustees, whose functions include supervision of the activities of the fund and its officials: supervision of the adoption of decisions by other bodies of the fund and ensuring their execution, control over the use of the fund's funds, and the fund's compliance with the law. The fund's board of trustees operates on a voluntary basis, and the procedure for its formation and activities is determined by the charter.

A non-profit organization that does not have a membership and is established by citizens and (or) legal entities on the basis of voluntary property contributions. Such an organization can be created to provide services in the field of education, healthcare, culture, science, law, physical culture and sports. According to the current legislation of the Russian Federation, an independent non-profit organization can carry out entrepreneurial activities aimed at achieving the goals for which it was created, but profits are not distributed among the founders. It is also important to know that the founders of an autonomous non-profit organization do not retain rights to the property they transferred into the ownership of this organization, are not responsible for the obligations of the autonomous non-profit organization they created, and it, in turn, is not responsible for the obligations of its founders.

The founders of an autonomous non-profit organization do not have advantages over the participants of an established autonomous non-profit organization and can use its services only on equal terms with other persons. Supervision over the activities of an autonomous non-profit organization is carried out by its founders in the manner prescribed by the constituent documents. The supreme governing body of an autonomous non-profit organization must be collegial, and the founders of the autonomous non-profit organization independently determine the form and procedure for forming a collegial supreme governing body.

The collegial supreme governing body of an ANO is the general meeting of founders or another collegial body (Board, Council and other forms, which may include the founders, representatives of the founders, and the director of the ANO).

Non-commercial partnership

This is a membership-based non-profit organization established by citizens and (or) legal entities (at least 2 people) to assist its members in carrying out activities aimed at achieving social, charitable, cultural, educational, scientific and other goals. A non-profit partnership is a legal entity that can, on its own behalf, acquire and exercise property and non-property rights, perform duties, and be a plaintiff and defendant in court. A non-profit partnership is created without a limitation on the period of activity, unless otherwise established by its constituent documents.

One of the features of this organizational and legal form of non-profit organizations is that the property transferred to the non-profit partnership by its members becomes the property of the partnership. In addition, like the founders of an autonomous non-profit organization, members of a non-profit partnership are not liable for its obligations, and a non-profit partnership is not liable for the obligations of its members. A non-profit partnership has the right to carry out business activities that comply with the statutory goals of the partnership.

The mandatory rights of members of the organization include the opportunity to participate in the management of the affairs of a non-profit partnership, to receive information about the activities of a non-profit partnership in accordance with the procedure established by the constituent documents, to withdraw from a non-profit partnership at their own discretion, and others. The highest governing body of a non-profit partnership is the general meeting of members of the organization. A participant in a non-profit partnership may be excluded from it by decision of the remaining participants in cases provided for by the constituent documents. A participant excluded from a non-profit partnership has the right to receive part of the organization’s property or the value of this property.

Fund

This is one of the most common organizational and legal forms of non-profit organizations. The fund is established for certain social, charitable, cultural, educational or other public benefit purposes by pooling property contributions.

Compared to other forms of non-profit organizations, a foundation has a number of significant features. First of all, it is not membership-based, so its members are not obliged to take part in the activities of the foundation and are deprived of the right to participate in the management of its affairs. In addition, the foundation is the full owner of its property, and its founders (participants) are not liable for its debts. In the event of liquidation of the fund, the property remaining after repayment of debts is not subject to distribution between the founders and participants.

The legal capacity of the foundation is limited: it has the right to carry out only those entrepreneurial activities that correspond to the purposes of its creation, as specified in the charter. In this regard, the law allows funds to participate in entrepreneurial activities both directly and through business entities created for these purposes.

Unlike a number of other non-profit organizations, the foundation does not have the right to participate in limited partnerships as a contributor. The founders, members and participants of public funds cannot be state authorities and local governments.

The property activities of the fund must be carried out publicly, and to oversee the compliance of the fund’s activities with the provisions prescribed in its charter, a board of trustees and a control and audit body (audit commission) are created.

The fund's board of trustees supervises the activities of the fund, the adoption of decisions by other bodies of the fund and ensuring their execution, the use of the fund's funds, and the fund's compliance with the law. The fund's board of trustees may apply to the court to liquidate the fund or make changes to its charter in cases provided for by law. The decisions made by the board of trustees are advisory in nature, in contrast to the decisions of the governing and executive bodies.

Members of the fund's board of trustees perform their duties in this body on a voluntary basis and do not receive remuneration for this activity. The procedure for the formation and activities of the board of trustees is determined by the charter approved by its founders.

Amendments to the foundation's charter, as well as its liquidation, are possible only through court proceedings.

Charitable Foundation

A charitable foundation is a non-profit organization established by pooling property contributions for the purpose of carrying out charitable activities.

The activities of the charitable foundation and the procedure for its implementation are regulated by the statutory documents. Charitable foundations usually raise funds for their activities in two ways. Option one: the fund finds a sponsor or a certain philanthropist acts as its founder, which can be either a state or a company, or an individual individual. Another option: the fund itself can try to earn money to carry out its statutory activities.

Participation in charitable foundations is prohibited for state authorities, local governments, as well as state and municipal enterprises and institutions. Charitable foundations themselves do not have the right to participate in business companies together with other legal entities.

The structure of the foundation does not provide for membership, therefore, given that charitable activities require constant material costs, which cannot be provided in the absence of membership fees, the law allows foundations to participate in business activities both directly and through business societies created for these purposes.

According to the law, a charitable foundation must create a board of trustees - a supervisory body that supervises the activities of the foundation, the use of its funds, the adoption of decisions by other bodies of the foundation and ensuring their implementation.

The fund's board of trustees may apply to the court to liquidate the fund or make changes to its charter in cases provided for by law.

Establishment

An institution is a non-profit organization created by the owner to provide managerial, socio-cultural and other services of a non-commercial nature and financed by him in whole or in part. The owner can be legal entities and individuals, municipalities and the state itself. An institution can be created jointly by several owners.

The founding document of an institution is the charter, which is approved by the owner. Like other non-profit organizations, the institution’s property is under the right of operational management, i.e. the institution may use and dispose of it only to the extent permitted by the owner.

The institution is responsible for its obligations with the funds at its disposal, and if they are insufficient, the debt is recovered from the owner of the institution.

Despite the fact that the institution is the organizational and legal form of non-profit organizations, the owner can give the institution the right to engage in entrepreneurial activities that generate income by providing for this clause in the charter. Such income (and property acquired through it) are recorded on a separate balance sheet and come under the economic control of the institution.

Association or union

To coordinate their business activities, as well as to represent and protect common property interests, commercial organizations can create associations in the form of associations or unions. Non-profit organizations can also unite into associations and unions, however, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, associations of legal entities can be created only by commercial or only non-profit legal entities.

Simultaneous participation in the association of commercial and non-profit organizations is not permitted.

By uniting into an association or union, legal entities retain their independence and status as a legal entity. Regardless of the organizational and legal form of legal entities included in associations and unions, they are non-profit organizations.

An association (union) is not liable for the obligations of its members, but they, on the contrary, are liable for the obligations of the association with all their property. The grounds and limits of this responsibility are prescribed in the constituent documents.

The highest governing body is the general meeting of members of the organization. If, by decision of the participants, the association (union) is entrusted with conducting business activities, such an association (union) will be transformed into a business company or partnership. Also, to carry out entrepreneurial activities, an association (union) can create a business company or participate in such a company.

The property of the association (union) is formed from regular and one-time receipts from participants or from other sources permitted by law. When an association is liquidated, the property remaining after repayment of debts is not distributed among the participants, but is directed to purposes similar to the goals of the association being liquidated.

Public association

This is a voluntary, self-governing non-profit organization created on the initiative of a group of citizens on the basis of common interests and for the implementation of common goals.

Public associations can be created in the form of:

• public organization (an association based on membership and created on the basis of joint activities to protect common interests and achieve the statutory goals of united citizens);
• social movement (consisting of participants and a mass public association that does not have membership, pursuing political, social and other socially beneficial goals);
• public fund (one of the types of non-profit foundations, which is a public association that does not have a membership, the purpose of which is to form property on the basis of voluntary contributions (and other revenues permitted by law) and use this property for socially beneficial purposes);
• public institution (a non-membership public association created to provide a specific type of service that meets the interests of participants and corresponds to the statutory goals of this association);
• political public association (a public association, the main goals of which include participation in the political life of society through influence on the formation of the political will of citizens, participation in elections to state authorities and local governments through the nomination of candidates and the organization of their election campaign, as well as participation in organization and activities of these bodies).

On a territorial basis, public organizations are divided into all-Russian, interregional, regional and local.

A public association can be created on the initiative of at least 3 individuals. Also, the founders, along with individuals, may include legal entities - public associations.

Public associations can carry out business activities only to achieve the goals for which they were created. Income from business activities is not distributed among members of associations and should be used only to achieve statutory goals.

Collegium of Advocates

A non-profit organization based on membership and operating on the principles of self-government of voluntarily united citizens engaged in legal practice on the basis of a license.

The purpose of the creation and subsequent activities of the bar association is to provide qualified legal assistance to individuals and legal entities in protecting their rights, freedoms and legitimate interests.

The founders of the bar association can be lawyers whose information is included in only one regional register. The constituent documents on the basis of which the college of lawyers carries out its activities are the charter approved by its founders and the constituent agreement.

The Bar Association is a legal entity, owns separate property, bears independent responsibility for its obligations, can acquire and exercise property and personal non-property rights in its own name, perform duties, be a plaintiff, defendant and a third party in court, has a seal and stamp with by its name.

The property of the bar association belongs to it as a private property of a legal entity and is used only for the implementation of statutory purposes.

Law Office

This is a non-profit organization created by two or more lawyers to provide professional legal assistance to individuals and legal entities. Information about the establishment of a law office is entered into the unified state register of legal entities, and its founders enter into a partnership agreement between themselves, which contains confidential information and is not subject to state registration. Under this agreement, partner lawyers undertake to combine their efforts and direct them to provide legal assistance on behalf of all partners.

Upon expiration of the partnership agreement, members of the law office have the right to enter into a new partnership agreement. If a new partnership agreement is not concluded within a month from the date of termination of the previous one, the law office is subject to transformation into a bar association or liquidation. From the moment the partnership agreement is terminated, its participants bear joint liability for unfulfilled obligations in relation to their principals and third parties.

Consumer cooperative

A consumer cooperative is a voluntary, membership-based association of citizens and (or) legal entities created to satisfy the material and other needs of participants by pooling property shares among its members. Shareholders of a cooperative can be legal entities and citizens who have reached the age of 16, and the same citizen can be a member of several cooperatives at the same time.

The only constituent document of a cooperative is the charter, approved by the highest internal management body of this organization - the general meeting of members of the cooperative.

Unlike a number of other non-profit organizations, the Law provides for the implementation of certain types of entrepreneurial activities for a cooperative. The income received as a result of this activity is distributed among the participants of the cooperative or goes to other needs established by the general meeting of participants.

The property of the cooperative belongs to it by right of ownership, and the shareholders retain only obligatory rights to this property. The cooperative is liable for its obligations with its property and is not liable for the obligations of its shareholders.

Consumer cooperatives include: housing-construction, dacha-construction, garage-construction, housing, dacha, garage, gardening cooperatives, as well as homeowners' associations and some other cooperatives.

The name of the cooperative indicates the specifics and types of activities of this legal entity. Thus, housing-construction, dacha-building and garage-building cooperatives imply that at the time of the establishment of the cooperative, a facility (apartment residential building, dacha building, garages, etc.) that is completely ready for operation, to which the cooperative subsequently acquires rights, is not exists. While when establishing a housing, dacha or garage cooperative, these objects already exist.

Share contributions are used to conduct trade, procurement, production and other activities in order to meet the material and other needs of members. A consumer cooperative can exist both as an independent organizational and legal form of a legal entity (for example, housing construction cooperatives), and in the form of a consumer society (district, city, etc.), and as a union of consumer societies (district, regional, regional etc.), which is a form of association of consumer societies. The name of a consumer cooperative must contain an indication of the main purpose of its activities, as well as the word “cooperative” or the words “consumer society” or “consumer union”. All these requirements are reflected in the law.

Religious association

A religious association is recognized as a voluntary association of citizens formed for the purpose of jointly professing and spreading faith and having such characteristics as religion, teaching and religious education of its followers, as well as the performance of divine services and other religious rites and ceremonies.

Only individuals can be members of religious organizations.

Religious associations can be created in the form of religious groups and religious organizations. At the same time, the creation of religious associations in government bodies and other government bodies, state institutions and local government bodies is prohibited.

Like other non-profit organizations, religious organizations have the right to engage in business activities only to achieve the purposes for which they were created. A significant difference between this organizational and legal form from a number of other forms of non-profit organizations is that members of a religious organization do not retain any rights to the property transferred into its ownership. Members of a religious association are not responsible for the obligations of the organization, and the organization is not responsible for the obligations of its members.

National-cultural autonomy

This is a form of national-cultural self-determination, which is an association of citizens of the Russian Federation who identify themselves as belonging to a certain ethnic community that is in the situation of a national minority in the corresponding territory. A non-profit organization in the form of national-cultural autonomy is created on the basis of their voluntary self-organization in order to independently resolve issues of preserving identity, developing language, education, and national culture.

According to the Law of the Russian Federation “On National-Cultural Autonomy”, national-cultural autonomies can be local (city, district, township, rural), regional or federal.

The fund is one of the forms of a unitary non-profit organization, the activities of which are aimed not at making a profit, but at achieving certain socially or socially significant goals. The foundation can be established by both individuals and legal entities, on the basis of voluntary property contributions.

Both commercial and non-commercial Russian or foreign enterprises can act as legal entities.

The Foundation has the right:

• open representative offices throughout Russia;
• have company symbols (letterheads, emblem, etc.);
• have bank accounts;
• participate in the activities of other NPOs with similar goals;
• carry out entrepreneurial activities if this is necessary to achieve the goals specified in the foundation’s charter.

The Foundation must:

• maintain your own budget and balance sheet;
• have a statutory seal with the full name;
• keep full records of income and expenses, as well as property received or acquired during the existence of the fund;
• provide up-to-date information about the organization’s activities to founders and tax authorities.

Difference between a foundation and other non-profit organizations

The fund is characterized by:

• lack of membership;
• absence ;
• voluntary property contributions;
• annual provision of reports on the use of your property;
• carrying out business activities that correspond to the goals specified in the charter;
• lack of possibility of reorganization (with the exception of cases provided for in paragraph 4 of Article 123.17 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Another important feature of the fund structure is lack of possibility to increase the number of founders upon completion of registration. In addition, all founders, except for the board of directors, lose the opportunity to directly influence the work of the organization.

Depending on the purpose of creation, funds can be following directions:

• cultural;
• social;
• charitable;
• educational.

In order to achieve their goals, foundations have the right to carry out commercial activities, but only if they establish their own or participate in already established business companies.

Types and features

The most common types of foundations are public, charitable and autonomous non-profit organizations.

Under charitable foundation means an NPO created by combining voluntary property contributions and directing these funds to carry out one or another charitable activity.

Funds raise funds for charity using one of the following methods:

1. They look for a sponsor or appoint a philanthropist as a founder, which can be an individual, an organization or the state.
2. They independently earn money to carry out statutory activities.
3. Receive grants or funding from other non-profit organizations.
4. The fund's funds are invested in, etc.

The foundation's charter must reflect that it created directly for the implementation of socially significant goals through charitable activities. Such actions do not include assistance and support to political parties and commercial organizations.

In addition, the charter determines the procedure for distributing property if liquidation proceedings are initiated against the fund. If this procedure is not reflected in the charter, the decision on the procedure for using the property remains with the liquidation commission.

The main difference between a charitable foundation and others is that it cannot be transformed into a business company or partnership. It is also important to note the following points regarding the finances of a charitable organization:

• it is forbidden to spend more 20% all funds spent per year on salaries of the administrative and managerial staff of the fund (the limitation does not apply to the salaries of employees directly implementing charitable programs);
• from 80% The fund's donations are subject to distribution for charitable purposes within a period not exceeding one year from the moment the funds are received into the fund's account.

Both citizens and legal entities have the opportunity to establish a fund, since the Civil Code does not regulate any special requirements. The only restriction is that government bodies and municipal enterprises cannot be participants in charitable organizations and foundations.

The registration process of a charitable foundation is carried out entirely by the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Justice of Russia, based on the following documents submitted:

1. Applications in form No. RN0001.
2. Constituent documents, in particular, the charter (in triplicate), the protocol of establishment and the constituent agreement.
3. Receipts for payment of state duty in the amount of 4,000 thousand rubles.

Public fund, unlike a charity, is a voluntary, self-governing, non-profit organization created to implement the goals and objectives set out in the charter.

Other salient features:

• at least three founders, and these can be both individuals and legal entities (mainly public associations);
• Government bodies and municipal enterprises cannot be participants and founders of public organizations and foundations.
• the opportunity to begin carrying out its statutory activities from the moment the founders make a decision to found the fund, approve the charter and determine the governing bodies (in this case, it will not be a legal entity);
• legal capacity arises upon completion of the state registration process (which is somewhat different from the process).

Types of funds by territorial basis:

• international level(at least one branch or division must be created and operate in foreign countries);
• all-Russian level(when creating branches or divisions on a larger territory of the regions of the Russian Federation);
• interregional level(when creating branches or divisions in the territory of some regions of the Russian Federation);
• regional level(when creating branches or divisions in the territory of one region of the Russian Federation);
• local level(when creating branches or divisions on the territory of a local government body).

The procedure for registering a public foundation occurs in almost the same way as registering a charitable foundation.

The process is carried out by territorial bodies of the Ministry of Justice of Russia on the basis of a notarized application RN0001, as well as a package of mandatory documents, including a decision on the founding of an organization, constituent documents, information about the types of activities carried out, information about the legal address and a receipt for payment of state fees.

Autonomous non-profit foundation is established by a group of persons acting on the basis of an association of voluntary property contributions, the purpose of which is to provide cultural, educational, medical, sports or other services.

Property transferred by the participants of the organization becomes its property. The founders of the fund are exempt from mutual obligations and have the right to use the organization’s services on an equal basis with other persons.

Foundation documents:

• charter;
• memorandum of association.

It is permissible for an autonomous non-profit foundation to carry out entrepreneurial activities if these activities correspond to the goals of its creation. Upon its liquidation, the remaining property is distributed among the participants of the organization; the same rules apply as for withdrawal from the fund.

Registration procedure and required documents

Step-by-step instructions for registering a fund consist of the following steps:

The average duration of the procedure is one month. The fee charged for registration is 4,000 rubles.

Package of documents required for fund registration:

1. Statement RN0001 with the signature, full name, permanent residence address and telephone number of the applicant (two copies). One copy must be notarized, the second must be bound and certified by the founder. Since the main activity of the fund is to receive and direct funds for statutory purposes, the statement indicates 65.23.
2. Constituent documentation of the foundation(charter) in triplicate. The charter of a registered fund, in addition to basic information, must include the name (directly using the word “fund”), the purpose of creating the organization, information about the governing bodies of the fund, reflecting the procedure for appointment to managerial positions and the procedure for dismissal from them, and the location of the registered fund. on the distribution of property in the event that a liquidation procedure is launched, Protocol on the founding of the organization (two copies): if there are two or more founders, it must be drawn up as a protocol of the meeting of founders; in the case of one founder, it must be drawn up as a decision of the sole founder.
3. Organization address(two copies) - in the form of a lease agreement with copies of the certificate of ownership or letter of guarantee attached.
4. Information about the founders of the organization(two copies), including the following information for an individual - full name, registration address and telephone number, for a legal entity - TIN, full name, location address and telephone number.
5. Original and copy of duty payment receipt.

All documentation submitted to the Ministry for registration must be stitched, numbered and signed on the firmware by the applicant. Submission of documents can be carried out either personally by the applicant or through an authorized representative (using a power of attorney executed in accordance with current legislation).

The fund registration process takes about 30 days. After this period, appropriate changes are made to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, a certificate is issued and the fund is officially considered registered.

Further steps consist of registering with extra-budgetary funds, resolving issues with opening accounts, obtaining a seal and statistical codes and implementing other organizational measures.

Difficulties

Registering a fund is a complex and lengthy process, and not everyone can successfully complete this task. The main difficulty is that registration of NPOs is carried out by the Ministry of Justice, which regularly changes regulations. According to statistics, most refusals occur due to non-compliance of the submitted documents with established standards or errors made during the preparation of documents.

In addition, increased requirements are imposed on the legal address of the registered fund, and this is not always given due attention. Despite all the difficulties, a large number of foundations and non-profit organizations are registered in our country every year, and the only way to avoid refusal is carefully check documents for compliance with the standards established by the Ministry of Justice.

Additional information on registering a fund can be found in this video.