Page 76 - Washington Nonprofit Handbook 2018 Edition

Descriptions of Common Categories of Charitable Purposes

Advancement of religion includes:

a. constructing or maintaining a church building, monument or burial grounds, or
b. peripheral services like providing music, distributing religious literature and
maintaining missions.

Advancement of education includes the instruction or training for the purpose of
improving or developing capabilities and/or the instruction of the public on subjects
useful to the individual and beneficial to the community. Educational organizations
might:
a. operate a primary or secondary school, a college, or a professional or trade
school that has a regularly scheduled curriculum, a regular faculty, and a
regularly enrolled body of students in attendance at a place where the
educational activities are regularly carried on;

b. present public discussion groups, forums, panels, lectures, or other similar
programs;
c. operate museums, zoos, planetariums, symphony orchestras, theatres, and
other similar organizations; or

d. produce arts performances such as plays, music or dance.

Organizations formed to beautify and maintain the community may:
a. preserve a park or lake for public use;

b. promote city beautification projects; or
c. educate the public about advantages of planting trees in public areas.

Examples of the promotion of health include hospitals, outpatient clinics, homes for
the elderly, and advancing medical knowledge through research.
Organizations engaged in promoting social welfare generally are involved in solving
urban problems, easing racial tensions, furthering historic preservation, or
improving the environment. Examples include organizations that:

a. construct low-income housing and renovate existing housing for low-income
persons;

b. furnish low-interest loans to local businesses in depressed inner-city areas;
c. convert blighted inner-city property into industrial parks and give rental
preference to employers who employ otherwise unemployed individuals; or

d. promote youth sports to combat juvenile delinquency.

WASHINGTON NONPROFIT HANDBOOK -65- 2018