What is a public benevolent institution?
A public benevolent institution (PBI) is a non-profit institution organised for the direct relief of poverty, sickness, suffering, distress, misfortune, disability or helplessness. Organisations that may be PBIs include: • hostels for the homeless • disability support services • hospitals and medical clinics • disaster relief organisations, and • refugee relief centres. The characteristics of a PBI are: • it is set up for needs that require benevolent relief • it relieves those needs by directly providing services to people suffering from them • it is carried on for the public benefit • it is non-profit • it is an institution, and • its dominant purpose is providing benevolent relief.
