Human Service Agencies & Charities: Are They The same?
By Manus O’Donnell Well, most of us survived tax season one more time. As we vow to do things differently next year (start earlier, have more withheld, find more deductions, etc.), perhaps now is a good time to establish what actually constitutes a deductible charity. If a citizen is homeless, a battered spouse or a person with disabilities, and is receiving human services, is the helping agency a charity? Is childcare a human service? Is it also a charity? What is the difference and which is deductible? A human service agency may or may not be a charitable organization. Charities are not just human services. They are not synonymous. They are corollary rather than identical concepts. Definitions Human services generally are considered to be: specific acts which provide an economic or social good for individuals or groups. The services can be provided by a public or private agency. Private human service agencies can be nonprofit or for profit. Public human services may be local, state o
