What purposes are valid for a nonprofit corporation?
A nonprofit corporation formed under IRS code Section 501(c)(3) may be formed and organized to operate for some religious, educational, literary, charitable, or scientific purpose. It must be noted that a nonprofit corporation may also be formed for other purposes pursuant to various other sections of the IRS code.
Under 501(c)(3) of the tax code, to qualify for federal tax-exempt status, the nonprofit corporation must be organized and operate for some religious, charitable, educational, literary or scientific purpose. The religious category encompasses general types of religious organizations as well as more formal institutionalized churches. The charitable category refers to services beneficial to the public interest. The educational purpose is defined as a purpose that allows for instruction for both self-development and the benefit of the community. The literary purpose includes writing, publishing and distribution of literature which is utilized to promote the public interest as opposed to commercial book writing and selling. The scientific purpose is delineated as scientific research that is carried on in the public interest rather than research incidental to commercial or industrial operations. The purpose must be listed in the articles of incorporation. Therefore, we ask all our nonprofit
