When my eldest daughter entered her senior year of high school, she paid the high school’s parking-space-paint-fee and used the opportunity to paint and profess her mantra of: Treat People with Kindness.

Kindness – a term stemming from circa 1300, with origins of the religious act of benevolence.

“Benevolence” – the quality of being kind.

For tax-exempt public charities, benevolent acts must be considered within the guardrails of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. To enjoy tax-exemption as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3), the organization must be organized and operated primarily to accomplish one or more of the exempt purposes specified in section 501(c)(3). See 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3); 26 C.F.R. § 1.501(c)(3)-1(c). To enjoy or maintain tax-exempt status, the charitable organization must avoid use of charitable assets for the substantial benefit of unqualified individuals or, for certain, control persons.

So, how do public charities, especially religious organizations, manage the confluence of benevolence (i.e., kindness) and tax regulations when seeking to tend to the poor, naked, infirmed, or hungry, i.e., those “in need”?

In a technical sense, the answer is, basically, identification of need and provision of sufficient resources that do not exceed that need—identify a life necessity that the beneficial recipient cannot meet with available resources.

Not a perfect science.

But, theoretical science should not unreasonably deter the objective of treating people with kindness.
Read More