501(c) Organization
A 501(c) organization must not be organized or operated for the benefit of private interests, such as the creator or the creator's family, shareholders of the organization, other designated individuals, or persons controlled directly or indirectly by such private interests.

Types of 501(c)(3) organizations:

• Religious
• Educational
• Charitable
• Scientific
• Literary
• Testing for Public Safety
• Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals
• Community Service
• and others...

Accountability
This is a board's sense of responsibility, building of trust, and credibility with the public and constituents.

Addiction Treatment
Addiction is described as giving (oneself) up to something habitually or compulsively. Treatment facilities work towards helping individuals overcome their addiction, whether it is alcoholism or gambling, and help them regain control of their lives.

Advocacy
Advocacy involves representing an organization through articulating the mission and supporting and defending the organization’s message. Advocacy also relates to representing and defending the rights of individuals with disabilities.

Arm’s length transaction
This is a financial transaction where both parties act independently and agree on a fair price for a product or service.

Association
An association is a membership organization that may be incorporated or unincorporated.

Board of Directors
The board is the governing body of a nonprofit or for-profit corporation; the board has specific legal and ethical responsibilities to the organization.

Bonds
There are several types of bonds. Insurance bonds are normally three-party contracts in which one party agrees to guarantee the act, performance or behavior of a second party, to a third party. The two most common types are listed below.

Surety Bond
A three party agreement whereby one party (the Surety), is bound with the person/organization bonded (the Principal), to a third party (the Obligee or Beneficiary). The Surety Bond ensures that the Principal will comply with the terms of the contract existing between the Principal and the Obligee.

Fidelity Bond
An insurance policy that reimburses an employer for employee theft or embezzlement.

Bylaws
The legal operating guidelines for a board.

Care Manager
A person or entity who is contracted and compensated by a client, family member of a client or other interested party to exercise all or part of the powers and duties designated for the care of an incapacitated person or that person’s estate, or both.

Charity
This is a nonprofit organization providing a public service as defined by the Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3).

Community/Social Services
These programs are community based, multi-faceted non-profit facilities. Most program participants have multiple needs. Another category of participants is consumers in need of services due to lower levels of income. These facilities generally have 501(c) structure and provide services to the community to improve the social and individual welfare of the community.

Conservation
The attempt by the insurer to prevent the lapse of a policy.

Corporate foundation
This is a foundation whose funds are provided by a specific corporation; representatives of the corporation supervise disbursement of funds.

Developmental Disability
Individuals grow physically, mentally and emotionally through a number of developmental landmarks. For example, most children say their first words between 10 and 14 months of age. Most walk between 12 and 18 months of age.

These milestone events are examples of developmental landmarks. A child who does not experience these landmarks at the expected age may have a developmental disability.

A developmental disability is a severe chronic disability which:

• Is caused by mental or physical impairment or a combination of these impairments
• Is evident before a person reaches age 22
• Is likely to continue throughout a person's lifetime
• Results in substantial limitations in three or more of the following areas of life activity:

• Self care
• Receptive and expressive language
• Learning
• Mobility
• Self-Direction, or ability to live with independence and economic self-sufficiency
• Reflects a person's need for services on a lifetime or extended basis

Specific Developmental Disabilities include:

• Mental Retardation
• Epilepsy
• Autism
• Learning Disabilities
• Cerebral Palsy
• Down's Syndrome
• Neurological Impairments
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Tourette's Syndrome
• Spina Bifida
• Neurofibromatosis

Domestic corporation
This is a corporation that is considered domestic in the state where it has filed its articles of incorporation; it is foreign in any other state.

Endowment
A fund or collection of assets whose investment earnings support an organization or a specific project.

Estate tax
This is a federal tax on inheritances over a specific amount; planned giving can provide a way to avoid paying some or all of this tax.

Executive Committee
An Executive Committee is a committee that has specific powers, outlined in the bylaws, which allow it to act on the board’s behalf when a full board meeting is not possible or necessary.

Federated organization
An organizational structure composed of a national umbrella organization and smaller local chapters.

Form 1023
An application form for nonprofits that want to be recognized as a 501(c)(3) organization.

Form 1024
A n application form for nonprofits that seek tax-exempt recognition as any other type of 501(c) organization than a 501(c)(3).

Foundation
This is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization that normally distributes funds rather than running its own programs.

Governance
The legal authority of a board to establish policies that will affect the life and work of the organization while holding the board accountable for the outcome of such decisions.

Guardian
A person or entity who is appointed by the court to exercise all of the powers and duties designated for the care of an incapacitated person or that person's estate, or both.

Incorporation
A legal process in which a group is created and recognized by the state as an entity separate from the individuals who manage or govern it.

Indemnification
A guarantee by an organization to rely on its own resources to pay board members' legal costs for claims that result from board service.

Integrated Delivery Systems
A network of health care providers and organizations which provides or arranges to provide a coordinated continuum of services to a defined population and is willing to be held clinically and fiscally accountable for the clinical outcomes and health status of the population served. An IDS may own or could be closely aligned with an insurance product.

Lead gift
A major gift, usually from a board member to launch a capital campaign.

Legal audit
A process of systematically reviewing all legal documents and processes, usually with professional help.

Liability
Any legal responsibility, duty, or obligation.

Medical/Physical Rehabilitation
Med/Phys Rehab involves assisting persons with medical/physical disabilities to attain their fullest physical, mental, social and vocational independence. Rehabilitation services commonly provided include: case management, residential, vocational, recreational, clinical and medical.

Rehabilitation services are typically provided to individuals with the following:

• Developmental Disabilities
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Other Mobility Impairing Injuries
• Bone Disease
• Chronic Pain
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Occupational and Sports Injuries
• Nerve or Muscle Disease
• Amputation
• Cardiovascular Diseases

Membership organization
A nonprofit that grants its members specific rights to participate in its internal affairs.

Mental Health Care
These facilities gear their program primarily to serving people in need of behavioral rehabilitation services due to mental or social disabilities. These facilities are non-profit and community based. These facilities provide one or more of the following services under the organization's direct control:

• Counseling
• Counseling Centers
• Crisis Centers/Crisis Intervention Centers
• Hotlines
• Telephone Counseling Services
• Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling/Vocational Agencies
• Halfway Group Homes
• Self Help Group Homes
• Advocacy Groups

Mission
The fundamental purpose and reason to exist for an organization.

Mission Statement
This describes the needs the organization was created to fill and answers the basic question of why the organization exists.

Nonprofit Organization
An organization established for activities other than profit making.

Nonprofit Sector
This includes organizations that are independent from government and not part of the for-profit business sector.

Not-for-profit
A term that usually refers to an activity rather than to a nonprofit organization as an entity.

Operating Foundation
A foundation that actively runs programs rather than just distributing grants.

Policy
A written plan used to influence and determine decisions or actions about a specific issue.

Private Inurement
This happens when an insider, an individual who has sizable influence over the organization, enters into an arrangement with the nonprofit and receives benefits greater than she or he provides in return.

Public Support Test
An IRS regulation used to determine whether a nonprofit organization is a private foundation or public charity; involves determining the source of the majority of funding for the organization.

Quid Pro Quo Contribution
A donation that is given with the condition that the donor receives something in return.

Quorum
A minimum number of people required at a meeting in order for business to be conducted.

Relief Organization
An organization that provides humanitarian aid.

Retreat
A day or weekend event where the board or staff go to a location outside of the office or board room and focus on a specific issue or a specific group of issues; examples include orientation, strategic planning, or self-assessment.

SWOT Analysis
A tool for strategic planning; focuses on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Third Sector
A term used to describe the nonprofit sector, as it is separate from government and the for-profit sector.

Transparency
A system of operation that allows outsiders to see how the organization operates, makes decisions, and uses resources; an important aspect to ensure the public trust in an organization.

Values Statement
A written description of the beliefs, principles, and ethical guidelines that direct a nonprofit’s planning and operations.

Volunteer
A person working without compensation.