Rutgers Law

601:687. LAW OF CHARITIES AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS (3)

Dane

Charitable organizations and other nonprofit entities play a vital role as the “third sector” in American society alongside government and for-profit businesses. This three-credit course examines the theory and doctrine of the law governing nonprofit entities.

The topics examined in the course cover the life cycle of a typical nonprofit: formation, operation and governance, tax exemption and deductibility, fundraising, commercial activities, regulation and accountability, and dissolution. More generally, the course considers the puzzle of why nonprofit organizations exist in the first place, their place in the social, economic, and constitutional order, whether the law should accord them special status, and how all these questions relate to the special role that voluntary activity and philanthropy have played in American history. It also examines important distinctions among the various types of nonprofit organizations, including religious entities, traditional charities, advocacy groups, foundations, and private membership associations.