- This page is an encyclopedia article on fundraising; for fundraising on Wikipedia, see our fundraising page (http://wikimediafoundation.org/fundraising), or read about how we use the money (http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/What_we_use_the_money_for).
Fundraising is the legitimate process of raising money by requesting donations from individuals and from businesses, for the purpose of providing charitable assistance ranging a broad spectrum of local or global concerns. Some examples include student scholarship merit awards for athletic or academic achievement; humanitarian concerns; disaster relief; human rights, research; and other social issues.
Fundraising also plays a major role in political campaigns which, despite numerous reform laws, continues to be a highly controversial topic in American politics. (n.b.) political action committees
Equally important are fundraising efforts by virtually every recognized religious group throughout the world - on a local, national, and global level.
In America, legitimate fundraising organizations are given a specific designation by the Internal Revenue Service, noted as 501(c)(3), as a nonprofit organization. A fundraising organization must outline a mission statement, which states its main purpose and objectives, and its overall policies. Major organizations will list the programs with which it is involved in, the kind of funding it receives, and how it allocates its expenses. In addition these organizations are rated annually for both efficiency and compliance by the American Institute of Philanthropy and other watchdog groups. charitywatch.org bbb.com charitynavigator.com
There are also philanthropic organizations created by financial endowment, a large financial gift from an individual, a family, or a corporate entity, known as foundations.
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