Charities & foundations · 02 Editorial guide
Charities & foundations
Charitable organisations, foundations, registration, governance, fundraising and use of assets.
First job Identify entity status, fundraising model, asset restrictions and competent civil-affairs authority.
Start here
Key considerations
The first questions are about urgency, governance and preservation — before collection expands or interviews begin.
- What legal entity and charitable status does the organisation hold?
- Who sponsors, governs and controls its assets and fundraising?
- Which authority, fundraising channel, donor restriction or reporting deadline is live?
Direct answer
What this page decides
02
A charity or foundation file begins with legal-entity status, recognized charitable status, sponsor and governing body, supervising civil-affairs authority and the organisation's permitted purpose. Public fundraising, targeted donations, online platforms, grants, investments and related-party transactions can carry different controls. Preserve registration and charter records, board approvals, donor restrictions, accounts, receipts, annual reports, platform disclosures and authority correspondence. Asset use must remain aligned with the approved charitable purpose; a donation or grant file does not automatically authorize every activity or payment route.
At a glance
Which fact changes the next route
Use the fact that changes ownership or urgency to decide the next move.
| Question | Why it matters | Next route |
|---|---|---|
Scope
What this page owns — and what it does not
Practical workflow
Action, evidence, legal gate, output
| Action | Documents / evidence | Legal gate | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirm legal form, charity status, sponsor, governing body and competent civil-affairs authority. | Status and authority record | ||
| Index charter, board, supervisor, conflict, related-party and delegated-authority records. | Governance matrix | ||
| Map donor, channel, public/targeted status, platform, grant purpose, restrictions and receipts. | Funding and restriction ledger | ||
| Reconcile accounts, investments, expenditure, annual reports, audits and authority notices. | Asset and reporting file | ||
| Calendar correction, disclosure, review, dissolution or specialist tax/employment/funding advice. | Decision log and deadline calendar |
Common failure points
Where files usually break
Treating a charity or foundation as an ordinary commercial company.
Assuming legal-entity status automatically grants public-fundraising authority.
Using restricted donations or grants outside the approved purpose without a controlled decision record.
Ignoring sponsor, board, supervisor, related-party or investment controls.
Separating online platform disclosures from receipts, accounts and authority filings.
Missing annual-report, audit, correction, dissolution or asset-transfer deadlines.
Promising recognition or fundraising approval from an entity description alone.
Decision map
Keep the question bounded.
- Fix entity and charity statusDetermine whether the body is a foundation, social group or social-service institution, whether it has recognized charitable-organization status, and which civil-affairs authority supervises it.
- Audit governance and assetsGather registration, charter, board and supervisor records, related-party decisions, donation restrictions, investment records, annual reports, accounts and civil-affairs correspondence.
- Verify fundraising and useSeparate public from targeted fundraising, confirm qualifications and platform use, align donor disclosures and expenditure with the approved purpose, and preserve restricted-asset controls.
- Control reporting and related partiesCalendar annual reports, audits, donation receipts, grant conditions, related-party approvals, investments, dissolution and asset-transfer restrictions.
Curated resources
Open the asset that matches this job.
No canonical deep guide is assigned yet. Use this route for orientation and continue to local context or qualified counsel.
Helpful to prepare
Facts that make the next conversation clearer.
These items are orientation aids, not a legal requirement list.
Counsel hand-off
What to bring when you instruct
This topic route organises the national legal question. It does not decide rights, strategy, liability, approval outcome or procedural result on the facts. Use qualified PRC counsel where fact-specific advice or representation is required.
Local context
Add the city only when it changes implementation.
Add city or province context only when the responsible authority, court, registration practice, permit process or local implementation changes after the national route is identified.
Open city and province guidesCounsel hand-off
Need qualified PRC counsel?
Nonprofit counsel can map registration, sponsorship, fundraising, governance and activity restrictions to the organisation’s structure and operating location.
Find counsel by practiceLegal review
Who reviewed this guide
Subject to editorial/legal review. No reviewer is assigned to this route.
Need qualified counsel?
Move carefully. Move with a record.
Use the portal to identify counsel for this practice and related China-side issues.