What is the difference between a charity and a charitable trust?

Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Giving is one of the essential meanings of charity. A Charitable trust is organized to pool funds for charity. 

Differences:

 1. Charity

• Charity is the sum of money or in kind donated by a particular person. 
• The monetary or resource contribution to the charitable trust that provides services or benefits to the poor is known as charity. 
• There are different ways of doing charity. A person may choose to help out a needy by extending monetary help or by providing food or clothing.
• People can choose to donate through various charity donation websites. GoFundme, Golden Giving, Narayan Seva Sansthan and Givey are some of the top charity donation websites in India.
• Donations made to notified charitable trusts are also eligible for deduction under sec 80g of the Income Tax law. The basic conditions for availing of such a deduction are that the amount should be paid as a sum of money (in-kind donations are not exempted) and the donations should be made to a specific fund or institution. The exact amount of deduction can be calculated according to the Income Tax provisions and also depends upon the type of trust the donation is made to. 

 2. Charitable Trust

• A charitable trust is an approved/registered organization that is set up to support the needy section of society (eg, homelessness, mental health, medical conditions, etc.)  
• Charitable organizations or trusts often depend mostly on donations from businesses. Such donations to charity organizations comprise a major part of the Company’s Corporate Social Responsibility.
• Under Indian law, legal entities and these charitable organizations are given the status of the “legal person” with legal rights, such as to sue and be sued, and to own and transfer property. Depending on the nature of the entity and the state in which the organization is being set up, charitable organizations can be set up under various laws.
• Several charity foundations received legal recognition through the enactment of various legislation such as the Societies Registration Act,1860, and the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 (Trusts Act). These laws extend the protection of law to the income and property of Charitable organizations and their officers. It is through these enactments that these charitable organizations gained public recognition.
• Following is the list of Charity Organizations in India – Narayan Seva Sans than, Smile Foundation, Care International, GiveIndia, Goonj, Save the Children, HelpAge India, Child Rights & You, Pratham, Project Hope, Health and Education for all, etc.
• Almost all of these organizations play a significant role in supplementing government programs for national welfare and development.
• Considering their contribution towards ensuring equitable distribution of resources and upliftment of the vulnerable groups, the Indian Government provides various tax concessions to both the organization and the individuals donating to them.

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