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64-595: The Tor Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) research-education nonprofit organization based in Winchester, Massachusetts . It is founded by computer scientists Roger Dingledine , Nick Mathewson , and five others. The Tor Project is primarily responsible for maintaining software for the Tor anonymity network. The Tor Project, Inc. was founded on December 22, 2006 by computer scientists Roger Dingledine , Nick Mathewson and five others. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) acted as

128-577: A research grant than a procurement contract . Tor executive director Andrew Lewman said that even though it accepts funds from the U.S. federal government, the Tor service did not collaborate with the NSA to reveal identities of users. In June 2016, the Tor Project received an award from Mozilla 's Open Source Support program (MOSS). The award was "to significantly enhance the Tor network's metrics infrastructure so that

192-530: A safe harbor for the "substantial part" test, the United States Congress enacted §501(h), called the Conable election after its author, Representative Barber Conable . The section establishes limits based on operating budget that a charity can use to determine if it meets the substantial test. This changes the prohibition against direct intervention in partisan contests only for lobbying. The organization

256-509: A candidate in some manner, or (c) favor a candidate or group of candidates, constitute prohibited participation or intervention. Since section 501(c)(3)'s political-activity prohibition was enacted, "commentators and litigants have challenged the provision on numerous constitutional grounds", such as freedom of speech , vagueness , and equal protection and selective prosecution. Historically, Supreme Court decisions, such as Regan v. Taxation with Representation of Washington , suggested that

320-595: A choice between two sets of rules establishing an upper bound for their lobbying activities. Section 501(c)(3) organizations risk loss of their tax-exempt status if these rules are violated. An organization that loses its 501(c)(3) status due to being engaged in political activities cannot subsequently qualify for 501(c)(3) status. Churches must meet specific requirements to obtain and maintain tax-exempt status; these are outlined in "IRS Publication 1828: Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations". This guide outlines activities allowed and not allowed by churches under

384-544: A church's principal means of accomplishing its religious purposes must be to assemble regularly a group of individuals related by common worship and faith." The United States Tax Court has stated that, while a church can certainly broadcast its religious services by radio, radio broadcasts themselves do not constitute a congregation unless there is a group of people physically attending those religious services. A church can conduct worship services in various specific locations rather than in one official location. A church may have

448-411: A foreign subsidiary to facilitate charitable work in a foreign country, then donors' contributions to the 501(c)(3) organization are tax-deductible even if intended to fund the foreign charitable activities. If a foreign organization sets up a 501(c)(3) organization for the sole purpose of raising funds for the foreign organization, and the 501(c)(3) organization sends substantially all contributions to

512-444: A limited amount of lobbying to influence legislation. Although the law states that "no substantial part" of a public charity's activities can go to lobbying, charities with large budgets may lawfully expend a million dollars (under the "expenditure" test) or more (under the "substantial part" test) per year on lobbying. The Internal Revenue Service has never defined the term "substantial part" with respect to lobbying. To establish

576-774: A manner consistent with a particular religion's religious beliefs does not qualify as a tax-exempt church. Organizations described in section 501(c)(3) are prohibited from conducting political campaign activities to intervene in elections to public office. The Internal Revenue Service website elaborates on this prohibition: Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of

640-467: A non-partisan manner do not constitute prohibited political campaign activity. In addition, other activities intended to encourage people to participate in the electoral process, such as voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, would not be prohibited political campaign activity if conducted in a non-partisan manner. On the other hand, voter education or registration activities with evidence of bias that (a) favor one candidate over another, (b) oppose

704-442: A significant number of people associate themselves with the church on a regular basis, even if the church does not have a traditional established list of individual members. In order to qualify as a tax-exempt church, church activities must be a significant part of the organization's operations. An organization whose operations include a substantial nonexempt commercial purposes, such as operating restaurants and grocery stores in

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768-423: A significant portion of a church school's curriculum is religious education. For a payment to be a tax-deductible charitable contribution, it must be a voluntary transfer of money or other property with no expectation of procuring financial benefit equal to the transfer amount. Before donating to a 501(c)(3) organization, a donor can consult the searchable online IRS list of charitable organizations to verify that

832-647: A specific project or use and will not usually be given for projects that have already begun. Over the years the discipline of writing grant bids has developed into a specialised activity. Many organisations employ fundraising professionals to carry out this work. In the United Kingdom, the fundraising profession is governed by The Institute of Fundraising and is independently regulated by the Fundraising Regulator in England , Wales , and Northern Ireland and by

896-636: A specific purpose. Unlike loans , grants do not need to be repaid, making them an attractive source of funding for various activities, such as research, education, public service projects, and business ventures. Examples include student grants , research grants, the Sovereign Grant paid by the UK Treasury to the monarch , and some European Regional Development Fund payments in the European Union . Grants can be categorized into several types based on

960-432: A tax deduction on a charitable gift to a 501(c)(3) organization that is organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. An individual may not take

1024-440: A tax deduction on gifts made to a 501(c)(3) organization that is organized and operated exclusively for the testing for public safety. In the case of tuition fees paid to a private 501(c)(3) school or a church school, the payments are not tax-deductible charitable contributions because they are payments for services rendered to the payee or the payee's children. The payments are not tax-deductible charitable contributions even if

1088-549: Is a searchable database of information about organizations over time. WikiCharities, is a nonprofit database of nonprofits and charities by name, location, and topic, that allows each organization to report its financials, leadership, contacts, and other activities. Section 501(c)(3) organizations are prohibited from supporting political candidates, as a result of the Johnson Amendment enacted in 1954. Section 501(c)(3) organizations are subject to limits on lobbying , having

1152-434: Is allowed to award grants to foreign charitable organizations if the grants are intended for charitable purposes and the grant funds are subject to the 501(c)(3) organization's control. Additional procedures are required of 501(c)(3) organizations that are private foundations . Donors' contributions to a 501(c)(3) organization are tax-deductible only if the contribution is for the use of the 501(c)(3) organization, and that

1216-754: Is an actual controversy regarding a determination or the Internal Revenue Service has failed to make a determination. In these cases, the United States Tax Court , the United States District Court for the District of Columbia , and the United States Court of Federal Claims have concurrent jurisdiction to issue a declaratory judgment of the organization's qualification if the organization has exhausted administrative remedies with

1280-478: Is not required to be made available to the public, unless the organization is an independent foundation. Churches are generally exempt from this reporting requirement. Every 501(c)(2) organization must make available for public inspection its application for tax-exemption, including its Form 1023 or Form 1023-EZ and any attachments, supporting documents, and follow-up correspondence with the Internal Revenue Service. The same public inspection requirement applies to

1344-545: Is now presumed in compliance with the substantiality test if they work within the limits. The Conable election requires a charity to file a declaration with the IRS and file a functional distribution of funds spreadsheet with their Form 990. IRS form 5768 is required to make the Conable election. A 501(c)(3) organization is allowed to conduct some or all of its charitable activities outside the United States. A 501(c)(3) organization

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1408-406: Is reduced to $ 400. There are some classes of organizations that automatically are treated as tax exempt under 501(c)(3), without the need to file Form 1023: The IRS released a software tool called Cyber Assistant in 2013, which was succeeded by Form 1023-EZ in 2014. There is an alternative way for an organization to obtain status if an organization has applied for a determination and either there

1472-467: Is that the organization is specifically limited in powers to purposes that the IRS classifies as tax-exempt purposes. Unlike for-profit corporations that benefit from broad and general purposes, non-profit organizations need to be limited in powers to function with tax-exempt status, but a non-profit corporation is by default not limited in powers until it specifically limits itself in the articles of incorporation or nonprofit corporate bylaws. This limiting of

1536-669: The Scottish Fundraising Standards Panel in Scotland . The grant writing process generally includes searching and proposal-writing for competitive grant funds. Traditional search methods - for example referring to the Charities Aid Foundation Directory of Grant Making Trusts - are quickly becoming replaced by online fundraising tools. Because grants are sometimes received in advance of the activity they are to resource, and would need to be returned to

1600-686: The United States government , with the U.S. State Department , the Broadcasting Board of Governors , and the National Science Foundation as major contributors, "to aid democracy advocates in authoritarian states". The Swedish government and other organizations provided the other 20%, including NGOs and thousands of individual sponsors. Dingledine said that the United States Department of Defense funds are more similar to

1664-458: The government to students attending post-secondary education institutions . In certain cases, a part of a government loan is issued as a grant, particularly pertaining to promising students seeking financial support for continuing their educations. Grant compliance and reporting requirements vary depending upon the type of grant and funding agency. In the case of research grants involving human or animal subjects, additional involvement with

1728-434: The 14-point list is a guideline; it is not intended to be all-encompassing, and other facts and circumstances may be relevant factors. Although there is no definitive definition of a church for Internal Revenue Code purposes, in 1986 the United States Tax Court said that "A church is a coherent group of individuals and families that join together to accomplish the religious purposes of mutually held beliefs. In other words,

1792-490: The 501(c)(3) designation. In 1980, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia recognized a 14-part test in determining whether a religious organization is considered a church for the purposes of the Internal Revenue Code: Having an established congregation served by an organized ministry is of central importance. Points 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, and 13 are also especially important. Nevertheless,

1856-405: The 501(c)(3) organization is not merely serving as an agent or conduit of a foreign charitable organization. The 501(c)(3) organization's management should review the grant application from the foreign organization, decide whether to award the grant based on the intended use of the funds, and require continuous oversight based on the use of funds. If the donor imposes a restriction or earmark that

1920-886: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which focuses on global health and development, and the Ford Foundation, which supports human rights and social justice initiatives. Corporations often establish grant programs as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts. These grants support community development, environmental sustainability, and other initiatives that align with the company’s values and business goals. Examples include Google's AI for Social Good program and Walmart's Community Grant Program. Educational grants are provided to support students and educational institutions. These can be merit-based, need-based, or designated for specific fields of study. The Fulbright Program, which offers grants for international educational exchange, and

1984-650: The Commission in Brussels. Due to the complexity of the funding mechanisms involved and especially the high competitiveness of the grant application processes (14%) professional Grant Consulting firms are gaining importance in the grant writing process. EU grants should not be confused with EU tenders, although there can be some similarities. Another funding body in Europe is the European Research Council established by

The Tor Project - Misplaced Pages Continue

2048-544: The Court, if it were to squarely examine the political-activity prohibition of § 501(c)(3), would uphold it against a constitutional challenge. However, some have suggested that a successful challenge to the political activities prohibition of Section 501(c)(3) might be more plausible in light of Citizens United v. FEC . In contrast to the prohibition on political campaign interventions by all section 501(c)(3) organizations, public charities (but not private foundations) may conduct

2112-822: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The European Commission provides financing through numerous specific calls for project proposals. These may be within Framework Programmes . Although there are many 7-year programmes that are renewed that provide money for various purposes. These may be structural funds , youth programmes and education programmes . There are also occasional one-off grants to deal with unforeseen aspects or special projects and themes. Most of these are administered through what are called National Agencies, but some are administered directly through

2176-704: The European Commission in 2007: see European Research Council#Grants offered . Similarly there are calls and various projects that are funded by this council. The European Commission and the Council of Europe also operate a joint grant-funding programme. Denmark has an educational universal grant system, SU ( Statens Uddannelsesstøtte , the State Education Fund). It is available to all students from 18 years of age, with no upper limit, who are currently taking courses. There are two systems of SU. In addition to

2240-951: The Horizon Europe program, which funds research and innovation projects across Europe. For businesses, government grants are financial contributions provided by federal, provincial, or municipal governments to help businesses achieve specific goals, such as innovation, expansion, job creation, and export development. For example, in Canada, the CanExport program helps businesses expand into international markets by covering expenses related to travel, marketing, and trade shows. Unlike interest-free loans, grants do not need to be repaid, making them an attractive funding option for businesses looking to reduce financial risk. Private foundations provide grants to support various causes, ranging from social services and education to arts and culture. Notable foundations include

2304-432: The Internal Revenue Service. Prior to October 9, 1969, nonprofit organizations could declare themselves to be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) without first obtaining Internal Revenue Service recognition by filing Form 1023 and receiving a determination letter. A nonprofit organization that did so prior to that date could still be subject to challenge of its status by the Internal Revenue Service. Individuals may take

2368-557: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants for biomedical research are prominent examples. Grants serve a wide array of purposes, each designed to address specific needs or goals. Research grants are essential for advancing knowledge and innovation in various fields, including science, technology, medicine, and social sciences. These grants enable researchers to conduct experiments, collect data, and publish findings that can lead to breakthroughs and new technologies. Agencies like

2432-605: The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the European Research Council (ERC) are major funders of research grants. Educational grants help increase access to education by providing financial support to students and institutions. These grants can cover tuition fees, books, and living expenses, making higher education more accessible to disadvantaged populations. Teacher training and curriculum development programs also benefit from educational grants, improving

2496-490: The Tor Project as a director and board member. Later that month, the Tor Project announced that the Open Technology Fund would be sponsoring a bug bounty program that was coordinated by HackerOne . The program was initially invite-only and focuses on finding vulnerabilities that are specific to the Tor Project's applications. On May 25, 2016, Tor Project employee Jacob Appelbaum stepped down from his position; this

2560-504: The Tor Project received the 2012 EFF Pioneer Award , along with Jérémie Zimmermann and Andrew Huang . In November 2012, Foreign Policy magazine named Dingledine, Mathewson, and Syverson among its Top 100 Global Thinkers "for making the web safe for whistleblowers". In 2014, Roger Dingledine, Nick Mathewson and Paul Syverson received the USENIX Test of Time Award for their paper titled "Tor: The Second-Generation Onion Router", which

2624-452: The Tor Project to merge operations. The merger was completed on September 26, 2024, stating that, "By joining forces, the Tails team can now focus on their core mission of maintaining and improving Tails OS, exploring more and complementary use cases while benefiting from the larger organizational structure of The Tor Project." As of 2012, 80% of the Tor Project's $ 2 million annual budget came from

The Tor Project - Misplaced Pages Continue

2688-479: The Tor Project's fiscal sponsor in its early years, and early financial supporters of the Tor Project included the U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau , Internews , Human Rights Watch , the University of Cambridge , Google , and Netherlands-based Stichting NLnet . In October 2014, the Tor Project hired the public relations firm Thomson Communications in order to improve its public image (particularly regarding

2752-609: The United States, grants most often come from a wide range of government departments or an even wider range of public and private trusts and foundations. According to the Foundation Center there are over 88,000 trusts and foundations in the country that collectively distribute more than $ 40 billion annually. Conducting research on trusts and foundations can be a slightly more intricate process, often requiring access to subscription-based directories or databases for comprehensive information. Most often, education grants are issued by

2816-525: The awarding or renewal of contracts and grants, or attempting to influence legislative or regulatory action" would generally not be treated as eligible for grant funding and therefore funded organisations would need to fund these activities in some other way. The Scottish Government has indicated it would not be introducing similar measures. As of 2021, 6 out of the top 10 charities in England and Wales (as measured by expenditure on charitable activities) make grants to individuals and/or organisations. In

2880-405: The contribution must be used for foreign activities, then the contribution is deemed to be for the foreign organization rather than the 501(c)(3) organization, and the contribution is not tax-deductible. The purpose of the grant to the foreign organization cannot include endorsing or opposing political candidates for elected office in any country. If a 501(c)(3) organization sets up and controls

2944-763: The creation and preservation of artistic works, the operation of cultural institutions, and the promotion of cultural heritage. Organizations like the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Arts Council England provide funding for artists, museums, theaters, and other cultural entities. Environmental grants support projects that protect and restore natural resources, promote sustainable practices, and address climate change. These grants fund activities such as habitat restoration, renewable energy development, and environmental education. Notable examples include grants from

3008-476: The foreign organization, then donors' contributions to the 501(c)(3) organization are not tax-deductible to the donors. The main differences between 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations lie in their purposes and the tax-exempt benefits they receive. Here is a brief explanation of the differences: Research grant A grant is a financial award given by a government entity, foundation, corporation, or other organization to an individual or organization for

3072-586: The funder if their purpose could not be fulfilled, good accounting practice requires that grant income is not recognised "until there is reasonable assurance that the entity will adhere to the conditions which are attached to the grant". In 2016, the UK Government introduced proposals to include an "anti-lobbying clause" in grant-funding agreements, i.e. payments which "support lobbying or activity intended to influence or attempt to influence Parliament, Government or political parties, or attempting to influence

3136-635: The government grant scheme, more than 35,000 grants in Denmark exists, which is the second largest number of foundations in Europe by country. The foundations are estimated to possess 400 billion Danish kroner (US$ 60 billion) in accessible funds. Grant-giving organizations in Ireland include the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology and Science Foundation Ireland for research grants. Major grant organisations funded and operated by

3200-612: The government include: Grants are made available in the United Kingdom for a variety of business, charitable and research purposes. The biggest grant distributors are government departments and agencies which offer grants to third-party organisations (often a charitable organisation ) to carry out statutory work on their behalf. Other major grant distributors in the United Kingdom are the National Lottery , charitable trusts and corporate foundations (through Corporate Social Responsibility policies). For example, Google contributes to

3264-433: The grants process through its Google Grants programme, where any charitable organization can benefit financially from free Google Ads advertising if they share Google's social responsibility outcomes. Grants are time limited (usually between one and three years) and are offered to implement existing government policies, to pilot new ways of doing things or to secure agreed outcomes. A grant will usually only be given for

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3328-511: The new board, as well as a conflicts of interest policy, procedures for submitting complaints, and an internal complaint review process. The affair continues to be controversial, with considerable dissent within the Tor community. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the Tor project's core team let go of 13 employees, leaving a working staff of 22 people. In 2023, the Tails Project approached

3392-515: The organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes. Certain activities or expenditures may not be prohibited depending on the facts and circumstances. For example, certain voter education activities (including presenting public forums and publishing voter education guides) conducted in

3456-435: The organization qualifies to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. Consumers may file IRS Form 13909, with documentation, to complain about inappropriate or fraudulent (i.e., fundraising, political campaigning, lobbying) activities by any 501(c)(3) organization. Most 501(c)(3) must disclose the names and addresses of certain large donors to the Internal Revenue Service on their annual returns, but this information

3520-840: The organization's annual return, namely its Form 990 , Form 990-EZ, Form 990-PF, Form 990-T, and Form 1065, including any attachments, supporting documents, and follow-up correspondence with the Internal Revenue Service, with the exception of the names and addresses of donors on Schedule B. Annual returns must be publicly available for a three-year period beginning with the due date of the return, including any extension of time for filing. The Internal Revenue Service provides information about specific 501(c)(3) organizations through its Tax Exempt Organization Search online. A private nonprofit organization, GuideStar , provides information on 501(c)(3) organizations. ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer provides copies of each organization's Form 990 and, for some organizations, audited financial statements. Open990

3584-678: The performance and stability of the network can be monitored and improvements made as appropriate." In March 2011, the Tor Project received the Free Software Foundation 's 2010 Award for Projects of Social Benefit. The citation read, "Using free software, Tor has enabled roughly 36 million people around the world to experience freedom of access and expression on the Internet while keeping them in control of their privacy and anonymity. Its network has proved pivotal in dissident movements in both Iran and more recently Egypt ." In September 2012,

3648-409: The powers is crucial to obtaining tax exempt status with the IRS and then on the state level. Organizations acquire 501(c)(3) tax exemption by filing IRS Form 1023 . As of 2006 , the form must be accompanied by an $ 850 filing fee if the yearly gross receipts for the organization are expected to average $ 10,000 or more. If yearly gross receipts are expected to average less than $ 10,000, the filing fee

3712-676: The prevention of cruelty to children or animals . 501(c)(3) exemption applies also for any non-incorporated community chest , fund, cooperating association or foundation organized and operated exclusively for those purposes. There are also supporting organizations—often referred to in shorthand form as "Friends of" organizations. 26 U.S.C.   § 170 provides a deduction for federal income tax purposes, for some donors who make charitable contributions to most types of 501(c)(3) organizations, among others. Regulations specify which such deductions must be verifiable to be allowed (e.g., receipts for donations of $ 250 or more). Due to

3776-471: The purpose and the source of funding. Government grants are awarded by federal, state, provincial, local and/or municipal governments to support projects that benefit the public. These can include funding for scientific research, infrastructure development, public health initiatives, and education programs. Examples include the Pell Grant in the United States, which helps low-income students pay for college, and

3840-437: The quality of education. Community development grants aim to improve the quality of life in communities through projects that address issues such as housing, public safety, economic development, and social services. These grants can fund the construction of affordable housing, the establishment of community centers, and programs that provide job training and support to underserved populations. Grants for arts and culture support

3904-503: The tax deductions associated with donations, loss of 501(c)(3) status can be highly challenging if not fatal to a charity's continued operation, as many foundations and corporate matching funds do not grant funds to a charity without such status, and individual donors often do not donate to such a charity due to the unavailability of tax deduction for contributions. The two exempt classifications of 501(c)(3) organizations are as follows: The basic requirement of obtaining tax-exempt status

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3968-571: The terms "Dark Net" and "hidden services") and to educate journalists about the technical aspects of Tor. In May 2015, the Tor Project ended the Tor Cloud Service. In December 2015, the Tor Project announced that it had hired Shari Steele , former executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, as its new executive director. Roger Dingledine, who had been acting as interim executive director since May 2015, remained at

4032-514: Was announced on June 2 in a two-line statement by Tor. Over the following days, allegations of sexual mistreatment were made public by several people. On July 13, 2016, the complete board of the Tor Project – Meredith Hoban Dunn, Ian Goldberg , Julius Mittenzwei, Rabbi Rob Thomas, Wendy Seltzer , Roger Dingledine and Nick Mathewson – was replaced with Matt Blaze , Cindy Cohn , Gabriella Coleman , Linus Nordberg, Megan Price and Bruce Schneier . A new anti-harassment policy has been approved by

4096-593: Was published in the Proceedings of the 13th USENIX Security Symposium , August 2004. In 2021, the Tor Project was awarded the Levchin Prize for real-world cryptography . 501(c)(3) organization 501(c)(3) tax-exemptions apply to entities that are organized and operated exclusively for religious , charitable , scientific , literary or educational purposes, for testing for public safety , to foster national or international amateur sports competition, or for

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