Ownership of public and religious organizations, charitable and other foundations, associations of legal entities. Organizational and legal forms of a non-profit organization Religious organizations of charitable associations

On October 29, the third international forum "Religion and Peace" was held in Moscow. Bishop Panteleimon, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Charity, spoke at the section devoted to the topic "Religious charitable organizations in Russia and in the world". He summed up the results social activities Russian Orthodox Church for the last quarter of a century.

“In the Orthodox Church, it is done by people not out of fear of punishment, but with the understanding that man is created in the likeness of God. Just as God in His essence is love, so man in his essence is love, testified the vicar His Holiness Patriarch. “A person must live in love, this is the main joy of life, this is where a person finds the fullness of his being.”

According to Bishop Panteleimon, charity has always been an integral part of church life. In the 20th century, with the advent of Soviet power, church charitable activities were banned, but this attempt to break the tradition failed: the Church continued to do charity work in secret.

“In 1991, when the Church finally gained freedom, we again got the opportunity to freely engage in social service,” said Bishop Panteleimon. According to him, at first these were mainly private initiatives of individual parishes and communities that arose in different cities and in various forms: helping the homeless, orphans, volunteering in hospitals.

The social system of the state in the 1990s was in a very difficult state: hospitals lacked medicines, hygiene products, and staff to care for the sick. Volunteers, sisters of mercy, who came to hospitals, showed the love that was so lacking for those in need, recalled the archpastor.

“The key stage in the development of the social ministry of the Church was the year 2011, when with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill positions of social workers appeared in every major parish,” said Bishop Panteleimon. This decision of the hierarchy made it possible to bring church social assistance to a fundamentally new, systemic level.

The whole Church began to engage in charity: starting from His Holiness the Patriarch, who takes a personal part in the affairs of mercy, and ending with the parishioners of churches, Bishop Panteleimon emphasized.

“Every Christmas and Easter, as well as on other days, during his visits to the dioceses, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill visits social and medical institutions, comes to those who need help, experiences deprivation and suffering,” said the confessor of the Orthodox service “Mercy” , emphasizing that the personal example of His Holiness the Patriarch is very important for the entire Russian Church.

“Several years ago there was only one church shelter for women in difficult life situations in Russia. For 5 recent years 26 new shelters have been created from Kaliningrad to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Today there are 27 of them on the territory of Russia,” said the head of the Synodal Department.

And in the near future there may be even more of them. This year, within the framework of the "Social service" direction of the "Orthodox Initiative" grant competition, a special nomination "Shelters for pregnant women" was introduced, noted Bishop Panteleimon. Nominees will be able to receive up to million rubles to open a new help center and support its first year of operation. The competition received 43 new applications for the creation of shelters for expectant mothers.

Another important area of ​​church social work is helping the disabled. “In 1991, the first community of the deaf appeared in Moscow, which for the first time began to hold services in sign language,” said Bishop Panteleimon. “Now in 50 churches in Russia, work is being done with deaf and hard of hearing people, and in 9 parishes, deaf-blind people are being fed.” In addition, the Synodal Department, together with the All-Russian Society of the Deaf, organized regional courses to teach sign language to clergy.

“We help families with disabled children and disabled adults,” Bishop Panteleimon also noted in his report. “More than 50 such projects have been opened in Russia, and recently the first non-state orphanage in the country for disabled children with severe multiple developmental disabilities, the St. Sophia Orphanage, was opened in Moscow.” Today, thanks to individual care and attention, these children, who were considered the heaviest, have learned to walk regularly, eat and walk on their own. In addition, all the children this year went to school.

“For 25 years, our assistance to the homeless has fundamentally changed,” said the head of the Synodal Department. - For ten years, the Mercy bus ran around Moscow, which picked up the homeless in the cold - hundreds of people died on the streets of Moscow in winter - and literally saved their lives. Today the situation has changed for the better. The Department of Social Protection of the city of Moscow organized a "Social Patrol", and the death rate among the homeless decreased significantly. This allowed us to switch to the prevention of homelessness.”

Today the number is growing rehabilitation centers and shelters for the homeless, Bishop Panteleimon also noted. For 25 years, 72 shelters for the homeless, 56 distribution points and 11 mercy buses have been created.

The number of sisterhoods of mercy is also growing. Back in the mid-1990s there were 10-15 sisterhoods, but today there are sisterhoods in most dioceses. They are united in the Association. Currently there are about 400 sisterhoods in the database of the Association.

Terrible troubles for modern Russia are alcoholism and drug addiction. Over the past 25 years, the Church has opened 70 rehabilitation centers for drug addicts, new components of the assistance system have appeared: primary reception rooms, Orthodox support groups, outpatient motivational programs and adaptation apartments. Today, there are 232 church projects in which alcohol addicts and their relatives receive help, recalled the chairman of the Synodal Department.

“A whole system has been built to accompany a person who has decided to give up alcohol or drugs,” Bishop Panteleimon said, noting that the Church is actively engaged in the prevention of alcoholism and the promotion of sobriety. At the initiative of the Church in many regions this year was the Day of Sobriety on September 11th.

In addition, the Synodal Department conducts free social service via the Internet. Leading experts in the field of social work share their experience online. Every year, more than 1,000 people participate in online training seminars and distance learning courses. Thanks to this, an average of 150-200 new social projects appear annually in different regions of Russia and other countries of the near abroad. Both ecclesiastical and secular social workers participate in the training.

The Synodal Department for Charity has a well-organized system for responding to major emergencies. “In time, the Church became one of the most important coordinators of assistance to the victims in the country: about 8,000 volunteers took part in the work,” Bishop Panteleimon said. “Many priests and sisters of mercy have been trained by the Ministry of Emergency Situations and are ready to go to the scene as soon as possible to help people.” The head of the Synodal Department especially noted the campaigns of church assistance to flood victims in Krymsk, the Far East, Altai, Khakassia and Transbaikalia, as well as in other countries, for example, in Serbia and the Philippines.

“An important area of ​​our work has become assistance to civilians affected by the military conflict in the south-east of Ukraine,” Bishop Panteleimon said. - With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, since the summer of 2014, the church headquarters for helping refugees, a hotline, humanitarian aid points and church shelters have been working. More than 130 million rubles were collected, about 120 million have already been spent. about this help are posted on our website, not a single penny is wasted. In Moscow alone, more than 20 thousand refugees who needed help turned to the church headquarters.

Humanitarian aid is regularly sent to needy civilians in the south-east of Ukraine. Since the end of December 2014, the Synodal Department for Charity sent to the south-east of Ukraine, which made it possible to provide food for more than 80 thousand people. Press Service of the Synodal Charity Department

A non-profit organization can be created in various organizational and legal forms. The specific choice of form depends on the goals for which the non-profit organization is formed, its relations with the founders, possible sources of funding and other reasons.

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation and the Law "On non-profit organizations" define the following organizational and legal forms of non-profit organizations:

Public and religious organizations (associations):

Communities of Indigenous Peoples Russian Federation;

Cossack societies;

consumer cooperatives;

State corporation;

State company;

Private establishments:

State, municipal institutions;

State-financed organization;

Non-profit partnerships;

Autonomous non-profit organizations;

Associations of legal entities (associations and unions).

Public and religious organizations (associations) are recognized as voluntary associations of citizens who, in accordance with the procedure established by law, have united on the basis of their common interests to satisfy spiritual or other non-material needs.

The communities of the indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation are recognized as forms of self-organization of persons belonging to the indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation and united according to consanguinity (family, clan) and (or) territorial-neighborly principles, in order to protect their original habitat, preserve and develop traditional ways of life , management, crafts and culture.

Cossack societies are recognized as forms of self-organization of citizens of the Russian Federation, united on the basis of a common interest in order to revive the Russian Cossacks, protect their rights, preserve the traditional way of life, management and culture of the Russian Cossacks. Cossack societies are created in the form of farm, village, city, district (yurt), district (departmental) and military Cossack societies, whose members, in the prescribed manner, assume obligations to perform state or other service.

The Fund is recognized as a non-profit organization without membership, established by citizens and (or) legal entities on the basis of voluntary property contributions and pursuing social, charitable, cultural, educational or other socially useful goals.

A state corporation is a non-profit organization without membership, established by the Russian Federation on the basis of a property contribution and created to carry out social, managerial or other socially useful functions.

A state company is a non-profit organization that does not have membership and was created by the Russian Federation on the basis of property contributions to provide public services and perform other functions using state property on the basis of trust management.

A non-profit partnership is a membership-based non-profit organization established by citizens and (or) legal entities to assist its members in carrying out activities aimed at achieving certain goals, which has the right to carry out entrepreneurial activities corresponding to the goals for which it was created, except for cases, if the non-commercial partnership acquired the status of a self-regulatory organization.

A private institution is a non-profit organization that is created by the owner (citizen or legal entity) to carry out managerial, socio-cultural or other functions of a non-commercial nature. The property of a private institution is with him on the right of operational management.

State, municipal institutions are institutions established by the Russian Federation, a constituent entity of the Russian Federation and a municipality. The types of state, municipal institutions are autonomous, budgetary and state-owned.

A budgetary institution is a non-profit organization established by the Russian Federation, a constituent entity of the Russian Federation or a municipality to perform work, provide services in order to ensure the implementation of the powers provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation, respectively, of state authorities (state bodies) or local governments in the fields of science, education, healthcare , culture, social protection, employment, physical culture and sports, as well as in other areas.

An autonomous non-profit organization is a non-profit organization that does not have membership and was established to provide services in the field of education, healthcare, culture, science, law, physical culture and sports and other areas.

For the purpose of coordinating their entrepreneurial activities, as well as representing and protecting common property interests, commercial organizations may, by agreement among themselves, create associations in the form of associations or unions that are non-profit organizations. If, by decision of the participants, the association (union) is entrusted with conducting entrepreneurial activities, such an association (union) is transformed into a business company or partnership, or it can create a business company to carry out entrepreneurial activities or participate in such a company. Non-profit organizations may voluntarily unite into associations (unions) of non-profit organizations. The association (union) of non-profit organizations is a non-profit organization. Members of an association (union) retain their independence and the rights of a legal entity. The association (union) is not responsible for the obligations of its members. Members of an association (union) bear subsidiary liability for the obligations of this association (union) in the amount and in the manner prescribed by its constituent documents. The name of the association (union) must contain an indication of the main subject of activity of the members of this association (union) with the inclusion of the words "association" or "union".

Thus, the legislation provides for several organizational and legal forms of non-profit organizations. The choice of form depends on the goals for which the non-profit organization is formed, its relations with the founders, possible sources of funding and a number of other reasons.

23. Public and religious organizations (associations)

Public and religious organizations (associations) voluntary associations of citizens created in the manner prescribed by law on the basis of their common interests to meet spiritual and other non-material needs are recognized (Article 117 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

The activities of public organizations are regulated by federal laws “On Public Associations”, “On Political Parties”, “On Charitable Activities and Charitable Organizations”, etc., religious associations – by the Federal Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations”.

Differences between public organizations and associations are not established by law. However, these concepts are demarcated in the Law "On Public Associations", which recognizes a public organization as one of the forms of a public association along with a public movement, a public fund, a public institution and a body of public amateur performance.

Religious associations may be created in the form of religious groups and religious organizations. At the same time, a religious group does not have the rights of a legal entity. A common feature of public and religious organizations (associations) is the unity of interests of the persons united in these organizations: they are created to meet the spiritual needs of the united persons. However, this does not exclude the possibility of providing material support to its members or individual groups of citizens. For example, the unions of artists, architects provide their members with premises for workshops, arrange exhibitions, etc.

Legislation allows public and religious organizations (associations) to engage in entrepreneurship, but only to achieve the goals for which they were created, and corresponding to these goals. Thus, according to the Federal Law "On Non-Commercial Organizations", public and religious organizations (associations) have the right to participate in business companies and limited partnerships as contributors, acquire securities and sell them, carry out other activities that bring profit. Federal laws for certain types of organizations may establish restrictions on the implementation of entrepreneurship. For example, the Law "On charitable activities and charitable organizations" prohibits charitable organizations from creating business companies jointly with other persons.

Within the framework of public and religious organizations, as a rule, citizens of the Russian Federation unite. However, the provisions of special federal laws significantly expand this rule.

Thus, the Law “On Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations” extends the right to association on religious grounds to foreign citizens, as well as stateless persons legally located on the territory of the Russian Federation. In addition, federal law allows participation in public associations and legal entities, but only those that operate in the form of a public association.

The charter serves as the founding document of public and religious organizations.

Public and religious associations may exist in the form of legal entities or carry out their activities without state registration (for example, religious groups).

In the latter case, they do not acquire the status of a legal entity.

When a public or religious organization (association) is created, its property base is formed. A public and religious organization (association) may own property acquired or created at the expense of its own funds, entrance and membership fees of members, donated by citizens or legal entities, transferred by the state, received on other grounds permitted by law. In accordance with the Law “On Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations”, the transfer of ownership to religious organizations for functional use of religious buildings and structures with related land plots and other religious property, which is in state or municipal ownership, is carried out free of charge. The law does not allow foreclosure on claims of creditors of a religious organization for movable and immovable things of liturgical purpose.

Members of public and religious organizations do not have any property rights in relation to the organizations they have created. In this regard, the property transferred to the ownership of organizations, including membership fees, is not returned to the founders and participants. Members of public and religious organizations are not liable for the obligations of the organization, just as organizations are not liable for the debts of their founders and participants. After the liquidation of public and religious organizations, the property remaining after the satisfaction of creditors' claims among the participants (members) of these organizations is not distributed, but is transferred to other organizations created to achieve the same goals as those liquidated.

Public and religious organizations (associations)

Public and religious organizations (associations) are voluntary associations of citizens based on the commonality of their interests to meet spiritual or other non-material needs.

Features of this organization:
- non-commercial;
- have the right to carry out entrepreneurial activities to achieve the statutory goals;
- Citizens-participants do not retain ownership of the transferred property;
- citizens-participants are not liable for the obligations of the organization, and the organization - for the obligations of its members.
These organizations include political parties, trade unions, and religious associations.
Features of this or that association are regulated by the relevant laws: dated May 19, 1995 N 82-FZ "On public associations" * (6), dated July 11, 2001 N 95-FZ "On political parties" * (7), dated September 26, 1997 N 125-FZ "On freedom of conscience and religious associations" * (8), November 27, 2002 N 156-FZ "On employers' associations" * (9), August 11, 1995 N 135 -FZ "On charitable activities and charitable organizations" * (10), etc.
Education public associations :
- they are established by citizens who have reached the age of 18;
- the number of founders must be at least three people;
- founders can be legal entities - public associations.
A public association is considered established from the moment a decision is made to create it, approve its charter and form the governing bodies at the general meeting.
A public association acquires the legal capacity of a legal entity from the moment of state registration with the judicial authorities.
The articles of association must contain:
- name, goals of the public association, its legal form;
- the structure of the public association, the governing and auditing bodies;
- conditions and procedure for acquiring and losing membership, the rights and obligations of members of the association;
- sources of formation Money and other property;
- procedure for reorganization and (or) liquidation of a public association;
- other information established by law.
The reorganization and liquidation of a public association is carried out by a decision of the general meeting or by a court decision. The property remaining after the liquidation of the association is directed to the purposes provided for by the charter.
Religious associations are created in the form of religious groups or religious organizations.
religious group- a voluntary association of people created for the purpose of joint confession and dissemination of faith, without state registration and acquiring the legal capacity of a legal entity.

religious organization- a voluntary association of people created for the purpose of joint confession and dissemination of faith, registered in the prescribed manner as a legal entity - can be created:
- citizens who have reached the age of 18;
- consisting of at least 10 people;
- citizens permanently residing in the region.
A religious organization operates on the basis of a charter, which must contain:
- name, location, type of religious organization, religion;
- goals, objectives and main forms of activity;
- the procedure for the creation and termination of activities;
- sources of formation of funds and other property of the organization;
- the structure of the organization, its management bodies, the procedure for their formation and competence;
other information established by law.
State registration of religious associations is carried out in the bodies of justice.

The combination of these subjects of property rights into one classification heading is explained by the fact that in the law they are all classified as non-profit organizations with the ensuing consequences. In addition, the legislator himself has not yet decided quite clearly on the question of whether there is a generic concept under which all the indicated types of legal entities as subjects of property rights could be summed up. These organizations, funds, associations are among such legal entities in respect of which their founders (participants) do not have property rights. This provision is fixed in the form of a general one in paragraph 3 of Art. 48 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and specified in relation to public and religious organizations in paragraph 2 of Art. 117 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

The association may also own institutions, publishing houses, mass media created and acquired at the expense of the association in accordance with its statutory goals.

The federal law may establish types of property that, for reasons of state and public security or in accordance with international treaties, cannot be owned by an association.

Public funds can carry out their activities on the basis of trust management (clause 4 of article 209 of the Civil Code). In these cases, the fund, as the owner, transfers its property to trust management to another person (trustee). The transfer of property to trust management does not entail a change of ownership. The trustee is obliged to manage the property in the interests of the owner or a third party (beneficiary) specified by him.

The sources of formation of the property of the association include entrance and membership fees; voluntary contributions and donations; proceeds from lectures, exhibitions, lotteries, auctions, sports and other events held in accordance with the charter; business income; civil law transactions; foreign economic activity; other receipts not prohibited by law.

Public associations whose charters provide for participation in elections and referendums in the manner prescribed by the legislation of the Russian Federation may accept donations in the form of cash and other property for activities related to the preparation and conduct of elections only in the manner prescribed by the Federal Law "On Political Parties" and the legislation of the Russian Federation on elections.

The law defines the subjects of property rights in public organizations, public movements, public funds and bodies of public amateur performance. In public organizations, the subjects of the right of ownership are these organizations themselves, which have the rights of a legal entity. Each individual member of this organization is not entitled to a share in its property.

In a public organization whose structural subdivisions operate on the basis of a single charter of this organization, the owner of the property is the organization as a whole. Structural subdivisions, if recognized as legal entities, have the right to operational management of the property assigned to them by the owner. If a public organization combines its territorial organizations into a union (association), then the union is the owner of the property that is used in the interests of the public organization as a whole, and the territorial organizations are the owners of their property. Subjects of property rights are recognized in the case of their registration as legal entities and such associations as public movements, public funds and bodies of public amateur performance. All of them are non-members. With regard to public movements and public funds, it is provided that on their behalf the rights of the owner are exercised by their permanent governing bodies specified in the statutes.

At the same time, they may also be the owners of the property created and (or) acquired by them in other legal ways. So, they can become owners of property received by them by inheritance or in the form of a gift (donation).

If a public institution has been granted the right to carry out income-generating activities, then the income received from it and the property acquired at their expense shall be at the independent disposal of the institution and recorded on a separate balance sheet. Thus, the property can be in operational management, in the ownership and at the independent disposal of a public institution. The right of operational management and the right of independent disposal of property are among the limited rights in rem.

Non-commercial organizations also include charitable organizations that can be created in the form of public organizations (associations), foundations, institutions and in other forms. The charitable organization is non-governmental. Its founders may not be state authorities and local self-government bodies, nor state and municipal enterprises and institutions. They may or may not be membership based.

Religious organizations may use property that is provided to them by state, municipal, public and other organizations and citizens and, accordingly, constitutes state or municipal property or private property of citizens or legal entities.

Transfer to religious organizations into ownership or use for functional purposes of religious buildings and structures with land plots related to them and other property of religious purpose, which is in state or municipal ownership, is carried out free of charge.

Religious organizations, in order to achieve their statutory goals, have the right to create cultural and educational organizations, educational and other institutions, as well as to create their own enterprises. For institutions created by a religious organization, property is assigned on the basis of the right of operational management, and for enterprises - on the basis of economic management.

The Law on Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations does not provide for the transfer of property into ownership in this form religious association as a religious group. This is explained by the fact that a religious group is not a legal entity. At the same time, members of a religious group provide for use the premises and other property necessary for its activities. If a religious group is subsequently transformed into a religious organization, then the provisions on the property of a religious organization may be extended to it as a legal entity. It will also acquire the right to create institutions and enterprises with all the ensuing consequences.

For religious organizations, the most urgent issue is the return of their previously owned property. Property, immovable and movable, is transferred to religious organizations for ownership or use free of charge. The transfer of property may be carried out on condition that the religious organization ensures its safety and use in accordance with the objectives of its statutory activities.

Religious property, which, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, is not subject to alienation from federal property, may be transferred to a religious organization for free use for a certain period or for the period of its existence, and also provided to it for joint use with other organizations.

Real and related movable property assigned to cultural organizations may be used by them jointly with religious organizations on terms agreed with centralized religious organizations and approved by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Religious property, which is part of the especially valuable objects of cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation, the state part of the Museum Fund or the Archival Fund of the Russian Federation, may be transferred to religious organizations for use, provided that an appropriate regime for its safety and security is ensured.

Religious property transferred to religious organizations, classified as monuments of history and culture, is used by them on the terms of an agreement (obligation), drawn up in the prescribed manner.

Museum items and collections, as well as archival documents included in the Museum Fund or the Archival Fund, may be transferred to a religious organization for free use for a period or for the period of its existence, as well as provided for joint use with other organizations under an agreement on conditions agreed with a central religious organization and approved, respectively, by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation or the Federal Archival Service of Russia.

The transfer to religious organizations of real estate for religious purposes, classified as monuments of history and culture of federal (all-Russian) significance, is carried out by the Ministry of Property of the Russian Federation in agreement with the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation; real estate classified as local historical and cultural monuments, as well as included in the list of newly identified objects of historical, scientific, artistic or other cultural value - in agreement with government bodies protection of historical and cultural monuments of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

I have already partially touched on the legal status of foundations. Here I also noted their most characteristic common features. First, foundations are non-profit organizations. The foundation has the right to engage in entrepreneurial activities in order to achieve the goals defined in its charter. Secondly, there are no memberships in foundations. Thirdly, the property transferred to the foundation by its founders (founder) is the property of the foundation.

Affected and legal status associations of legal entities (associations and unions). Like foundations, they are non-profit organizations. At the same time, they have members, which can be both commercial and non-commercial organizations. If, by decision of the participants, the association (union) is entrusted with the conduct of entrepreneurial activity, such an association is transformed into a business company or partnership, or may create a business company for these purposes or participate in it.

Associations and unions, organizations that create them, business companies and partnerships into which associations and unions are transformed, business companies that associations and unions create or in which they participate, are legal entities and owners of their property, the limits and methods of use of which depend on what legal capacity is endowed with the corresponding organization - general or special.

Tina Kandelaki, Sergey Prokhanov, Lyubov Sliska, Olga Sviblova, Maxim Shevchenko and others famous people answer the question of the issue of "Money and Charity".

Sergei Popov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Public Associations and Religious Organizations

In fact, this is a very voluminous concept, because religious charity has several components. Firstly, this is charity in favor of religious organizations, that is, donations for the construction and decoration of churches, for the creation of all kinds of conditions for helping to organize Sunday schools etc. Secondly, this is charity, which is carried out by religious organizations themselves, for example, providing free food to the poor, creating own funds orphanages, shelters for those who do not have housing, and in general carrying out a lot of similar social projects.

As for the spread of faith, this is a completely different direction, which is called missionary work. Accordingly, this has nothing to do with charity, and to combine it means to replace one concept with a completely different one. Each denomination independently approaches the issue of missionary activity and independently engages in it.

I can say with confidence that the social programs of the Russian Orthodox Church and other confessions are very, very effective. After all, it is no coincidence that a meeting of the Council under the President of Russia was specially devoted to this problem about a year ago, at which representatives of all faiths spoke in great detail about the forms, methods, and examples of such work. For example, it is the church that is best and most effective at fighting drug addiction and alcoholism.

Generally speaking, each denomination has a special social program. For example, the Russian Orthodox Church has such a powerful document. Muslims, Protestants, Catholics, and Buddhists have the same programs. In general, among all the activities of any church, the social direction is in third place. The first is, of course, the spread of faith and, in fact, work with believers. Secondly, it is a staffing issue. As for social service, this is also a very important and serious direction. As an example, I can say the following. In the suburbs there is a famous patriarchal monastery Optina Pustyn. So in the summer, more than a thousand people are fed there daily and for free! We all need to understand how important and serious the role of religious charity is and how much work is being done by the Russian Orthodox Church and other confessions. But some of the facts of such work are simply amazing! For example, a few years ago a special shelter for the homeless and drug addicts was built with donations in Perm. Moreover, there is a very high result of treatment of such patients. By the way, such acts are characteristic of all Christian churches. Naturally, Muslims also have social programs. This denomination also works very hard, for example, in terms of helping children and families with many children. In general, you just need to go to the Moscow region and just ask how this or that temple lives. And you can learn a lot of interesting things, for example, that on all major religious holidays, gifts are made to poor families. All kinds of concerts, special events for children are also held, including in preparation for the new academic year. That is, multifaceted and multi-vector work is constantly going on, and it is growing every year throughout the country both in volume and scale. When we discussed the law on socially oriented non-profit organizations, we adopted an amendment that religious organizations should also be subject to this law.

Mikhail Ardov, archpriest

Real religious charity involves some spiritual impulses. For example, before the revolution in the cities of Russia, not church hierarchs, not priests and not Orthodox entrepreneurs, but completely ordinary people visited prisons on the first day of Easter and brought some treats to prisoners so that they also feel and see this holiday. And this was very characteristic of the Orthodox Russian people. Anna Akhmatova said that in Russia they pity prisoners and drunkards, but in the West there is not even a shadow of this. I think that she had in mind the old Russia, because for a Soviet person this has already ceased to be characteristic, and they ran from the prisoners like from the plague. Apparently, the Soviet people were afraid that if they communicated with the prisoners, they might also be arrested. And now in Russia, unfortunately, there is a comparable number of both prisoners and Orthodox. And yet there are people (and I even know them) who, as they say, really hit their hearts on someone else's grief and want to help. I'm afraid that in our time all this is mostly connected with the so-called PR and some kind of advertising campaigns. This is now permeating our entire society and all church structures.

Maxim Shevchenko, TV presenter, head of the Center for Strategic Studies of Religion and Politics of the Modern World

nature itself christian church is to do good. Therefore, it seems to me simply wild when they separate some special events from what is congenial to the church itself. The natural task of the church is organic and is precisely what is not obligatory for others, say, for the authorities and businessmen. If financing an orphanage or taking care of the sick and the poor is an act of charity for a business representative, then for the church this is a common and natural act that does not need to be highlighted and promoted. I know very many people who, apparently, based on their understanding of the Orthodox faith, take care of orphanages, help sick people, and so on. But something else looks wild and strange: when the church does not do this, for example, it does not care for the sick, does not take care of psychiatric hospitals and orphanages, and so on. That's when you need to talk about it! And when the church does it, that's the way it should be. What else should she do, if not this? .. However, the church is, first of all, people. This is not a business organization or a political party, and it does not have such unity of command as there is in these structures. And, of course, such work should be carried out on a systematic basis: the church, at least in the Christian regions of our country, may have the right to take custody of such institutions, which were previously called charitable trustee institutions. It seems to me absolutely correct. At one time, Peter I ordered monasteries to take care of the disabled, war veterans and sick people, including the mad.

Answering your question about what is more in charity - in fact, helping the orphans and the poor or spreading my faith, I can say the following. The very concept of "charity" in relation to the church sounds just wild! The church itself, in theory, is an act of charity. And who said that it is necessary to do good and help people, gritting your teeth and not talking to them?.. Why, in this case, a person, in fact, cannot preach Christ or another faith? I think it's very natural for Christians to help and talk about Christianity.

Tina Kandelaki, TV presenter, member of the Public Chamber

In my opinion, to discuss certain charitable actions of the Russian Orthodox Church (for example, when its representatives recently went to help the homeless and seriously ill) is not for us, ordinary laity, but for those whom the ROC really helped. But if there was such an action, it once again emphasizes that we are all equal before God. As part of the explanation of what is "good" and what is "bad" and that God remembers everyone, such actions are, of course, correct. And as part of the discussion of what is more important - to help those who are at the very bottom of society, or those who are somewhat higher ... You know, you can talk about this for a very long time. But, I repeat, not to us, ordinary laymen ...

Artem Tarasov, General Director of the Innovation Institute

As for charitable assistance to the homeless, seriously ill old people, the poor, orphans, and so on, this is not only done by the church. In my opinion, the charity of the church has always been considered as an organization to help the parishes themselves, as the development of churches, the construction of temples, and the like. At one time I was engaged in one very interesting project, which was very successfully implemented; By the way, we came up with it literally from scratch. In London, a Russian convent was opened, and it began with the fact that Mother Theodosius was sent from the Russian Orthodox Church to help the rector of the English Orthodox Church, Father Vasily (an Englishman). It was she, who turned to me, and decided to open a convent there. I turned to the Union of Orthodox Entrepreneurs, where, it turns out, the former general director of the UPDK worked, and then I contacted the Russian ambassador to England. At first, we decided to open this "branch of the monastery" in the Ambassador's Reception House - we simply considered it convenient, because this house is located 200 km from London, and the ambassador came there only twice a year. And the territory was impressive - 20 hectares! But then they decided to open it in another place, with which, by the way, Prince Charles helped us. So we opened it, moreover, with the money raised by the Russian community of the Orthodox Church of England. In my opinion, this was pure charity! Also, one of Tolstoy's descendants was involved in charity work in England, arranging the famous annual balls called "War and Peace" and thus raising money for the Russian Orthodox Church, which at that time, however, was still separated from the Russian Orthodox Church. With this money, a church was built in the London district of Chiswick. By the way, this is one of the most beautiful Orthodox churches England!

In addition to the fact that in the West charity is built on the personal activity of citizens, there is still whole line so-called fundraising companies that professionally raise money for charitable projects. Unfortunately, such activities simply do not exist in Russia; anyway, I don't know about it. These organizations have a huge amount of technology aimed at directing money from rich people specifically to charity. They cooperate with the Red Cross, and carry out individual projects to help children, and simply help in emergency cases, for example, those who recently suffered from an earthquake in China. And, of course, they also work for the church. That is, these companies are professionally engaged in fundraising, while, if necessary, sometimes arranging even some kind of show to raise funds. Also, within the framework of the existing legislation, they use some other special techniques that are required, and then direct the collected funds to the target. In fact, that's how it is in modern world and doing charity work. At one time, I worked closely with our Russian Orthodox Church, where there was a company that organized various exhibitions, paid for Christian pilgrimage trips around the world, renovated the premises for the Patriarch, and so on. She also published church books and, of course, did charity work.

Mother Elena was there, a very advanced woman, by the way, and this company was located in the Donskoy Monastery, right in the residence of the Patriarch. Mother Elena assembled a team called the Union of Orthodox Entrepreneurs, where a lot of business people came. They were then blessed by Alexy II himself, and, in my opinion, they still work there. Moreover, he later rewarded them for helping the church. By the way, mother Elena simply dreamed of finding a fundraising company that would find ways - both secular and ecclesiastical - to raise money. And a lot of people made their donations for all this then.

Olga Sviblova, director of the Moscow House of Photography museum

I know such an action - Gergiev's Easter Festival, and I really like it! I myself do not interact with the church, but I believe that it should pray. So let him pray, but for me the Lord lives in another place. But there are volunteers who work for the benefit of others, and, as they say, God help them.

Lyubov Sliska, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma

There are many such charities. For example, there are a lot of shelters where single people can go and where they will always be accepted. Nursing homes at monasteries are called almshouses, and I know a lot of similar charitable institutions where monks and nuns look after lonely and helpless elderly people. And a lot of people are saved there from such a terrible state. I also know that there are a lot of shelters for children, where they are saved from their terrible parents. Now the church really pays great and serious attention to this. Church and philanthropic work are simply inseparable. The Church gives good, and this is natural. The Lord said: “Do good!” - that's what the church creates, because the good is the good. And further. I myself deal with charity issues and I see that now it comes from very many, even from those who sinned greatly in the “dashing 90s”. Of course, God does not take bribes, but those monasteries and churches for which these guys give money will still remain people, and maybe they will receive some kind of indulgence at God's judgment.

Alexander Prokhanov, writer

The direct duty of the clergy is to descend into the barracks to the unfortunate, dumb and lepers. This is Christ's commandment, and Christ always descended to the poor, to those offended by fate, to the terminally ill and lepers, and worked his miracle there. Therefore, the clergy, who must repeat the fate of Christ and the work of Christ, go into these miasmas. But not in order to provide some services and, say, create a more comfortable stay there, but in order to really save them, give them a hand and lift them from hopelessness. That is, try to heal them with spiritual word and deed. This is how I understand the task of the church, which goes to the most unfortunate bottoms of our poor world.

In my opinion, the church movement towards the disadvantaged has no other goal than spiritual care and spiritual nourishment of all forgotten people. For example, it has become almost a norm that shelters for orphans, drug addicts, children from difficult families are being created at monasteries, and this is not advertised and neither PR nor money is made on it. That is, it is included in a certain ritual of religious existence and content. And if the monasteries now began to grow rich and they had surpluses, then they began to spend them on ... I don’t want to say “charity”, - to help and feed the destitute of this world. And this is good.

In accordance with Art. 18 of the Federal Law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations", the state assists and supports the charitable activities of religious organizations, as well as the implementation of socially significant cultural and educational programs and events by them.

Federal Law No. 135-FZ of August 11, 1995 “On Charitable Activities and Charitable Organizations” defines charitable activities in Article 1 as voluntary activities of citizens and legal entities for the disinterested (gratuitous or on preferential terms) transfer to citizens or legal entities of property, in including money, disinterested performance of work, provision of services, provision of other support.

A religious organization can act as both a subject and an object of charitable activities. In the first capacity, it can provide charitable assistance to legal entities (other religious organizations, schools, hospitals, orphanages) and individuals. In the second capacity, she can receive charitable assistance from individuals and legal entities. In some cases, a religious organization can act as something of an "intermediate link" that organizes the distribution of charitable assistance. We are talking about situations where a religious organization receives property, money as targeted donations to help those in need. In the terms of the Federal Law "On Charitable Activities and Charitable Organizations", the subject of charitable activities (the person making charitable donations) is referred to as benefactor; object of charitable activity - beneficiary.

Unlike a donation, which, as a kind of donation, is accompanied by the transfer of ownership of the donated property from the donor to the donee, charitable activities can also be carried out by providing the beneficiary with property for free use or in the form of gratuitous work of volunteers to assist the beneficiary.

We also note that, unlike a donation, which, according to the requirements of Art. 572 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, should be absolutely free of charge, charitable activities also allow for some compensation of the assistance provided. For example, not only free distribution, but also the sale of products to those in need at a reduced price can also fall under the concept of charitable activities.

The Federal Law "On Charitable Activities and Charitable Organizations" establishes in Article 2 that charitable activities are carried out in order to:

• “social support and protection of citizens, including improving the financial situation of the poor, social rehabilitation of the unemployed, the disabled and other persons who, due to their physical or intellectual characteristics, other circumstances, are not able to independently realize their rights and legitimate interests;
• preparing the population to overcome the consequences natural Disasters, environmental, industrial or other disasters, to the prevention of accidents;
• assistance to victims of natural disasters, environmental, industrial or other disasters, social, national, religious conflicts, victims of repression, refugees and internally displaced persons;
• promoting the strengthening of peace, friendship and harmony among peoples, the prevention of social, national, religious conflicts;
• promoting the prestige and role of the family in society;
• promoting the protection of motherhood, childhood and fatherhood;
• promotion of activities in the field of education, science, culture, art, enlightenment, spiritual development of the individual;
• promotion of activities in the field of prevention and protection of the health of citizens, as well as propaganda healthy lifestyle life, improving the moral and psychological state of citizens;
• promotion of activities in the field of physical culture and mass sports;
• environmental protection and animal protection;
• protection and proper maintenance of buildings, objects and territories of historical, religious, cultural or environmental significance, and burial places.

Respectively, activities pursuing other goals not listed in the Law cannot be recognized as charitable activities.

The law specifically stipulates in the same Art. 2 that the direction of monetary and other material resources, the provision of assistance in other forms to commercial organizations, as well as the support of political parties, movements, groups and campaigns are not charitable activities. It is prohibited to carry out pre-election campaigning, campaigning on referendum issues simultaneously with charitable activities.

At the same time, the legislation does not regulate in any way the problem of the compatibility of charitable activities with missionary work, that is, with attempts to convert recipients of charitable assistance to their faith. In the USSR, the charitable activities of religious organizations were banned, among other things, for the reason that they were not used as a means of attracting new believers. In our opinion, in modern Russia it is impossible and inappropriate to demand from religious organizations that their charitable activities be devoid of any religious overtones, because the provision of spiritual assistance is for them the ultimate, highest meaning of any charity. Determining the appropriate forms of spiritual enlightenment work, drawing a line between preaching and aggressive proselytism using the plight of people is more of an ethical issue than one subject to legal regulation.

In accordance with Art. 18 of the Federal Law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" religious organizations have the right to carry out charitable activities both directly and through the establishment of charitable organizations. As set out in Art. 6 of the Federal Law "On charitable activities and charitable organizations",

"charitable organization is a non-governmental (non-state and non-municipal) non-profit organization established to achieve the goals provided for by this Federal Law by carrying out charitable activities in the interests of society as a whole or certain categories of persons.

The goals of charitable activities were listed in Art. 2 of the said Law. At the same time, in accordance with Art. 6 of the Federal Law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations", a religious association is created for the purpose of joint confession and the spread of the faith. Thus, the same legal entity cannot simultaneously have the status of a religious association and a charitable organization - they are created for different purposes. This, of course, does not prevent a religious organization from engaging in charitable activities, and a charitable organization, for example, from accompanying its activities with religious rites. But it is possible to use special rights and benefits established only for charitable or only for religious organizations, depending on whether the organization is registered as a religious or as a charitable organization.

Therefore, depending on the specific circumstances, a religious organization has the right to choose the best option for it - to conduct charitable activities directly or to establish a charitable organization. The latter may be appropriate, if necessary, to use those tax benefits that are provided exclusively for the implementation of charitable activities by charitable organizations. First of all, this is due to the problem of taxing beneficiaries with income tax. individuals(see below).

Forms of charitable organizations:

Article 16 of the Federal Law "On charitable activities ..." established that a charitable organization may own on the basis of ownership or other property rights: buildings, structures, equipment, cash, securities, information resources, other property, unless otherwise provided by Federal laws; results of intellectual activity.

A charitable organization may make any transactions in respect of property owned by it or on other property rights that do not contradict the legislation of the Russian Federation, the charter of this organization, the wishes of the philanthropist.

Charity organization is not entitled to use more than 20 percent of financial resources for remuneration of administrative and managerial personnel, spent by the organization in a financial year. This restriction does not apply to the remuneration of persons involved in the implementation of charitable programs.

Unless otherwise provided by the benefactor or charitable program, at least 80 percent of a charitable donation in cash must be used for charitable purposes within a year from the date the donation is received by the charitable organization. Charitable donations in kind are directed to charitable purposes within one year from the date of their receipt, unless otherwise established by the philanthropist or charitable program.

Religious organizations and charitable organizations established by them must be guided by the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on donations and donations.

According to Article 582 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, donation of a thing or right is recognized as a donation. for public purposes. Commonly useful goals should be understood as those that benefit society as a whole or some part of it. A donation to create a public library benefits an indefinitely wide range of citizens, a donation to the needs of the spiritual educational institution- students and workers in it.

Can a donation be considered made for generally useful purposes if the donee is a specific person who receives clothes and food as a gift? It would seem that only he himself benefits in this case. But if a donation serves to satisfy such needs of a particular person, the dissatisfaction of which is a social evil (hunger, homelessness, poverty, disease), then it also benefits society as a whole. Therefore, when a religious organization gives a person in need food, clothes, medicines, money to meet the necessary necessities of life (study, treatment, etc.), this is legitimately considered as a donation.

A donation to an individual on behalf of a religious or charitable organization of luxury items (a car, expensive watches, jewelry) cannot be considered as a donation. This is a simple donation, and if the donor is a legal entity, the donee must pay personal income tax in the amount of 13% of the total value of gifts received during the year, which exceeded 4,000 rubles. (This rule does not apply to gifts that physical faces do physical individuals, as discussed later in this chapter.)

Article 582 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation indicates that the donation of property to legal entities may be conditioned by the donor on the use of this property for a specific purpose. In the absence of such a condition, the donated property is used by the religious (charitable) organization in accordance with the purpose of the property and in accordance with the statutory purposes.

A legal entity that accepts a donation, for the use of which a specific purpose is established, must keep separate records of all transactions involving the use of donated property.

If the use of the donated property in accordance with the purpose indicated by the donor becomes impossible due to changed circumstances, it can be used for another purpose only with the consent of the donor, and in the event of the death of a citizen-donor or the liquidation of a legal entity - the donor by a court decision.

The use of the donated property not in accordance with the purpose indicated by the donor, or changing this purpose in violation of the rules provided for in paragraph 4 of this article, entitles the donor, his heirs or other legal successor to demand the cancellation of the donation. Considering that the Civil Code of the Russian Federation classifies donations as a type of donation, when accepting and transferring donations, one should observe general rules established for donation by Article 574 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation:

"one. A donation accompanied by the transfer of a gift to the donee may be made orally, except for the cases provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this article.

The transfer of a gift is carried out through its delivery, symbolic transfer (delivery of keys, etc.) or delivery of title documents.

2. A contract of donation of movable property must be made in writing in cases where:

the donor is a legal entity and the value of the gift exceeds five minimum wages established by law;

The contract contains a promise of a gift in the future.

In the cases provided for in this paragraph, a donation agreement made orally is void.

3. The contract of donation of immovable property is subject to state registration.”

The tax legislation provides for a number of benefits related to charitable activities.

Tax on income of individuals - beneficiaries of charitable activities

When carrying out charitable activities, it should be taken into account that beneficiaries are by no means always exempted from the obligation to pay tax on income received by them in the form of charitable assistance. Personal income tax may be levied not only on the amounts of money received by the beneficiary, but also on property and services rendered to him (income in kind). If a person has received free property, a tourist voucher, etc., he will have income in kind in the amount of the value of the property or service received, which may be subject to personal income tax. The Tax Code specifically stipulates in which cases the receipt of cash payments, food, clothing, medicines, payment for treatment, education, etc. are exempt from personal income tax.

In accordance with Article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the following types of income of individuals are not subject to taxation (exempted from taxation), in particular:

“... 8) the amount of one-time material assistance provided to ... taxpayers in the form of humanitarian assistance (assistance), as well as in the form of charitable assistance (in cash and in kind) provided duly registered Russian and foreign charitable organizations(foundations, associations), in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on charitable activities in the Russian Federation. (Please note that this benefit only applies to assistance received from charitable organizations. If the assistance comes from a religious organization, and not from a charitable organization, the income is subject to personal income tax. For this reason, in the case of large-scale charitable assistance, it may be appropriate to distribution through a charitable organization. M.Sh.);

9) the amount of full or partial compensation(payment) by employers to their employees and (or) members of their families, their former employees who retired due to disability or old age, disabled people who do not work in this organization, the cost purchased vouchers, with the exception of tourist vouchers, on the basis of which services are provided to these persons by sanatorium-resort and health-improving organizations located on the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as the amount of full or partial compensation (payment) for the cost vouchers for children under the age of 16, on the basis of which the specified persons are provided with services by sanatorium-resort and health-improving organizations located on the territory of the Russian Federation, provided:

funded by religious organizations as well as other non-profit organizations, one of the goals of which, in accordance with the constituent documents, is the activity of social support and protection of citizens who, due to their physical or intellectual characteristics, other circumstances, are not able to independently exercise their rights and legitimate interests;

10) amounts paid by religious organizations, as well as charitable organizations and other non-profit organizations, one of the goals of which, in accordance with the constituent documents, is to promote the protection of the health of citizens, for services for the treatment of persons who are not with them in labor relations, as well as for the medicines purchased by them for these persons.

These incomes are exempt from taxation in case of cashless payment employers and (or) public organizations of the disabled, religious organizations, as well as charitable organizations and other non-profit organizations, one of the goals of which, in accordance with the constituent documents, is to promote the protection of the health of citizens, medical organizations of the cost of treatment and medical care of taxpayers, as well as in case of issuance of cash intended for these purposes directly to the taxpayer(members of his family, parents, legal representatives) or transfer of funds earmarked for these purposes to taxpayers' bank accounts;

11) scholarships ... students of spiritual educational institutions, paid to said persons by these institutions;

…26) income received by orphans and children who are members of families whose income per member does not exceed the subsistence minimum, from duly registered charitable foundations and religious organizations;

…28) income not exceeding 4,000 rubles, received on each of the following grounds for the tax period: value of gifts received by taxpayers from organizations or individual entrepreneurs”.

Situations where a donation (donation) for religious reasons is made by an individual to an individual are not directly related to the charitable activities of religious organizations. This category also includes alms to the beggar, and a gift to the clergyman. Should such a gift be taxed?

According to Art. 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, paragraph 18.1), are exempt from taxation

“income in cash and in kind received from individuals by way of donation, with the exception of cases of donation of real estate, vehicles, shares, shares, shares, unless otherwise provided by this paragraph. Income received as a gift is exempt from taxation if the donor and the donee are family members and (or) close relatives in accordance with the Family Code of the Russian Federation (spouses, parents and children, including adoptive parents and adopted children, grandfather, grandmother and grandchildren, full-blooded and half-blooded (having a common father or mother) brothers and sisters).

Due to the vagueness of the wording, there were disagreements in the interpretation of this rule. There was a point of view that any gifts received from individuals who are not family members and close relatives are subject to taxation. The ambiguity was eliminated only with the appearance of the Letter of the Federal Tax Service dated July 10, 2012 No. ED-4-3 / [email protected]:

“In order to eliminate ambiguous interpretations of the provisions of paragraph 18.1 of Article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Code), the Federal Tax Service reports the following. (...) ... it must be taken into account that paragraph 2 of the paragraph of the Code under consideration applies only to those cases where the subject of the donation agreement is real estate, vehicles, shares, shares, shares.

Income in the form of other property and property rights not related to the specified list, received under a donation agreement, is not subject to taxation for the purposes of Chapter 23 of the Code, regardless of whether the donor and the donee are family members and (or) close relatives.

income tax

According to Article 251 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, when determining the tax base, targeted revenues for the maintenance of non-profit organizations and the conduct of their statutory activities received free of charge from other organizations and (or) individuals and used by the indicated recipients for their intended purpose are not taken into account.

The specified targeted revenues for the maintenance of non-profit organizations and their statutory activities include, among other things, funds and other property received for charitable activities.

In order to ensure the possibility of providing state support for the activities of non-profit organizations that benefit society, including religious organizations and charitable, cultural and educational organizations created by them, in 2010, Russian legislation introduced rules on socially oriented non-profit organizations.

Article 2, paragraph 2.1 of the Federal Law "On non-profit organizations" established that

“Socially oriented non-profit organizations are recognized as non-profit organizations established in the forms provided for by this Federal Law (with the exception of state corporations, state companies, public associations that are political parties) and carrying out activities aimed at solving social problems, the development of civil society in the Russian Federation, as well as the types of activities provided for by Article 31.1 of this Federal Law.

According to article 31.1. Federal Law "On non-profit organizations":

"one. Bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government, in accordance with the powers established by this Federal Law and other federal laws, may provide support to socially oriented non-profit organizations, provided that they carry out the following activities in accordance with the constituent documents:

1) social support and protection of citizens;

2) preparation of the population to overcome the consequences of natural disasters, environmental, man-made or other disasters, to prevent accidents;

3) assistance to victims of natural disasters, environmental, man-made or other disasters, social, national, religious conflicts, refugees and internally displaced persons;

4) environmental protection and animal protection;

5) protection and, in accordance with established requirements, the maintenance of objects (including buildings, structures) and territories of historical, religious, cultural or environmental significance, and burial places;

6) provision of legal assistance on a gratuitous or preferential basis to citizens and non-profit organizations and legal education of the population, activities to protect the rights and freedoms of man and citizen;

7) prevention of socially dangerous forms of behavior of citizens;

8) charitable activities, as well as activities in the field of promoting charity and volunteerism;

9) activities in the field of education, enlightenment, science, culture, art, healthcare, prevention and protection of the health of citizens, promotion of a healthy lifestyle, improvement of the moral and psychological state of citizens, physical culture and sports and promotion of these activities, as well as assistance to the spiritual development of the individual .

2. In order to recognize non-profit organizations as socially oriented federal laws, laws of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, normative legal acts of representative bodies of municipal formations, along with the types of activities provided for by this article, other types of activities aimed at solving social problems, developing civil society in the Russian Federation may be established.

3. Providing support to socially oriented non-profit organizations is carried out in the following forms:

1) financial, property, informational, consulting support, as well as support in the field of training, retraining and advanced training of employees and volunteers of socially oriented non-profit organizations;

2) providing socially oriented non-profit organizations with benefits for the payment of taxes and fees in accordance with the legislation on taxes and fees;

3) placing orders with socially oriented non-profit organizations for the supply of goods, performance of work, provision of services for state and municipal needs in the manner prescribed by the Federal Law “On placing orders for the supply of goods, performance of work, provision of services for state and municipal needs”;

4) providing legal entities providing socially oriented non-profit organizations with material support, benefits in the payment of taxes and fees in accordance with the legislation on taxes and fees.

4. The constituent entities of the Russian Federation and municipalities, along with the forms of support established by paragraph 3 of this article, have the right to provide support to socially oriented non-profit organizations in other forms at the expense of budgetary appropriations from the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local budgets, respectively.

5. Providing financial support to socially oriented non-profit organizations may be carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation at the expense of budget allocations from the federal budget, the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, local budgets by providing subsidies. Federal budget allocations for financial support of socially oriented non-profit organizations (including for maintaining a register of socially oriented organizations - recipients of support), including subsidies to the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, are provided in the manner established by the Government of the Russian Federation.

6. The provision of property support to socially oriented non-profit organizations is carried out by state authorities and local governments by transferring state or municipal property into the possession and (or) use of such non-profit organizations. The specified property should be used only for its intended purpose.

It should be noted that these provisions of the Federal Law "On Non-Commercial Organizations" give the authorities the right to independently decide which religious organization they recognize as socially oriented. At the same time, a religious organization cannot require the authorities to recognize it as socially oriented on the basis of the formal compliance of its activities with established criteria. This, in our opinion, creates a potential danger of administrative arbitrariness in assigning the status of socially oriented NGOs, as well as in determining the nature and amount of support they receive.

Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of Social Services for the Population in the Russian Federation” dated 10.12.1995 No. 195-FZ defines that social services are the activities of social services for social support, the provision of social, social, medical, psychological and pedagogical, social and legal services and financial assistance, social adaptation and rehabilitation of citizens in difficult life situations.

Religious organizations can provide social services through the establishment of social service institutions and enterprises. Social service institutions, regardless of the form of ownership, are:

1) complex centers of social services for the population;

2) territorial centers of social assistance to families and children;

3) social service centers;

4) social rehabilitation centers for minors;

5) centers for helping children left without parental care;

6) social shelters for children and adolescents;

7) centers of psychological and pedagogical assistance to the population;

8) centers of emergency psychological assistance by telephone;

9) centers (departments) of social assistance at home;

10) night stay houses;

11) special homes for single elderly;

12) stationary institutions of social service (boarding houses for the elderly and disabled, neuropsychiatric boarding schools, orphanages for mentally retarded children, boarding houses for children with physical disabilities);

13) gerontological centers;

14) other institutions providing social services.

Social service enterprises include enterprises that provide social services to the population. Charity and social services have both similarities and differences. Charitable activity is a disinterested activity for the benefit of society; social service is aimed at solving important social problems, but it can be both disinterested (which is typical for religious organizations) and carried out on a paid, commercial basis.

Compliance of the activities of social service institutions, the volume, quality of social services, the procedure and conditions for their provision with the requirements established by the state standards of social service, is the subject of state control. Control is carried out by officials of Roszdravnadzor (Departments of Roszdravnadzor for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation).