A nonprofit exists to carry out its mission for the common good.

A non-profit corporation is legally incorporated for the charitable purposes specified in the Articles of Organization. The general public, acting via government, entrusts officers, directors, and trustees of a non-profit corporation with fiduciary responsibility for operating the corporation.

The Academy of Presidential Scholars, Inc. was organized by U.S. Presidential Scholars and incorporated in Massachusetts in 2017 for the charitable, educational, cultural, and benevolent purposes stated in the Articles of Organization and approved by the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

The Articles of Organization, annual reports, and appointments of officers, directors, and legal agents approved by the Corporations Division of the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth are accessible online.

The Academy is registered with the Non-Profit/Public Charities Division of the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General (AGO # 062256 effective 5-15-2018) as a nonprofit, tax exempt public charity. The articles, bylaws, and annual financial reports (Form PC) approved by the AGO, and the AGO’s certifications to solicit charitable contributions are accessible online.  

Public Charities can do some things that Private Foundations cannot.

The Academy can, for example, advocate for the public good (such as for public education and human services), analyze public policy, and educate the public or lobby legislators (within certain limits and guidelines) about issues of broad public interest. Public Charities, like the Academy, can also accept donations from different entities, such as Donor Advised Funds.

The IRS issued the Academy of Presidential Scholars’ Letter of Determination as a Section 501(c)(3) Public Charity on May 18, 2018. This and other IRS filings are accessible online.

Entities serving the public good have an ethical obligation to be accountable and transparent.

The Academy strives to be open, while respecting privacy, and will engage in ongoing efforts to make information about its mission, activities, and decision-making processes easily accessible to the public. Earning GuideStar’s Platinum Seal of Transparency is a tangible way of showing the Academy’s commitment.

The Academy is a 501c3 Public Charity.

The exempt charitable organizations described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) must operate for public benefit. They are barred from engaging in some political activities such as campaigning for a candidate, and they must file annual information returns (IRS forms 990).

The IRS further classifies 501c3 nonprofits into three types, depending on how they are organized, how they operate, and how they are supported: Private Foundations, Private Operating Foundations, which are uncommon, and Public Charities. The Academy of Presidential Scholars is a Public Charity.

The Issues of Our Time

The experts who determine Section 501(c)(3) exempt status also assign the cause area(s) and corresponding National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code(s) based on the exempt organization‘s objectives and purposes. The Academy of Presidential Scholars described this core mission in its application for recognition of tax-exempt status (Form 1023).

The Academy’s primary purpose (NTEE Code P05) was determined to be in the Human Services cause area, with specific objectives of conducting research and/or analyzing public policy across the vast spectrum of economic and social issues affecting people’s lives, from civic engagement and providing individual and group social services to public education and national and state legislation, or as President Lyndon Johnson put it, “the issues of our time.”