Non-profit environmental organizations

Environmental NPOs are non-profit organizations operating in the field of ecology. The organization not only protects the state of natural resources, but also promotes the very idea of ​​care to the public masses by working with the media and holding events on its topics.

The non-profit sector is expanding every year, despite foreign economic and other social factors. From year to year, not only the number of non-profit organizations themselves registered in the manner prescribed by law increases, but also the areas in which NPOs operate. So, today one of the most popular and important areas is ecology, and therefore, within the framework of this article, we will tell you about environmental NGOs.

In addition, you will learn why such legal entities are created and what activities they usually engage in. Moreover, it is important to understand what organizational and legal forms of business are suitable for creating environmental NPOs.

What is an environmental non-profit organization?

So, first you need to understand the question of what an environmental NGO is.

Considering the fact that the legislation does not contain such a definition, one should be guided by generally accepted terminology. It turns out that an environmental NPO is nothing more than a legal entity of a non-profit type, created by citizens and (or) legal entities and pursuing social charitable environmental goals. It is important to focus on the focus of such organizations - ecology, nature protection, and the fight against current environmental problems. It is not for nothing that environmental non-profit organizations are in practice called “environmental” or “environmental protection” organizations.

Name of environmental NPO - what are the requirements?

Having decided on the OPPH of your future organization, you will be faced with the question of choosing the name of the NPO. In this regard, we must not forget about the legally established requirements for the name of an environmental non-profit organization. Thus, in accordance with Article 4 of Federal Law No. 7, the name of a non-profit organization must consist of its organizational and legal form and the nature of its activities. The first aspect does not cause any difficulties, then what is the nature of the activity?

In simple words, this is what the organization will do and what goals it plans to achieve. In the case of an environmental NPO, the name of the legal entity must include an indication of its environmental/environmental focus.

• The above examples of environmental organizations existing confirm this thesis, and the example of the Wildlife Conservation Center Charitable Foundation is the most obvious!

At the same time, we should not forget about the presence of certain specific rules established by law in relation to a number of organizational and legal forms. So, for example, in the case of a public organization and social movement, in addition to the general public organization and the nature of the activity, the name must contain an indication of the territorial scope of activity. Again, to make it clearer for you, I will give an example from practice - the Irkutsk regional public movement for the protection of nature and ecology “Our Baikal” - such a name contains all three necessary elements.

Finally, when choosing the name of an environmental NPO, you should remember that the name you choose may already be used by someone else and, therefore, there is already an organization with a similar name in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. Despite the fact that the Ministry of Justice and the Federal Tax Service often turn a blind eye to this and register another legal entity with a repeating name, arguing their position by the lack of legislative authority to refuse due to “repetition” of the name,” you should not rely on luck.

Moreover, the Supreme Court in its decision pointed out the illegality of registering two NPOs with an identical name, since this could interfere with normal economic turnover (Determination of the Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases of the Armed Forces dated July 11, 2017 in case No. 53-KG17-12). In this regard, you should approach the selection of a name very responsibly and come up with a unique one for your future environmental NGO!

Which tax regime should I choose for an environmental NPO?

Let's start with the fact that environmental NPOs, as well as other non-profit organizations, can apply one of two taxation regimes: general (OSN) or simplified taxation (USN). The choice of a specific taxation regime depends directly on the decision of the founders when creating an organization; however, it is also possible to switch to another regime after creation. In order to understand which tax regime is most suitable for your environmental or environmental protection organization, you should determine the features of each regime.

• 1. General taxation regime (GTR).

This tax system is applied to environmental NPOs by default upon creation, unless the organization itself, on its own initiative, has switched to the simplified tax system.

We remind you that in accordance with Article 246 of the Tax Code, all non-profit organizations are recognized as payers of income tax.

Accordingly, if an environmental non-profit organization is on the OSN, then the main tax, which will make up the majority of the organization’s deductions, is the income tax, the standard rate of which is 20% of the profit (that is, income reduced by the amount of expenses incurred to obtain them). In addition, if a general taxation system is applied, an environmental NPO is required to pay VAT (value added tax).

An organization is exempt from paying VAT if it is not a manufacturer of any goods or services, or if income from such activities does not exceed 2 million rubles for 3 months.

• 2. Simplified taxation system (STS).

If we talk about the main advantage of the simplified tax system over the special tax system, then, of course, the exemption of an organization from paying income tax is a primary advantage. Moreover, in most cases, a non-profit organization located on the simplified tax system is exempt from paying VAT (with rare exceptions). Accordingly, NPOs are also exempt from filing reports on these taxes.

Instead of the above taxes, an environmental NPO is faced with the choice of one of two tax payment options in connection with the application of the simplified tax system:

• 6% from income;
• 15% on income reduced by expenses.

It is important to understand that income in this case means any income from the sale of goods, work, services, proceeds from the alienation of property, non-operating income. At the same time, we remind you that targeted financing of environmental NPOs and targeted income (for example, voluntary donations) do not count as NPO income!

By the way, the legislative authorities of the constituent entities may adopt acts that establish lower tax rates for the tax that is paid in connection with the application of the simplified tax system to the organization. For example, in St. Petersburg, with a simplified tax system of 15%, the tax rate is 7%! But keep in mind that the decision on a reduced rate is made by regional authorities; it may be revised. In some regions, it is received only by organizations engaged in certain types of activities, for example, those engaged in the field of sports or manufacturing, or in the field of ecology. Check very carefully for reduced rates!

If we talk about the preferences that are available to NPOs in the case of using a simplified taxation system, a common example is the ability to use reduced insurance premium rates.

In what cases does an environmental NPO have the right to apply the simplified tax system? 

Article 346.12 of the Tax Code lists the conditions, however, it is necessary to focus on 3 main requirements:

• The average number of employees of the organization does not exceed 100 people ;
• The residual value of fixed assets that are on the organization's balance sheet (money in accounts and securities do not include here) does not exceed 150 million rubles ;
• Income (not including targeted funding and targeted receipts) does not exceed 112.5 million rubles for 9 months of the year in which the organization submits a notification about the transition to the simplified tax system (subsequently 200 million rubles per year).

Thus, for a non-profit organization it is much more profitable to use a simplified taxation system, since in this case it is necessary to submit fewer reports, there is no obligation to pay VAT, and there are other preferences depending on the region. If an environmental NPO somehow provides paid services or sells certain goods (for example, conducts paid webinars on environmental topics), then anyway, using the simplified tax system instead of the special tax system, it will pay less to the state budget than in the situation of paying tax on profit of the organization!

How to start using the simplified tax system for your organization?

There are only 2 options for using the simplified taxation system:

1. From the moment of state registration (from the date of registration with the Federal Tax Service). Simply put, from the date of making a record of state registration in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, any non-profit organization (including environmental) has 30 calendar days to submit a notification to its territorial tax office about the transition to the simplified tax system. In this case, the simplified tax system is applied to the organization from the date of state registration;
2. From January 1 next year . In order for an organization to switch to the simplified tax system starting next year, it is necessary to submit this notification before December 31 of the current year.

Procedure for state registration of an environmental non-profit organization

Considering the fact that an environmental NPO can be created in different organizational and legal forms, state registration of each of these forms has its own characteristics.

You can find out more about state registration procedures on our website in special articles:

• Registration of an environmental NGO - fund ;
• Registration of environmental NPO - association ;
• Registration of an environmental NPO - public organization ;
• Registration of an environmental NGO - a social movement .

One way or another, to go through the registration procedure with the Ministry of Justice, you should prepare a package of documents. According to the current legislation, an approximate package of documents for creating an environmental NPO should look like this:

• Application in form P11001 ( notarized );
• Application on form P11001 ( simple stitched );
• Charter of environmental NPO (in 3 copies);
• Minutes of the founding meeting;
• Documents for the legal address of the organization;
• Receipt for payment of state duty.

What do we have as a result?

It is worth noting that the issue of ecology and environmental protection is one of the most pressing and complex in the modern world. In this connection, the creation of a non-profit organization in this area is, of course, an important and responsible step towards solving environmental problems.

Taking into account the variety of organizational and legal forms of NPOs, the peculiarities of taxation regimes, as well as the goals pursued by the founder when creating an organization, the best solution would be to contact the NPO Partner for qualified legal assistance in registering an environmental NPO.