7. Christian love; agape.
Synonyms kindliness, consideration, humanity, benignity, sympathy.
Antonyms malevolence.
The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.
Charitable giving is the act of giving money, goods or time to the unfortunate, either directly or by means of a charitable trust or other worthy cause. Charitable giving as a religious act or duty is referred to as almsgiving or alms. The name stems from the most obvious expression of the virtue of charity is giving the objects of it the means they need to survive.
Charities Act 2011 in the U.K:
1. Meaning of “charity”(1) For the purposes of the law of England and Wales, “charity” means an
institution which—
(a) is established for charitable purposes only, and
(b) falls to be subject to the control of the High Court in the exercise of its
jurisdiction with respect to charities.
(2) The definition of “charity” in subsection (1) does not apply for the purposes of
an enactment if a different definition of that term applies for those purposes by
virtue of that or any other enactment.
2. Meaning of “charitable purpose”(1) For the purposes of the law of England and Wales, a charitable purpose is a
purpose which—
(a) falls within section 3(1), and
(b) is for the public benefit (see section 4).
(2) Any reference in any enactment or document (in whatever terms)—
(a) to charitable purposes, or
(b) to institutions having purposes that are charitable under the law
relating to charities in England and Wales,
is to be read in accordance with subsection (1).
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply where the context otherwise requires.
(4) This section is subject to section 11 (which makes special provision for Chapter
2 of this Part onwards).
3. Descriptions of purposes(1) A purpose falls within this subsection if it falls within any of the following
descriptions of purposes—
(a) the prevention or relief of poverty;
(b) the advancement of education;
(c) the advancement of religion;
(d) the advancement of health or the saving of lives;
(e) the advancement of citizenship or community development;
(f) the advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science;
(g) the advancement of amateur sport;
(h) the advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation
or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and
diversity;
(i) the advancement of environmental protection or improvement;
(j) the relief of those in need because of youth, age, ill-health, disability,
financial hardship or other disadvantage;
(k) the advancement of animal welfare;
(l) the promotion of the efficiency of the armed forces of the Crown or of
the efficiency of the police, fire and rescue services or ambulance
services;
(m) any other purposes—
(i) that are not within paragraphs (a) to (l) but are recognised as
charitable purposes by virtue of section 5 (recreational and
similar trusts, etc.) or under the old law,
(ii) that may reasonably be regarded as analogous to, or within the
spirit of, any purposes falling within any of paragraphs (a) to (l)
or sub-paragraph (i), or
(iii) that may reasonably be regarded as analogous to, or within the
spirit of, any purposes which have been recognised, under the
law relating to charities in England and Wales, as falling within
sub-paragraph (ii) or this sub-paragraph.
(2) In subsection (1)—
(a) in paragraph (c), “religion” includes—
(i) a religion which involves belief in more than one god, and
(ii) a religion which does not involve belief in a god,
(b) in paragraph (d), “the advancement of health” includes the prevention
or relief of sickness, disease or human suffering,
(c) paragraph (e) includes—
(i) rural or urban regeneration, and
(ii) the promotion of civic responsibility, volunteering, the
voluntary sector or the effectiveness or efficiency of charities,
(d) in paragraph (g), “sport” means sports or games which promote health
by involving physical or mental skill or exertion,
(e) paragraph (j) includes relief given by the provision of accommodation
or care to the persons mentioned in that paragraph, and
(f) in paragraph (l), “fire and rescue services” means services provided by
fire and rescue authorities under Part 2 of the Fire and Rescue Services
Act 2004.
(3) Where any of the terms used in any of paragraphs (a) to (l) of subsection (1), or
in subsection (2), has a particular meaning under the law relating to charities
in England and Wales, the term is to be taken as having the same meaning
where it appears in that provision.
(4) In subsection (1)(m)(i), “the old law” means the law relating to charities in
England and Wales as in force immediately before 1 April 2008.
4. The public benefit requirement
(1) In this Act “the public benefit requirement” means the requirement in section
2(1)(b) that a purpose falling within section 3(1) must be for the public benefit
if it is to be a charitable purpose.
(2) In determining whether the public benefit requirement is satisfied in relation
to any purpose falling within section 3(1), it is not to be presumed that a
purpose of a particular description is for the public benefit.
(3) In this Chapter any reference to the public benefit is a reference to the public
benefit as that term is understood for the purposes of the law relating to
charities in England and Wales.
(4) Subsection (3) is subject to subsection (2).
Source:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/25/contents/enacted
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/25/pdfs/ukpga_20110025_en.pdf
As of 2011 there are a number of types of legal structure for a charity in England and Wales.
