Our Legal Structure
DiVnity™ International Foundation is a fully registered nonprofit organization, recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, with its own governing board and all of its legal documents approved.
The Foundation is an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations to the Foundation are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Every donation receipt identifies the organization receiving your gift for your tax records. Your tax adviser can help you determine the deduction applicable to your circumstances.
Governance Policies on File
Good intentions are not a governance program. The six written policies below are the ones we consider non-negotiable for a foundation of this scope, alongside the safeguarding commitments detailed separately. Board adoption dates will be listed here once the Board is formally seated.
Requires every Board member and senior staff member to disclose, in writing and at least annually, any financial or personal interest that could conflict with the Foundation’s — and sets a clear recusal process for any vote where one exists.
Gives any staff member, volunteer, or partner a safe, confidential channel to report a concern about financial, ethical, or safeguarding misconduct without fear of retaliation — distinct from, but coordinated with, the safeguarding-specific channel on our Safeguarding Policy page.
Defines which forms of gifts the Foundation will and will not accept — cash, stock, in-kind, cryptocurrency, and real property among them — and sets a review process for any gift carrying reputational, legal, or restrictive-condition risk.
Sets a target of directing at least 65% of total annual expenses to programs rather than administration or fundraising, defines the revenue threshold at which an independent financial audit becomes required, and commits the resulting statement to our Financial Transparency page.
Sets a concrete retention period for every record category the Foundation holds — donor records, program and beneficiary files, volunteer screening results, Board minutes — and a secure destruction process once that period lapses.
Confirms a donor’s information is never shared, sold, or used beyond the purpose it was given for, and that any donor may opt out of communication at any time without affecting a prior gift’s tax receipt. The full policy lives on our Privacy Policy page.
Operating Lawfully in the United States
DiVnity is headquartered in the United States, and U.S. charity law governs it at both the federal and state level.
Federal tax-exempt status. Operating as a 501(c)(3) organization carries an ongoing obligation, not a one-time approval: an annual information return (Form 990 or a shorter variant) filed with the IRS and made available for public inspection, and continued operation consistent with the exempt purpose the determination letter was granted for. We meet that obligation every year, and our Financial Transparency page is where our filings are published.
State charitable solicitation registration. Most U.S. states require a charity to register — commonly through the Unified Registration Statement most states accept — before soliciting donations from that state’s residents, whether the ask arrives by mail, in person, or through a website reachable from anywhere, like this one. We register, or are completing registration, in every state where our level of solicitation requires it. Our current list of state registrations will be published here. Registration with a state agency does not constitute or imply that state’s endorsement, approval, or recommendation.
Unrelated business income. Any revenue-generating activity not substantially related to our exempt mission is reviewed against IRS unrelated-business-income-tax rules before it is undertaken, so exempt status is never put at risk for the sake of a side activity.
Operating Responsibly Across Borders
Programs delivered outside the United States carry a distinct set of obligations, which we treat with the same seriousness as our domestic ones.
Counter-terrorist-financing due diligence. International grants and partnerships are screened using the risk-based, proportionate approach FATF’s Recommendation 8 asks of the nonprofit sector — sized to the actual risk a specific grant or partner presents, never a blanket suspicion of the sector as a whole, which FATF itself has repeatedly cautioned against.
Sanctions screening. Partner organizations, chapter leadership, and significant vendors are checked against applicable government sanctions lists before a partnership or grant is finalized, and periodically thereafter.
Anti-bribery and corruption. No payment, gift, or favor is offered to a foreign or domestic government official to obtain or retain business or a program approval — a standard we hold ourselves to under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and equivalent local law, independent of any government’s current enforcement priorities in a given year.
Local registration, chapter by chapter. Each active chapter’s local registration and compliance status is tracked centrally rather than left to informal knowledge. Registration status for each chapter will be published here as it is confirmed.
Data protection. Every donor, beneficiary, and partner record is held to the GDPR-aligned baseline described on our Privacy Policy page, regardless of where that person lives — not only where the law happens to require it.
Safeguarding. Our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy applies to every program, in every country, without exception.
Questions About Our Governance
A question this page doesn’t answer is one we would rather hear directly. Contact us and we will route it to the right person.