Also known as: educational purposes · educational use
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
An authorized corporate activity consisting of making donations for the public welfare or for charitable, scientific, or educational purposes. The authority permits a corporation to expend funds on such purposes without further justification tied to its core business operations.
An authorized corporate activity consisting of making donations for the public welfare or for charitable, scientific, or educational purposes. The authority permits a corporation to expend funds on such purposes without further justification tied to its core business operations.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A secular nonreligious use of facilities that permits government grants to religiously affiliated institutions without violating the Establishment Clause. The use must remain strictly limited to secular activities and must not support religious indoctrination.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A secular nonreligious use of facilities that permits government grants to religiously affiliated institutions without violating the Establishment Clause. The use must remain strictly limited to secular activities and must not support religious indoctrination.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Enigma Technologies board votes to donate $250,000 to a local nonprofit that runs after-school reading programs for elementary students. The donation qualifies under the corporation's statutory powers because it advances an educational purpose. Shareholders later challenge the expenditure as unrelated to profit-making. The board defends the action by pointing to the statutory grant of authority to support educational purposes.
The statute grants authority to make such donations without imposing a size limit or requiring a direct business connection. A corporation may therefore donate any amount it chooses so long as the purpose qualifies as educational under the provision.
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The donation remains authorized under the statute even if it produces incidental public-relations benefits. The provision does not require the educational purpose to be the sole motivation.
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A religiously affiliated university receives a federal construction grant to build a new chemistry laboratory. The grant documents restrict the building to secular science instruction and prohibit any religious use. The university accepts the funds and constructs the facility solely for nonreligious educational purposes. A taxpayer group sues claiming an Establishment Clause violation, but the restriction to secular activities defeats the claim.
Yes. Government aid for facilities devoted exclusively to nonreligious educational purposes does not violate the Establishment Clause when the funds are restricted to secular activities and cannot support religious indoctrination.
Supporting sources
Yes. The constitutional permission depends on the aid being confined to secular educational purposes. Any portion of the grant that could fund religious instruction would exceed the permissible scope.
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