Rikunarita-ORG/Wikinium huggingface dataset:
# Mutual aid society

A  **mutual aid society**, also called a **benefit fraternity** is an organization, like a charity that provides benefits such as insurance, medical care, financial aid for things like higher education and others. Mutual aid societies were common before the advent of the modern welfare state.
# Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.Père Lachaise, the first and biggest cemetery in Paris. It is among the best known cemeteries in the world.
A **cemetery** or a **graveyard** is a place, usually surrounded by a fence, where people bury dead bodies and honour the dead. Many of them have gardens and other greenery in them to symbolise life and to honour the dead.

## Related pages

* Burial
* Catacomb
* Necropolis
* Mausoleum
# Credit union

A **credit union** is a cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members. Credit unions differ from banks and other financial institutions in that the members who have accounts in the credit union are the owners of the credit union - there are no external shareholders. Profits from the operations of a credit union are distributed to members in the form of dividends.

The basic services of a credit union are to offer savings accounts and loans to members.
# Mutual insurance

A **mutual insurance** company is an insurance company that is owned by its customers. If the company is profitable, the profits are returned to the customers. This is different from other insurance companies, which are public companies.
# Cooperative

A **cooperative** (also spelled **co-operative,** or **co-op**) is when several people come together in cooperation to reach a common goal through mutural aid. It is a type of organization used to make the lives of its members easier; it is usually not focused on making profit, instead focusing on serving member needs.

## Characteristics

Cooperative ownership can have different details about what ownership means and how cooperation works. A basic cooperative-ownership structure has the following characteristics:

* Ownership is based on voluntary participation
* Members of the cooperative are also users (also known as patrons)
* Decisions are made on a basis of one member = one vote

Co-operatives are democratic organizations owned by the people who use them. Cooperative organizations help people adapt to capitalism.

## History and examples

The first cooperative was a store in Rochdale, England started in 1844. The people who started it wanted food that was cheaper and better quality. Since then, people have found many ways to cooperate.

Examples of cooperatives:

* Farmers provide their own transport and marketing to get better prices for their crops
* Poor people protect themselves from money-lenders, and workers save for their retirement (as in a credit union)
* Fishers package their fish to get a better price
* Villagers provide themselves with electricity or water
* Residents own their apartment building

The International Cooperative Alliance was started in 1885. It reports that there are 800 million cooperative members in the world.

## Other websites

* Rochdale - Birthplace of Cooperation
* International Cooperative Alliance
# Reinsurance

**Reinsurance** is insurance that an insurance company purchases from another insurance company to protect itself (at least in part) from the risks that are too big for itself, like a major disaster. With reinsurance, the company passes on ("cedes") some part of its own insurance liabilities to the other insurance company. The company that purchases the reinsurance policy is referred to as the "ceding company" or "cedent". The company issuing the reinsurance policy is referred to as the "reinsurer". In the classic case, reinsurance helps insurance companies to remain solvent after major claims events, like hurricanes or wildfires.

The reinsurer may be either a specialist reinsurance company, which only undertakes reinsurance business, or another insurance company.
# Gross income

**Gross income** in United States income tax law is money or anything of value gained from all sources. Gross income is the amount of income before any tax deductions or allowances. In the Law of the United States, 26 U.S. Code § 61, "Except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, gross income means all income from whatever source derived...".

## Exclusions (US)

Some types of income are specifically excluded from gross income. These are listed at 26 U.S. Code Part III and include:

* Certain death benefits (money paid on a life insurance policy to the beneficiary when the insured person dies)
* Gifts and inheritances
* Interest on State and local bond
* Compensation for injuries or sickness
* Amounts received under accident and health insuranceref name=grossincLII/>
* Certain combat zone compensation of members of the military
* Qualified scholarships
# Lobbying

A campaigner from the environmental group Greenpeace lobbying the Finnish government
**Lobbying** is the act of trying to persuade people or governments to make decisions or support something. Lobbying can be done by many sorts of people, alone or in groups. Often it is done by big businesses, political parties, social movements, or ethnic groups. It can also be done by politicians and by ordinary citizens. **Lobbyists** are people whose job it is to lobby for big businesses or political parties. The word lobbying comes from the lobby of the Palace of Westminster in London. The lobby is between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and there people would try to meet politicians as they came in and went out.

## Related pages

* Activism
* Identity politics
* Think tank