Nonprofit organizations hold a certain mystique for many people.
After all, these organizations were founded for charitable or educational purposes, and their ultimate goal is to improve the quality of individual or community life. Thirty or forty years ago, nonprofit organizations benefited from charitable immunity, under which the courts held nonprofit organizations immune from all tort actions. Charitable immunity stemmed from a belief that a charity's resources should go to fund good works, not to pay for someone's injuries. Many people who work or volunteer for a nonprofit agency believe that nonprofits still operate under some form of charitable immunity. This and other misconceptions about nonprofit liability may jeopardize the success of nonprofits that fail to take appropriate steps to protect themselves and their stakeholders from harm.