▁from ▁invest ment ) ▁are ▁indic ators ▁to ▁assess ▁the ▁financial ▁sust ain ability ▁of ▁a ▁char ity , ▁especially ▁to ▁char ity ▁evalu ators . ▁This ▁information ▁can ▁impact ▁a ▁char ity ' s ▁reputation ▁with ▁don ors ▁and ▁soci eties , ▁and ▁thus ▁the ▁char ity ' s ▁financial ▁g ains . ▁ ▁Char itable ▁organizations ▁often ▁depend ▁partly ▁on ▁don ations ▁from ▁business es . ▁Such ▁don ations ▁to ▁char itable ▁organizations ▁represent ▁a ▁major ▁form ▁of ▁corpor ate ▁phil anth ropy . ▁ ▁In ▁order ▁to ▁meet ▁the ▁ex empt ▁organiz ational ▁test ▁requirements , ▁it ▁has ▁to ▁be ▁exclus ively ▁organized ▁and ▁operated . ▁ ▁In ▁order ▁to ▁receive ▁and ▁pass ▁the ▁exem ption ▁test , ▁char itable ▁organization ▁must ▁follow ▁the ▁public ▁interest ▁and ▁all ▁ex empt ▁income ▁should ▁be ▁for ▁the ▁public ▁interest . ▁For ▁example , ▁in ▁many ▁countries ▁of ▁the ▁Commonwealth , ▁char itable ▁organizations ▁must ▁demonstrate ▁that ▁they ▁provide ▁a ▁public ▁benefit . ▁ ▁History ▁ ▁Early ▁systems ▁ ▁Until ▁the ▁mid - 1 8 th ▁century , ▁char ity ▁was ▁mainly ▁distributed ▁through ▁religious ▁structures ▁( such ▁as ▁the ▁English ▁Po or ▁La ws ▁of ▁ 1 6 0 1 ), ▁al m sh ouses ▁and ▁be quest s ▁from ▁the ▁rich . ▁Both ▁Christian ity ▁and ▁Islam ▁incorpor ated ▁significant ▁char itable ▁elements ▁from ▁their ▁very ▁beg inn ings ▁and ▁d ā na ▁( al ms - g iving ) ▁has ▁a ▁long ▁tradition ▁in ▁H indu ism , ▁J ain