A "federally chartered" nonprofit

This press release states that an online seller of graphic novels will be donating a portion of its proceeds to the Hero Initiative, "the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need." 

Sounds impressive, no?

Except that's not quite right.  Unless I've missed something, the Hero Initiative is not the "first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation" etc. etc. 

Scandal?  Nope.  Just a lack of clarity about nonprofit and charity law.

Here's the deal.  A federally chartered not-for-profit corporation is one that is, essentially, incorporated through U.S. law as opposed to the corporate law of a state.  The American Red Cross, for example, was incorporated by an act of Congress, as described here.  

The Hero Initiative was not incorporated by or through the federal government.  However, the IRS did recognize it as an organization exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code--in other words, it's a 501(c)(3) organization, like a gazillion or so other charities.  

Tax and corporate law can be quite confusing, and of all the ways one could get confused the one described above is pretty minor.  Still, state and federal regulators can get pretty picky about how a charity promotes itself, so it's best to be as accurate as you can.