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Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in the United States are subject to a complex system of regulation and oversight that combines registration, reporting and monitoring at the federal, state and local levels. These regulatory regimes mostly revolve around raising, spending and accounting for funds, protecting the public from fraud, and encouraging charitable contributions. The First Amendment protections for freedom of association, assembly and expression guard against undue regulation of NPOs. In some cases, religious organizations are exempt from regulatory requirements to avoid entanglement of church and state.