What is a non-profit organization?

Non-profit organizations are important to all societies in the world, regardless of the level of development of each nation. These types of organizations offer the best of teamwork and humanity, since they do not seek to obtain material gain, but to help people or a common cause.

Organizations work for the common good, making shared dreams, ideals and noble causes come true. The diversity of areas in which non-profit organizations can operate are numerous, such as food aid, health, education, housing, environmental care, social assistance, gender, among many others.

Nonprofit organizations foster social and civic engagement, leadership, and strengthening communities. They work to solve problems and to empower people. The satisfaction of contributing to causes of such altruism is great.

Characteristics of the non-profit organization

Non-profit organizations are characterized by the following:

• They are not intended for economic benefit, but rather for artistic, social, humanitarian, community or cultural benefit.
• They are in the hands of private entities and not at the service of the government. Nor are they used as a government tool.
• They are autonomous, they control their own activities.
• The time and donations that its members invest are voluntary.
• Donations and profits are not distributed among its members, but are allocated to the organization.

Types of nonprofit organizations

Non-profit organizations can be divided into:

• Charitable organizations: whose objective is to provide services to the most needy, those who economically do not have the resources to support themselves.
• Organizations with community purposes: their objective is to promote sports, culture and environmental protection, without charging anything in return and with no other benefit than the expansion of their objective.
• Professional and Trade Organizations: Provide professional services and programs for people without charging anything in return, such as legal advice, accounting, etc.
• Sports organizations: this type of organization includes sports clubs and the entities integrated from them, with legal personality under private law.

Examples of Non-Profit Organizations

Some examples of non-profit organizations are:

• Unicef: an organization that seeks to provide humanitarian aid to children and mothers in developing countries.
• Red Cross: humanitarian movement that mainly provides aid to people affected by wars and natural disasters.
• Public services: in some countries, public services are non-profit organizations that do not seek economic benefit, but rather provide basic services to the population without making a profit.
• A neighborhood sports club: this is a common non-profit organization that pursues the sporting benefit of its members. Sometimes, members can pay a monthly fee, but that goes to maintenance of the club.