non-profit vs. not-for-profit.... some help here please

[zskillz]

hey all, I'm going to make a donation to a charity, but in trying to decide which one, I have come across two different distinctions...

non-profit
and
not-for-profit

I do not understand the difference or whether there really even is one. now i'd appreciate everyone's input here, but quite honestly, I'd really only like to hear a response if you are actually sure about this.... I can use semantics to argue this one either way, but I'm asking for someone with some practical knowledge about the topic to help me out here!

thanks so much,
-Z

http://www.not-for-profit.org/

seems to be an interchangable term unless it's different there.

non·prof·it ( P ) Pronunciation Key (nn-prft)
adj.
Not seeking or producing a profit or profits: a nonprofit organization.

Main Entry: not-for-profit
Function: adjective
: NONPROFIT

(websters dictionary)


From Bloomberg
Not-for-profit
An organization established for charitable, humanitarian, or educational purposes that is exempt from some taxes and in which no one in profits or losses.

[Mickwish]

Similar legalities for non-profit and not-for-profit, as far as I am aware,. Some maintain it's a fine disctinction with what you do with "profit", meaning money earnt. Non-profit say we don't "keep" any profit, we give it all away; not-for-profit say we don't "keep" profit but put it back into the buisness of the association/charity. No shareholders or distribution of profit to any workers or managers, though.

I work in a not-for-profit hospital group. We actually lose money ATM, but if we made a profit, it would be put back into better resources for the hospitals, not to shareholders or executive bonuses.

Hope that helps.

Cheers
Mick

[zskillz]

awesome!

thanks to the both of you for helping out!

-Z

Hey! I wasn't finished!

Encyclopedia article (Non-profit organization)

A non-profit organization (often called "non-profit org" or simply
"non-profit" or "not-for-profit") may be a formal incorporated not-for-profit corporation that does not have shareholders, though it may have members and issue membership certificates or require member loans. (continued at Wikipedia)

[MTAtech]

Just to add to surreal's answer, just because an organization is non-profit doesn't mean they don't have profits. It just means that no individuals profit from the profit of the corp. However, that really isn't true either. The company is free to give bonuses and monetary rewards to employees and officers.

[aldtech]

What you should really be concerned about is what percentage of your donation actually goes to the charity. What you are looking for is a high percentage. I am not sure what the government regulation is for minimum percentage in order to qualify as a non-profit and thus be tax exempt but I would look into that.

There are some really crappy “companies” who claim to be non-profit and keep more than half the money for operational expenses while paying their top tier people hundreds of thousands of dollars (Red Cross, you bet they do). You will be surprised how much of a rip-off some of these charities and non-profit organizations really are.

Here is a link I found that links other sites; I think you should be able to find some good information through here:

http://nccsdataweb.urban.org/FAQ/index.php?category=39


AL