Non-Profit Organizations: Nonprofits

Nonprofits focus on fulfilling an altruistic mission. In order to achieve missions successfully, nonprofits have to ensure survival. Nonprofits continuously have to think of new tactics and ideas to survive, especially in the for-profit world. On the other hand, businesses focus on maximizing profit. The bottom line is to make money. But what if the businesses began focusing on social good as well? Competition just got harder for nonprofits. Businesses are beginning to take on the role of promoting social good. This raises the question: what are nonprofits place in today’s society that includes the for-profit sector focusing on social good? The research focuses on whether non-profits are still relevant when businesses are focusing on philanthropy …show more content…
Nonprofits are tax-exempt entities. There are studies that non-profit organizations make valuable contributions, but there are no clear cases that non-profit organizations are a distinct and recognizable organizational form (Dunn & Riley, 2004). Non-profits came about from the “public philanthropy” doctrine. This holds that the government should remain as small as possible and taxes should be low as possible; thus, public concerns, such as care of the old or poor, is not suitable for public engagement, except if handled under nongovernmental “voluntary” organizations (Dunn & Riley, …show more content…
According to many studies, businesses no longer have the option to fulfill social responsibility; they are required to fulfill social responsibility (Arvidson & Lyon, 2014). In recent years, there have been several companies that have been accused of having questionable ethical standards. The list includes major companies such as Google, Amazon, and Starbucks (Blount & Offei-Danso, 2013). It all started in 2006 when Benefit corporations (B Corps) began in the United States. “B Corps are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports for corporate social responsibility, to meet standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability” (Blount & Offei-Danso, 2013). The goal of B Corps is essentially to reinvent how businesses define success. There are over 1,400 Certified B corps in 42 countries that help achieve this goal (Blount & Offei-Danso, 2013). An example of a B Corps is an online bookseller that recycles used books to fund global literacy and local libraries, or a food service company that serves meals to low-income