Not-for-Profit vs. Nonprofit?

Whichever term is used to describe the Third Sector (third after Government and For-Profit Corporations), the sector is defined in the negative, by what it is not.  The public has adopted the term nonprofit largely due to its relative simplicity; however, there is no functional difference between the two.  Unfortunately, to many people, "nonprofit" implies that an organization must operate at a deficit.  This is patently false.  What is required is that no individual may have an equity stake in the financial operation of the corporation.  (Operating with a budget surplus, when the surplus is utilized for the corporation’s tax exempt purpose, is both acceptable and desirable.)  "Not-for-profit" more accurately describes the nature of the enterprise.  

©2003 by Not-for-Profit Vision, Inc.
All rights reserved.