Nonprofit Institutions Industry Profile

Nonprofit institutions include grantmaking foundations, giving services, advocacy groups, civic clubs, and social organizations. Major institutions include AARP, the Ford Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Goodwill Industries (all based in the US), as well as BRAC (Bangladesh), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the World Health Organization (Switzerland), and The National Trust and Oxfam GB (UK).

The US nonprofit institutions industry includes about 60,000 organizations with combined annual revenue of about $110 billion. Low growth is forecast for the next two years, driven by online giving and favorable demographics (the number of Americans aged over 65, a significant portion of the overall donor base, is expected to rise).

Although technically distinct, the terms "nonprofit," "tax-exempt," and "charitable" are often used interchangeably. Nonprofits are sometimes referred to as "501(c)" entities, after the section of the Internal Revenue Code that defines their tax status.

Some organizations that operate as nonprofit entities, such as colleges and universities, hospitals, and religious organizations, are covered in separate industry profiles.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by the need to represent special interests or provide social services that can't be met by the market or government. Organizations receive nonprofit status because their primary purpose is religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational in nature. Their purpose must be to serve the public good versus a private interest. The industry is ...