Introduction
The Non-Profit Dilemma
Many of us hold some version of the following beliefs: - The purpose of Business is to make money, specifically, to achieve the best return on investment for its shareholders. - The purpose of a Non-Profit Organization is to make the world a better place. - For-Profit businesses, from their profits, support Non-Profit Organizations. - The world is not nearly as good of a place as it could be. Non-Profit Organizations could make the world a much better place if only more people and more businesses and government entities would give them more money. - Many, if not most, businesses don’t really make the world a better place as they work to make a profit. Many businesses actually damage the environment, local communities and human relationships - some maybe just a little bit, some more so, and some maybe a lot - in their quest to make and maximize profits. Based on these commonly-held beliefs, the source of donations for Non-Profit Organizations (who work to make the world a better place) is the profit produced by businesses. This may take the form of - direct corporate donations, - donations from for-profit business employees (who receive pay checks because their work contributes to creating corporate profits), or - government money - which comes from taxing businesses and people who work at businesses. (Taxes paid by people working at Non-Profit Organizations come from donations or taxes from those working at profitable businesses.) Ultimately, based on these beliefs, the only source of funds to support Non-Profit Organizations - who work to make the world a better place - is the work of people at for-profit businesses.
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