Nonprofit Institutions Industry Overview

Excerpt from Nonprofit Institutions Report

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).

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 fragmented: the largest 50 organizations account for about 25 percent of industry revenue.

Products, Operations & Technology

Nonprofits can be classified into service categories, including the arts, culture, and humanities; education; environment and wildlife; health; human services; international and foreign affairs; membership benefit; and public benefit. The largest segment in terms of funding is health, followed by education, according to the Urban Institute. The largest category in terms of number of organizations is education, which accounts for almost 20 percent of all registered nonprofits in the US.