7 ms·

I hope everyone's in on the joke that "non-profit" just means that someone other than a class of people called "shareholders" siphons off all the profits. It do

I hope everyone's in on the joke that "non-profit" just means that someone other than a class of people called "shareholders" siphons off all the profits. It doesn't mean "low cost".

FLUX-YOU 9y ago
Non-profit + government money + charity has honestly been some of the most wasteful spending I've ever seen (as a developer, not as an accountant). And I don't imagine humans are that different between healthcare and education industries.
chasing 9y ago
That's a very pejorative and mostly inaccurate way of putting it. "Non-profit" doesn't mean people can't earn good money -- it means the organization exists for a purpose other than profit and, therefore, gets some tax breaks. Most people I know who work in non-profits are paid below-market for their skills.
- geofft 9y ago
  > Most people I know who work in non-profits are paid below-market for their skills. This is true, but orthogonal - the complaint is about how much the bosses make, not how much the workers make.
  - cmiles74 9y ago
    And the fact that they are using their non-profit status as an excuse to pay their employees less than market value, while the executive suite cashes huge check,s is deplorable.
    - chasing 9y ago
      No, non-profits tend to underpay simply because they often have less money. Well-funded non-profits probably pay at-market rates. Or higher.
- georgeecollins 9y ago
  Most people I know feel they are paid below-market for their skills.
- bradleyjg 9y ago
  What for profit organization is desperately trying to hire Nathan Hatch away from Wake Forest for more than $4 million a year? Has anyone ever gone from running a university to running a fortune 500 company, or is that a comparison strictly designed to flatter?
- pasquinelli 9y ago
  profits come after labor is paid, so how labor is paid is separate from how profits are spent. there's maybe a certain sort of nobility in a worker accepting to be underpaid to work at a non-profit they care about, but that maybe-certain-sort-of nobility doesn't transfer to the company underpaying its workers.
- krapsna 9y ago
  The grunts are paid below market rate, while the top execs get paid huge sums of money. It's all a scam.
- jimbokun 9y ago
  "it means the organization exists for a purpose other than profit" Do the laws we have actually reflect this distinction? Or is it just the "profit" going to executives and asset managers instead of shareholders?
- irishcoffee 9y ago
  I'd like to mention that the NFL was a nonprofit until 2015 or 2016.
  - chasing 9y ago
    The head office, not the teams. And almost all of the income comes in via the teams.
- bmcusick 9y ago
  > it means the organization exists for a purpose other than profit The guy making $4 million/year in salary doesn't seem to have gotten that memo.
  - chasing 9y ago
    You're misunderstanding the term "profit" in the legal phrase "non-profit." I'm not defending high salaries at all non-profits. Yes, some people are overpaid despite being at a non-profit. But don't be confused about what the term "non-profit" means.
    - bmcusick 9y ago
      I'm a corporate attorney. I'm pretty sure I know what it means.
dopamean 9y ago
More importantly it also doesn't mean "charity" which I often see it equated to.
- matt4077 9y ago
  They are indeed largely interchangeable: A non-profit organization (NPO), also known as a non-business entity,[1] is dedicated to furthering a particular social cause or advocating for a shared point of view (Wikipedia). There's a minor distinction because non-profit status is awarded by the state, but income-tax exemptions are administered federally (i.e. 501(c)). But in practice, every non-profit university also fits the definition of a charitable organisation.
  - dopamean 9y ago
    I supposed I was thinking of trade associations (like the NFL) when I said not all non-profits are charities. Now that I say that though I wonder if there is a legal difference between the terms "non-profit" and "not for profit" and if one of those applies more appropriately to trade associations.
maxxxxx 9y ago
I remember visiting someone in Northern Virginia. The neighborhood had very big houses with very nice cars in front of them. I asked him where these people work. AOL? Verizon? No, the answer was, mostly non-profits. That's when I understood what non-profit really means.
SilasX 9y ago
nor does it mean "benevolent", nor "primarily concerned with non-monetary mission [except in name]".
rasz 9y ago
Ikea is non-profit.

I hope everyone's in on the joke that "non-profit" just means that someone other than a class of people called "shareholders" siphons off all the profits. It doesn't mean "low cost".

FLUX-YOU 9y ago

Non-profit + government money + charity has honestly been some of the most wasteful spending I've ever seen (as a developer, not as an accountant). And I don't imagine humans are that different between healthcare and education industries.

chasing 9y ago

That's a very pejorative and mostly inaccurate way of putting it. "Non-profit" doesn't mean people can't earn good money -- it means the organization exists for a purpose other than profit and, therefore, gets some tax breaks. Most people I know who work in non-profits are paid below-market for their skills.

geofft 9y ago
> Most people I know who work in non-profits are paid below-market for their skills. This is true, but orthogonal - the complaint is about how much the bosses make, not how much the workers make.
- cmiles74 9y ago
  And the fact that they are using their non-profit status as an excuse to pay their employees less than market value, while the executive suite cashes huge check,s is deplorable.
  - chasing 9y ago
    No, non-profits tend to underpay simply because they often have less money. Well-funded non-profits probably pay at-market rates. Or higher.
georgeecollins 9y ago
Most people I know feel they are paid below-market for their skills.
bradleyjg 9y ago
What for profit organization is desperately trying to hire Nathan Hatch away from Wake Forest for more than $4 million a year? Has anyone ever gone from running a university to running a fortune 500 company, or is that a comparison strictly designed to flatter?
pasquinelli 9y ago
profits come after labor is paid, so how labor is paid is separate from how profits are spent. there's maybe a certain sort of nobility in a worker accepting to be underpaid to work at a non-profit they care about, but that maybe-certain-sort-of nobility doesn't transfer to the company underpaying its workers.
krapsna 9y ago
The grunts are paid below market rate, while the top execs get paid huge sums of money. It's all a scam.
jimbokun 9y ago
"it means the organization exists for a purpose other than profit" Do the laws we have actually reflect this distinction? Or is it just the "profit" going to executives and asset managers instead of shareholders?
irishcoffee 9y ago
I'd like to mention that the NFL was a nonprofit until 2015 or 2016.
- chasing 9y ago
  The head office, not the teams. And almost all of the income comes in via the teams.
bmcusick 9y ago
> it means the organization exists for a purpose other than profit The guy making $4 million/year in salary doesn't seem to have gotten that memo.
- chasing 9y ago
  You're misunderstanding the term "profit" in the legal phrase "non-profit." I'm not defending high salaries at all non-profits. Yes, some people are overpaid despite being at a non-profit. But don't be confused about what the term "non-profit" means.
  - bmcusick 9y ago
    I'm a corporate attorney. I'm pretty sure I know what it means.

dopamean 9y ago

More importantly it also doesn't mean "charity" which I often see it equated to.

matt4077 9y ago
They are indeed largely interchangeable: A non-profit organization (NPO), also known as a non-business entity,[1] is dedicated to furthering a particular social cause or advocating for a shared point of view (Wikipedia). There's a minor distinction because non-profit status is awarded by the state, but income-tax exemptions are administered federally (i.e. 501(c)). But in practice, every non-profit university also fits the definition of a charitable organisation.
- dopamean 9y ago
  I supposed I was thinking of trade associations (like the NFL) when I said not all non-profits are charities. Now that I say that though I wonder if there is a legal difference between the terms "non-profit" and "not for profit" and if one of those applies more appropriately to trade associations.

maxxxxx 9y ago

I remember visiting someone in Northern Virginia. The neighborhood had very big houses with very nice cars in front of them. I asked him where these people work. AOL? Verizon? No, the answer was, mostly non-profits. That's when I understood what non-profit really means.

SilasX 9y ago

nor does it mean "benevolent", nor "primarily concerned with non-monetary mission [except in name]".

rasz 9y ago

Ikea is non-profit.