Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Defining and Characteristics of Nonprofit Organizations

Defining nonprofits:

          Nonprofit Organizations (NPO's) are these wonderful little businesses that are around for the communities benefit. Every NPO is different in means of its mission statement which drives the organizations to do better for the community. Since I graduated high school I have been working at the Kent County YMCA for their after school program. Doing this work has showed me how dedicated people are to the organization they work for. I have also met a few of the people on the board of directors and they shared with me that being part of the board of directors is difficult because the Greater Providence YMCA has a mission statement, but every branch within the Greater Providence YMCA has different missions so finding a common group can be difficult. This relates back to the reading when it says "organizations with opposing missions co-excist; there are many other organizations whose work is guided by values, goals, and visions, but which take different approaches to achieve success."

Characteristics of Nonprofit Organizations

  1. NPO's have a common characteristic of having a volunteer board of directors that oversee the entire organization and not just one specific branch. The board of directors is typically made up of volunteers from the community, staff who are dedicated to the organization, and donors who give to the organization on a regular basis.
  2. The goal for NPO's are to serve the community its mission is geared towards. For example, the YMCA's mission is to build a healthy mind, spirit, and body for its community of families, elders, and children. 
  3. Mission statements are crucial in NPO's, every NPO has one and the mission statement drive the NPO in its goals, commitment to its community, and how it operates from an administrative viewpoint.
  4. Along with the board of directors being a combination of staff, donors, and volunteers, they are also driving the NPO in the direction that is benefiting the community and the organization. While making decisions that benefit the organization, the board is making these decisions with the NPO's mission and vision statement as the number one driving force.

The whole IRS and Tax Exemption thing is a confusing portion so I'd like to learn more about that. ☺

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4 comments:

  1. Fitness - HealthJanuary 23, 2018 at 3:57 PM

    I enjoyed reading your post and learning about the connection you have with the YMCA and learning about your interest. Thanks for sharing :)

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  2. Alyssa DorrJanuary 23, 2018 at 6:47 PM

    I also agreed with the whole IRS tax exemption section. I would like to know more about this and have a better understanding on how it all works. Loved your background with the YMCA!

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  3. UnknownJanuary 23, 2018 at 9:11 PM

    I didn’t know that every branch within the Greater Providence YMCA has different mission statements different than Greater Providence YMCA. Thanks for sharing that! Also I think it would be beneficial to learn about the IRS and tax exempt part of nonprofits.

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  4. Victoria RestlerJanuary 24, 2018 at 10:34 AM

    Thanks for your post Dustin. You bring up a really important distinction in talking about your experience at the YMCA. Nonprofits can be huge (!) like the YMCA or have a staff of 1, or be run by volunteers. And the way that large nonprofits like the YMCA share resources, goals and values is different from organization to organization. This would be interesting to explore more in class along with the meaning behind tax-exemption.

    Best
    Victoria

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