With the help of a few key books and Web sites, the whole nonprofit world will unfold before you in a matter of hours. Nonprofits are primarily volunteer organizations involved in charitable activities. Many nonprofit organizations depend on volunteers, but many of these same organizations have large full-time paid staffs. It is inappropriate to stereotype nonprofit organizations as charitable organizations made up of volunteers. Nonprofits consist of a wide range of different types of organizations, from educational groups to foundations.
Volunteers play important roles in only some types of nonprofit organizations.
Nonprofits lack good entrepreneurial skills and a sense of productivity and accountability. Like government employees, they are used to drawing salaries unrelated to performance. By definition, nonprofits must be entrepreneurial, productive and accountable. Their funding operations require recruiting members, acquiring donations, receiving grants and operating profitable commercial enterprises. Indeed, they must be entrepreneurial in order to raise sufficient funds to survive and grow.