It is incredible how misinformed the American public is about nonprofits and the people who devote their lives to them. There is so much mistrust and misunderstanding about a nonprofit’s structures, goals, and guiding principles.
I have worked in nonprofits my entire career for more than 25 years. My parents, too. My mom was a social worker and assistant director at an African American Community Center, and my dad was a public school administrator. Both are retired now.
I didn’t truly understand what people thought about nonprofits until I became the CEO at the Nonprofit Leadership Lab. We support thousands of nonprofit leaders, who are staff and board members, to lead strong, thriving nonprofit organizations. We maintain a document, “What the public believes about nonprofits,” and it collects real comments on social media we post and emails we send.
It’s not pretty. Here is a sampling:
“Nonprofits are a scam for money laundering.”
“If a person receives a salary, how can it be called a nonprofit?”
“Grifters all!”
“Nonprofits are for people who can’t make it in the real world.”
“They are getting money hand over fist from taxpayers.”
Most of these comments were collected before the inauguration of the current administration. And of course, since then, it’s only gotten worse…
THE REALITY ABOUT THE NONPROFIT SECTOR
What this current administration does not understand about nonprofits could fill a book. No, a whole library. Still no, The Library of Congress… Oh wait, does that still exist? Still have staff?
There are at least three dangerous myths about the nonprofit sector that we need to get rid of immediately. Here’s the actual truth.
1. LEADERS OF NONPROFITS ARE NOT GETTING RICH
According to the Independent Sector, 22% of nonprofit workers struggled to afford basic necessities in 2022. Most people at nonprofits do get paid, usually below market value. No one is getting rich from nonprofit work.
Typically, the bigger the organization, the higher the salaries can be, but usually still well below what they could make in the private sector.
People choose to work at a nonprofit because they want to help and change the world for the better. They are driven by the good they want to deliver to the public.
To paint these entities or leaders as greedy, wasteful, and selfish could not be more wrong.
2. THE NONPROFIT SECTOR IS NOT A “WOKE” THING
So many people now talk about nonprofits like they are only for liberal/progressive folks or like they are all political with a capital P. In fact, the vast majority of nonprofits—all 501(c)(3) organizations are nonpartisan. “All charitable nonprofits,” according to the National Council on Nonprofits, “must refrain from engaging in partisan, election-related activities.”
A part of this myth is that some people seem to think they have never dealt with or benefited from a nonprofit, even though that is highly unlikely.
Did you go to public school? Participate in the Head Start program? Do you go to a place of worship? Support or have benefited from disaster relief efforts?
Have you ever attended a theater, museum, or participated in a public sports or recreational program? What about an animal shelter?
These are most likely nonprofits. They are not bad. They are everywhere, and they are for good!
3. THE PRIVATE SECTOR (OR GOVERNMENT) COULD NOT DO IT BETTER
Nonprofits are not government agencies. They are independent organizations that sometimes receive government funding to deliver programs and services that the government is not set up or able to deliver itself.
Nonprofits exist for the public good. They have a mission (usually to help in some way), and they raise money (privately and publicly) to meet that mission. They agree to follow IRS nonprofit guidelines and to use the money they raise to fuel that mission instead of lining the pockets of shareholders, investors, or owners.
In exchange for this important work, the nonprofit (depending on its exact tax status) doesn’t have to pay some taxes on the goods and services it needs to do this job.
People and entities who donate to these nonprofits can also get a tax benefit for their generosity.
What is the alternative? The government will not, and probably should not, attempt to solve all the issues worked on by nonprofits.
Now, let’s take a look at the private sector. I want you to imagine for a moment Elon Musk or Donald Trump running a soup kitchen…
Having trouble? Exactly. That is why there is an intricate network of local, national, and international nonprofits set up to get people what they need to survive.
I am not here to argue that the system is perfect or that every actor in it is infallible. I am here to argue that the nonprofit sector is needed, and that it helps beyond measure.
Nonprofits are a huge part of the fabric of this country (and others). Almost two million nonprofits comprised 5.2% of the U.S. GDP and contributed $1.4 trillion to the economy in 2023, according to The Independent Sector. These are real organizations, staffed by millions of caring, purpose-driven people, supported by millions of volunteers, and they help billions of people every single day.
WE ARE AT A CROSSROADS
These myths must all be busted. Urgently.
Right now, our federal government is doing everything to perpetuate them, whether through misunderstanding or, more likely, intentionally.
It’s gotten so bad. I know lots of nonprofit leaders who constantly feel the need to defend what they do. They are the last people who should feel the need to defend themselves.
The myths are not just simple misunderstandings, they have huge consequences on the entire social safety net of this country. These public perceptions are dangerous and will negatively impact everyone in this country (and the world) unless we change them.
Let’s bust these myths together.
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