Not-for-profit Organisation – an organisation that does not earn profits for its owners. Instead any profits are donated to the organisation's goals

Note: Not-for-profit organisations include charities, political parties, school, churches and social clubs.

The term not-for-profit organisation (sometimes referred to as a non-profit) is self-explanatory. Remember, unlike a business, these charitable organisations are not run for profit (not for profit). To achieve zero profit, they donate the profits.

The main difference between for-profits and not-for-profits is how the organisation handles its profits.

Typically, not-for-profit organisations will have the same board of directors, management hierarchy, business strategy and techniques as a for-profit enterprise. They will have to pay all the employee costs, overheads, operational costs and bills as any normal business.

The difference is that the profits of a not-for-profit organisation are not distributed as dividends to any shareholders (because there are no shareholders). There is no tax on any profits by the government (if they have charitable status). Instead, any profits are donated to further help a social cause.

Examples of not-for-profit organisations are the charities Doctors Without Borders and Save The Children.

Doctors without borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) cares for people affected by conflict, disease outbreaks, and natural and human-made disasters.

Save the children is an international, non-government-operated organisation with the goal of helping improve the lives of children worldwide.