But in reality, the situation is nowhere near as cut and dried. Many not for profit organizations, most notably among them being UNICEF (the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) and the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), make it a common practice to sell greeting cards, stickers, and the like to raise money for their cause. This is a slightly more complicated situation when it comes to tax exemptions, but as long as they are putting all that money toward the advancement of their cause, they are not doing anything wrong. In fact, most nonprofit organizations do quite a bit of fundraising to support themselves so they can continue doing their work. Sometimes the money they raise goes directly to the people they are trying to help, either in the form of cash or goods and services, and sometimes it goes toward keeping a roof over their heads and providing business infrastructure while they work directly with their causes. But the one place it does not go is into the CEO’s bank account.
Very often, a not for profit company will take on a team of volunteers or interns rather than putting aside money to pay their employees. This ensures that everyone there really wants to be there and is working for the cause. In exchange for their services, interns and people in these volunteer jobs often receive college or high school credit, community service hours, something that looks very good on their resume, work experience, and sometimes, in the case of community supported agriculture groups or craft groups, etc. They may also receive goods in kind from what the group produces.
A common type of nonprofit work is that of the healthcare industry, especially internationally, although there are many not for profit medical organizations in this country as well. For those looking to pad out a resume or get some interesting work and/or life experience, healthcare volunteer jobs provide a great opportunity to do some good in the world. Working with nonprofits is more for people looking to make a difference in the world and help people improve their lives rather than those looking to make a lot of money, but there are ways to make a living. For example, most people working with the organizational end of a healthcare nonprofit as their primary source of income started with healthcare volunteer jobs and worked their way up to a paid position. It can be a lot of hard work, but nonprofits offer some of the most rewarding jobs of all.