Non-Profit Organizations and the Internet
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Non-profit organizations have gained a surprisingly beneficial venue for creation through the rise of the Internet. Many people associate Internet organizations with small businesses, entrepreneurial websites, and individuals trying to make their voices heard. It is relatively rare for non-profit organizations to come to mind when we are thinking about the organizations that have benefited most from the wild success of the Internet.
It is easy enough to see why small businesses have gained a very strong foothold in the online market. There is a much lower associated start-up cost, there is a much wider selection of customers, and work just seems to get done easier online. Given some thought, it is not surprising that these are the same exact reasons that non-profit (namely charity) organizations have done well online.
If you think about it, a non-profit organization does not operate all that differently from a typical for-profit business. Non-profit organizations need revenue, have expenditures, and are made up of people. The key difference has typically been that traditional businesses operate in physical products, while non-profit organizations rely largely on donations.
However, it could be said that non-profit organizations are actually a service industry. They are providing individuals with the service of getting their money to where it will do the most good. If that is the case, then non-profit organizations are almost the exact same thing as a service-based business.
If we look at the types of businesses that have benefited most from the Internet, we will find that they are service-based businesses. The nature of the Internet lends itself to service-based businesses even more so than it does to traditional retail businesses. Retail businesses still operate in the physical world, whereas a service-based business can operate entirely online, thereby drastically cutting costs.
As a service-based industry, it is not surprising, then, that non-profit organizations have done so well online. The medium is particularly suited to the individual needs of non-profit organizations. Every aspect of a non-profit business is made easier and more effective by online operations.
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