Not for profit organisations have a long history of service to meet the needs of particular interest groups in society. They often have an altruistic motivation, and may perform services which would not usually be considered commercially viable.
These organisations tend to have great strengths in sourcing funding from a wide range of sources, attracting skilled professional employees on unusually meagre remuneration packages and in encouraging individuals to volunteer their time and commitment.
However, these very strengths of non-profit organisations also present sources of risk. In recent times, these risks have been potentially magnified by Governments' interest in moving away from traditional grant funding approached towards more commercial arrangements with non-profit organisations.
The role of non-profit organisations in providing services to society is undergoing important changes, brought about by:
the changed expectations of government as funder or purchaser of services
the growing need for staff, both volunteer and paid, to have a skill set that matches the new responsibilities of the non-profit organisation
the expectation of a higher standard of corporate governance than may have applied in the past
