Non-profits are the backbone of our society. In a world measured by “net worth” some of us are aware that people are more than figures, ciphers on a ledger. Honestly, I’m impressed by plans for a universal basic income, which seems more humane to me than brutal capitalism with its new first estate. Since that’s not likely to happen here, however, I look to non-profits and I’m impressed. Despite the distorted narrative that states those who struggle to get by are lazy (hey, I don’t know many rich people up as early as I am daily!), our economy favors the greedy and the graspy. That’s why non-profits are so important. These are corporations or companies that work for something other than making money for themselves. They have a more civil goal in mind. They are, in a word, civilization.
I recently attended a cancer research support organization Oktoberfest. It’s for a small non-profit foundation, local to the Lehigh Valley, but it was amazing how much money it has been able to raise for research. Like many such foundations, it was born of personal loss and the desire to prevent others from experiencing such loss. Compare that, if you will, to a company whose business is, well, making money for itself. See the difference? One you can feel good about. The other makes you feel like you should take a shower after work to wash the grime of selfishness from you. I have worked for profit-making companies and non-profits and there’s no comparison. Those with money as the only goal tend to be heartless. If you ever want to feel like chattels, apply here.
Non-profits have to think quite a bit about money, of course, but there’s always more to the picture. There are discussions of the larger goal, which is generally something for the good of society. To help people. I’m not naive enough to think that non-profits can’t get corrupt (lucre corrupts everything), particularly when they get large, but without them there would be so much more suffering in the world. Becoming “civilized” has been a fraught exercise from the beginning, but it was an effort for individuals who are very different from one another to learn how to live together and cooperate for the good of all. Capitalism is a means whereby some game the system for personal gain and the rest envy them and want to try too. Thankfully into this moral morass non-profits have arisen, like oases in the desert. They are the hope for our society. Indeed, for civilization itself.