What basic services are provided by non-profit organizations?

Question

I'm trying to find out what basic services are provided by non-profit organizations. I know they all have their specific field, but there is a structure of sorts that all non profits will go through. I'm looking for a list of basic (and some not so basic) services they render, as well as a list of information detailing what the organization does through out the year. ie, look for sponsors 20% of the time, give away money or services 30% of the time, etc. Best answer will go to the person who is descriptive, detailed, knowlegable, and meets the requirements of the question. Thank you.

Answer 1

Well, basically, the main purpose of any nonprofit organization is to advance their specific mission, which could be anything from direct financial help to 'raising awareness' about a subject.

While there are no guidelines as to how much of each donation has to go to the cause they sponsor, there is a website, http://www.guidestar.org that will show what percent of a nonprofit's revenue goes towards services, and how much the org keeps.

The most highly-rated nonprofits allocate 75% to the cause, and keep 25% for overhead.

I don't know of any oversight agency that keeps track of how much time each organization spends on various activities. Most organizations will have a Development Department of one or more staff that devotes 100% of their time to fundraising, while other "program staff' devote 100% of their time to providing services. One way to calculate the total amount of time spent on various activities would be to compare the number of development postions against the number of service positions for each organization, but you would have to look at each individually.

You can usually find all the information on various nonprofits at the guidestar website, or check on the website for any specific nonprofit - if their financials and annual report are not on line, you can request the information, as they are required to disclose it.

Answer 2

The basic services provided by nonprofit organizations are basically service oriented. Such services may include treatment of patients belonging to poor class, consumer awareness, education, helping rural poor etc.,