Depending on their founding charter, non-profits offer a host of services designed to aid their local communities. Some aid the hungry, some provide health services, and some offer counseling services. The bottom line, regardless, is that people, who have no other recourse, have access to the help they need. This help can take the form of an affordable gym, as in the case of the YMCA and YWCA organizations, or it can be after-school help and counseling, along the lines of the services Big Brothers and Sister and 4 H Clubs offer.

Like Blanche DuBois, while non-profits have to depend on the kindness of strangers, they are free to organize their internal hierarchies as they see fit. Some are led by a board of directors, some are led by a CEO or similar head-honcho figure. These are decisions made at the foundational level and influence how the non-profit is managed and how aid and services are distributed.

Success for most non-profits is predicated on an array of support from third-party, external agencies. These agencies offer everything from accounting help to tax support to media relations consulting. Indeed, non-profit consulting has become a very lucrative and attractive endeavor for many agencies. The public perception of an agency who helps a well-known non-profit is sure to be higher than one merely dedicated to its own bottom line.

This is not to suggest that these third-party agencies provide services pro bono. Indeed, many of the better known non-profits enjoy enough support that they can pay for consulting service out-right. That being said, many agencies will offer discounted fees to non-profits and religious entities in an effort to curb any potential negative press. If the public perceives an agencies is gouging a non-profit, you can be sure its days will be numbered.

While some purists balk at the notion that non-profits should adopt the corporate model, there seems to be anecdotal evidence that it is working. The corporate model places an emphasis on efficiency and the reduction of waste and redundancies. For an organization trying to effectively allocate billions of dollars in donations, what other model could be more effective?