differences between for-profit and not-for-profit

MunoRN, RN · Jul 10, 2011

The only consistent difference is that for-profits have stockholders, which in some ways makes them more transparent. Not-for-profits can still turn a huge profit and pass that on to their administration in the form of salary and bonuses. I work for a catholic non-profit which is extremely aggressive in terms of takeovers of other companies and our CEO made 1.2 million last year in salary and bonuses, while much of the lower end staff received pay cuts.

vwbeetle · Jul 10, 2011

I worked in a non-profit organization (non-hospital setting), and it was really pathetic.

They seemed to have absolutely no money at all. The CEO wanted to host an event to give awareness of what her organization does. She wanted it to be done during happy hourse. I asked her, what about the food. Her answer was...she doesn't have the $$ for food so she wanted to find nearby restaurants, bakeries who were willing to "donate" us with some free food.

My position was created temporarily with the help of government funding. I realized that the CEO was taking advantage of the government $$, since I didn't get to do any of what was written on my job description. Rather, she wanted me do all the grunt work that no one else in the team wanted to do. She was really absorbed in getting everything "for free" from here and there, but then she had the money to go on travelling to Europe.

I left that place in 2 months, since it was really depressing place to work.

I remember them not having the $$ to buy our office supplies, like basic pens. Computers were donated from a large corporationg that were falling apart after 10 yrs...omg, it was purely pathetic. Then, getting me on board with the government funding by fakely creating a job description of a position that never really existed.

That was the last time I decided to join any non-profit organisation. I know not every non-profits are like that, however, this place got me so freaked out that I decided to stay away from them.

hopefulwhoop · Jul 10, 2011

I don't know all the differences, but I will tell you what I've noticed from the hospitals I have worked at or had clinicals at. For-profit: pay less, always trying to cut costs somehow; not-for-profit: pay more, big focus on research, happier employees.