Nonprofits/Forprofits

Here is a list of ten nonprofits that act like forprofits, from The Street.

An excerpt.

“BOSTON (TheStreet) -- The line between for-profit companies and nonprofit charities continues to blur.

“The organizational creep of nonprofits into areas that seem more in keeping with the for-profit world is nothing new. In an effort to boost their bottom line, many charities have branched out into other investments -- real estate holdings, property management, paid endorsements and retail sales among them.

“Drawing executive expertise has meant having to offer private-sector-sized salaries. Money donors ponied up for a given cause is often diverted to legal fees and political lobbying.

“And the organizational structure of some nonprofits has evolved in new directions.

“In 2007, Google(GOOG_) launched Google.org, an effort defined as a for-profit charity. Seeded with 3 million shares of company stock, it has primarily funded alternative-energy projects. Other nonprofits are looking closer at "hybrid" models to combine profit-driven strategies with charity-minded outcomes.

"For many years nonprofits have often used for-profit subsidiaries or a fee-for-service approach," says Ken Berger, president and CEO of Charity Navigator, a service that evaluates the financial health of more than 5,500 American charities. "In fact, the biggest piece of income for nonprofits is not individual contributions or government money -- it comes from fee-for-service income. This notion of hybrid, or the 'for-profit nonprofit,' is nothing new at all."