Non-profit?

Anyone else had enough of hearing the term 'non-profit'? I am.

The charitable sector is increasingly forming an integral part of our society, especially in more recent years as the cost of living crisis has worsened. According to DWP data 2.1 million people used food banks in 2023. The British Red Cross continues to support hospitals and fire services. The RNLI continues to save lives at sea. The Samaritans continues to support people in a mental health crisis. And Shelter continues to house people with nowhere to call home.

Could they do all of that without generating a profit? No.

Referring to a charitable organisation as a 'non-profit' supports an out-of-date idea that charities aren't commercially minded, which couldn't be further from the truth. It also highlights a key difference in what we value as a society, suggesting that a charity generating a surplus is somehow greedy but a private company generating dividends is commercially astute?

I'm not saying there's a magic solution, I certainly don't know what it is if there is one. There are many private sector organisations that centre social impact in the work that they do and have purposes that could be indistinguishable from those of some charities.

So what do you think? Do you think there's an issue with referring to charities as 'non-profits'? What words would you chose if you could replace the term 'non-profit' forever?