I realized a while ago that in my whole career I’ve never worked for a for-profit corporation.
Recently I’ve been wondering if non-profit corporations could succeed in areas typically dominated by for-profit corporations. I’m in the U.S.
There are certainly plenty of non-profits functioning, employing people, and providing services to the public. Schools, Hospitals, public radio & TV, etc. But what areas are there where non-profits could exist and survive where they don’t currently?
Well, to be fair, my only experience is with my employer, so also only one data point here.
Pay often isn’t great, although you can make a living. However, benefits are fantastic. There have been good times and bad times, but I definitely consider myself lucky to work here.
They face a lot of the same hurdles that other organizations would face. Managers occasionally suck, and there’s still probably the same pressure to meet deadlines. There’s a lot of focus on efficiency and income. However, I’ve never had the feeling that the overall mission of the entire organization isn’t about serving the community.
That’s what got me thinking about it: what if the widget manufacturer wasn’t driven to maximize profit for the owner/shareholders, but had a different mission (providing employment, or even just making good widgets)
My employer has existed for a long time, so it has a bit of a leg up. I started wondering: what would happen if someone started a non-profit now that would compete in an industry with for-profit companies, and what industries would a non-profit player have a chance to succeed in?
The way I see it, the problem is investors creating an obligation to return a profit. The function of investors is to mitigate risk or give runway to get up and running. Good fits would be things that basically can’t fail because they are non-optional. Insurance, utilities, healthcare — basically the things that we theoretically heavily regulate but is undercut by regulatory capture.
Other things that don’t require a big up front investment. Services. Grocers. Almost everyone needs to buy food and fix plumbing and electrical and vehicle issues — though the investment in tooling and training could be prohibitive in some cases.
Another thought would be instead of private investors taking on the risk and ultimately socializing loss anyway, a public investment program might be preferable to a private one in any event. It’s not really all that different from how municipalities underwrite costs for businesses now through tax incentives or even paying for construction of infrastructure that is then leased to private industry for some ridiculous length of time. I’ve seen toll roads function that way and I’d rather see a non-profit or citizens reap the rewards of that investment than some billionaire-owned investment firm.