Nonprofit and Government Facts

Nonprofit

• Nonprofits are organizations whose income is not used for the benefit or gain of stockholders, owners, or any other people with an interest in the organization.
  
• The nonprofit sector is also referred to as the independent, third, or voluntary sector.
  
• This sector consists of over one million organizations that collectively employ nearly 10% of the U.S. workforce. 
  
• Nonprofit employers range in size from tiny soup kitchens to our largest universities and museums. 
  
• While nonprofits are very diverse, most fall into one of twelve categories of organizations:
1. Private educational; 
2. health;
   
3. arts, historical, and cultural;
   
4. labor;
   
5. direct social service;
   
6. advocacy and political groups;
   
7. professional, associations;
   
8. lobbying;
   
9. think tanks & research centers;
   
10. foundations;
    
11. environmental;
    
12. religious.
    

Government

• The government sector consists of federal, state, and local employers and comprises 18% of the workforce.
  
• Uncle Sam is the nation's largest single employer.
  
• Approximately 2.5 million people work for the federal government while many more?over 15 million?work for state and local governments.
  
• City governments (municipalities) employ more than 2.5 million people.
  
• Like the nonprofit sector, government offers many diverse career options including jobs in areas such as law enforcement, health, education, natural resources, and much more.
  
• You can locate government websites by using the 103 Barnes Hall Career Library. Search the database by using "government websites" in the key word box or narrow your search by specifying the type of government you want to explore, e.g., "city government".