What is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)?
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is generally considered to be any non-state, nonprofit, voluntary organization. As a non-state entitity, an NGO is generally independent from government influence—it is not a part of or controlled by government or an intergovernmental agency. As such, an NGO is either not established by a government, or intergovernmental agreement, or, if established in such a manner, is now independent of such influence. As a nonprofit organization, an NGO is not operated for the primary purpose of carrying on a trade or business, although profits may be generated for the mission of the organization. A more accurate term may be non-profit distributing, in that any surplus that is generated is to be used solely to help the organization fulfill its mission and objectives, with no part of the net earnings of the NGO to be distributed to the benefit of the directors, officers, members, or employees of the NGO, or any private persons, other than reasonable compensation for services rendered. As a voluntary organization, an NGO is not required to exist by law, but is formed by private initiative, resulting from voluntary actions of individuals.
In effect, NGOs are organizations that are not part of the government sector nor part of the business sector. For such reasons, they are sometimes referred to being part of the "third sector" in society.
