Nonprofits can be categorized into three main types: operational, event-focused, and episodic. Operational offer continuous services. Event-focused organize specific events. Episodic provides intermittent services. These categories help determine governance, planning, volunteer, and funding needs.

Non-profits do lots of different things and can be defined in a variety of ways. For example, the legal and tax classifications were discussed in Volunteering Definitions post from a few years back. Another way of looking at nonprofits is by considering how they deliver their products or services.

Three Product and Service Flavours.

Non-profits come in three flavours: operational, event-focused, or episodic. This categorization helps to better understand the primary business needs of the organization versus its secondary requirements. Of course, no-organization is purely one or another, but the primary focus can help the organization plan its resources, for example, how to best manage its volunteers.

Event-Based non-profits may run events spanning multiple days (e.g. a music festival) or shorter durations (a music recital society). Typically, an event is held at a known location(s) and specific dates and times. Once the event is over, the nonprofit goes into hiatus until the event comes around again.

Pedantic Purity and Purpose

Of course, no organization is entirely one or another. A food bank (Operational) will run events such as a collection campaign or a fund-raising gala. An animal rescue society (Episodic) may have a permanent kennel. The Birkie (Event) has some year-round operations.

So, given the lack of purity, why bother classifying non-profits as to their primary flavour or purpose? Because each flavour has slightly different governance, planning, volunteer, and funding requirements. The volunteer management requirements were considered in a conference of the same topic last May (VMS, CPAs, and Volunteers – May 28, 2024). Other considerations are the subject of future blogs.