Judah S. Harris
		Coming to terms Philanthropy (Greek: love of humanity) Charity (Latin: generous love) Nonprofit: the public benefit sector. Also called not-for-profit, independent sector, and third sector. The world of philanthropy or charity makes up the public benefit sector of society. It fosters private initiatives for the public good. The profit or commercial sector, on the other hand, is focused on private initiatives for private good. And the government or political sector sponsors public initiatives for public good. The public benefit sector takes many shapes and forms and meets a variety of needs: human services (food, shelter, clothing, health, research, training, employment, the environment); human relations (personal, family, community); and culture (education, museums, libraries, arts, recreation). And because public benefit sector organizations do not rely on support from tax revenue (government sector) or profit-seeking investments (profit sector), philanthropic activities must be valued enough to attract voluntary donations of money, goods, and time/labor. © 2002 Whatcom Community Foundation. All rights reserved.