Nonprofit organizations
In addition to individual proprietorships, partnerships and corporations, there are the other forms of business organizations that provide goods and services:
Nonprofit organizations are dedicated to providing public services. They may not and do not earn a profit. Any revenue in excess of operating costs is used to further the purpose of the organization. Churches and many other private charity organizations, as well as cultural organizations such as opera or museum associations, scientific research associations, and organizations dedicated to educational programmes, are nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit organizations are not taxed by the government. Some nonprofit organizations are engaged in production in much the same way as are other business firms. For example, Goodwill Industries, which is devoted to helping the handicapped, employs handicapped workers who repair clothing, furniture, and other household items that have been donated. The repaired items are then sold to the public through stores operated by the organization. The earnings of the organization are used to pay the workers and to help train them for jobs in the private sector.
A cooperative is a voluntary association of people formed for the purpose of providing economic benefits for its members. The three most common types of cooperatives are consumer cooperatives, producer cooperatives, and credit unions.
Consumer cooperatives are formed for the purpose of collectively buying consumer products in large quantities at low prices. The objective of consumer co-ops is to offer their members lower prices than those charged by regular businesses. Members usually pay regular prices to the co-ops at the time they make their purchases but receive rebates at the end of each year.
Producer cooperatives are voluntary associations of producers of certain products that attempt to obtain higher prices than the members could get by selling individually. Most of such co-ops are made up of farmers. They may have meat-processing plants or facilities for processing grain, and they often help transport and advertise their members’ products. The primary objective of producer cooperatives is to eliminate middleman charges and pass the savings on to their members in the form of higher prices.
Credit unions, which are very common in large cities, are often created by employees of a large company or by other large groups of people. They accept deposits and make loans. Their purpose is to help their members buy goods instead of making a profit. Thus, compared to other financial institutions, they usually pay higher interest rates on members’ savings and charge lower interest rates on members’ loans.
Franchise is a contract in which a business (franchiser) sells to another business (franchisee) the right to use its name and sell its products. For example, many hotels, motels, gas stations, and fast-food chains are franchises. The franchisee pays a fee that may include a percentage of all money taken in. If a person buys a motel franchise, for example, that person agrees to pay the motel chain a certain fee plus a portion of the profits for as long as his or her motel stays in business. In return, the chain will help the franchisee set up the motel. Often, the chain will have a training program to teach the franchisee about the business and set the standards of business operations.
Comprehension questions:
Translate into Ukrainian the underlined words and word-combinations. Write down the new terms into the vocabulary.
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