[stcredzero]

Companies go bankrupt because the customer has the power to discontinue their patronage if they deliver a product or service poorly

This definitely happens to many kinds of non-profit!

in the non-profit world the recipient of the service or products has very little power to motivate a market.

For 501-c3 organizations that provide classes, lectures, and performances, often the opposite is the case. Many non-profits have to be run much like a business. There can be something like a marketplace where the "customer" pays not with currency, but with their time. (And sometimes, both money and time are involved.) Also, very often, the "recipient" of services can easily directly involve themselves with running the organization. (KPFT radio in Houston is an example of this.)

[anamax]

>> Companies go bankrupt because the customer has the power to discontinue their patronage if they deliver a product or service poorly

>This definitely happens to many kinds of non-profit!

Unless I missed the sarcasm, it doesn't happen with charitable non-profits. They die when funding dries up, and since their customers don't provide funding, their customers have little/no effect on their survival.

Yes, a charity can continue to exist long after folks stop showing up to receive services.

[dagw]

since their customers don't provide funding

That depends on your point of view. I'd argue that the people supplying the funding are the customers and that the work they do and people they help is the service they provide. So if their customers aren't happy with the quality of the service they'll take their money somewhere else, exactly like in the for profit case.

[yummyfajitas]

The problem is the customers of nonprofits often cannot measure the results themselves.

If McDonald's serves me a burger that is inedible, I know about it immediately and can stop patronizing McD's.

If Burgers4Africa distributes inedible burgers in Somalia, how do I know about it?

[stcredzero]

My point is that often the customers can measure the results. The article is worded as if this applies to all non-profits.

[anamax]

> I'd argue that the people supplying the funding are the customers

That definition is inconsistent with 'There can be something like a marketplace where the "customer" pays not with currency, but with their time.'

Charities, almost by definition, provide products/services to folks who can't afford the full cost of said products/services so the charity gets money from elsewhere.

Note that not all non-profits are charities.