With all the great nonprofits doing important work out there, it’s easy to fall into the idea that they only benefit the cause they’re trying to improve. Actually, nonprofits help all of us in ways you may not even realize. Here are 3 reasons why nonprofits improve all of our lives.

1. Nonprofits Help Us When in Need

Our government provides many useful services to people in need, but as programs experience frequent budget cuts and a growing list of regulations, several needs often remain unfulfilled. Nonprofits are essential in providing assistance when our government is unable to. For example, Veterans Affairs can’t always provide adequate care to returning troops. When this occurs, several nonprofit organizations like Veterans’ Families United, Veteran Tickets Foundation and Freedom Alliance jump in and administer support services to alleviate this stress. Similarly, if someone’s insurance can’t cover the costs of treatment for a disease, many nonprofits pool their resources to provide financial assistance, as CancerCare does for cancer patients. The same can be said for people suffering from substance abuse or behavioral health issues, and KVC Kentucky provides treatment. As unpredictable as life can be, you can always seek the help of a nonprofit when other resources are slim.

2. Nonprofits Help Our Economy

Just like their for-profit counterparts, nonprofits provide excellent employment opportunities. In fact, employment in nonprofits rose a few years ago even as opportunities in government and private businesses fell. Even more, nonprofits produce jobs that help sustain the economy in the same way for-profit companies do. Also, did you know that nonprofits make up 10% of the U.S. workforce, making it larger than the finance sector? Nonprofits are motivated by the interests of the community, not their owners or personal profit.

3. Nonprofits Make the Community Around You a Better Place

Above all, nonprofits strive to make your community better. One problem that advocacy groups try to alleviate is poverty, which is something that affects all of us, not just those who experience it. Poverty leads to increased crime rates, poor education and economic instability in communities across the country. Yet, poverty can be ended, and many nonprofits work towards this goal. Nonprofits work day and night to improve the standard of living for all, which in turn makes the community you live in a better place.

Want to help nonprofits in your community? Look no further than the GoodGiving Challenge! The GoodGiving Challenge is an online giving campaign that helps Kentucky nonprofits improve their communities. Visit our KVC Kentucky page to find out ways you can help! But hurry, the challenge runs November 29th-December 31st.