The nonprofit world is called "the third sector" for a reason: it isn't government, and it isn't business. Government does what elected officials and bureaucrats decide to do. Business does what the market supports. Nonprofits respond to a demand for services that the government is unwilling or unable to address and that the market cannot support. In the nonprofit world, you interact with government, but you are not government. You interact with business, but you are not business.

You are different. Your sector is different. The economics are different. The incentives are different. Program design is different. Program evaluation is different. Everything is different.

There will always be needs that the market can't meet. People will always find reasons to self-organize independently of government. The sector is not going away.

Knowing this, effective nonprofit leaders understand what makes their sector unique and build on it.