When is Earned Income Right for a Nonprofit?

• Detract from the mission of the nonprofit
• Undermine the organization by introducing "market forces"
• Be too difficult or complex to manage
• Put their nonprofit status at risk

And if mismanaged, earned income has the potential to do some or all of these things, but so does any other mismanaged activity. Earned income is not right for every nonprofit, but every nonprofit should at the very least analyze whether earned income is a potential opportunity.