By its very name, a nonprofit company would seem an unlikely source of personal income. You might be surprised to learn you can, in fact, earn decent money by starting and running a nonprofit, all while making a contribution and having a positive impact in the world. A true nonprofit company must be formed to fulfill a charitable, scientific, educational, or literary purpose. A c organization can bring in more money than it spends, but it does not have to pay tax on that excess revenue, which must stay within the nonprofit for continued use in pursuit of its mission. In other words, the excess proceeds are not distributed among shareholders or owners as they would be in a for-profit company. If you wish to set up a nonprofit, be sure pfofit read about all the steps necessary for compliance with state and federal laws.