Nonprofit organizations are the primary instrumentality of the social sector- the characteristic organization where resources and purposeful activities are concentrated - just as businesses are the primary instrumentality of the economic sector and government agencies are at the core of the political sector. In this light, nonprofits are far more than the common stereotype of charities whose purpose is to assuage the guilt of the rich by providing a meager life-line for the needy. Instead, the abundant benefits that nonprofits provide have become indispensable to U.S. society, as in these examples