Civil Society: Nonprofits and Voluntary Groups

Civil society is the wide range of groups that people form and join by choice, separate from the government and from businesses run to make a profit. It includes charities, religious congregations, neighborhood associations, parent-teacher groups, service clubs, advocacy organizations, and nonprofit organizations that run food banks, shelters, museums, and youth programs. Groups like these that work across many countries, such as Doctors Without Borders, are often called NGOs, short for non-governmental organizations. Civil society groups do several jobs in a democracy: they provide services people need, bring together people who share an interest or a cause, give members practice in working together and making group decisions, and let citizens speak to their government as a group instead of one person at a time. Most rely on volunteers and donations, and many nonprofits in the United States do not have to pay federal income tax, but they still have to follow the law. Civil society groups often work alongside government agencies, for example a food bank that partners with a city, but they cannot pass laws, collect taxes, or enforce rules on people who are not their members.

This explanation is AI-generated and can occasionally be wrong. 🚩 Report