Nonprofit organization (abbreviated as NPO) is neither a legal or technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends. States in the United States defer to the IRS designation conferred under United States Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c), when the IRS deems an organization eligible. They may or may not have shareholders
The non-profit corporation is a common form of association used by community groups, as well as by homeowners' and condominium associations.