Non-governmental Organization

Definition: a Non-governmental Organization is an organization that is not a part of a government and is also not a conventional for-profit business.
The term is usually applied only to organizations that pursue wider social aims (human rights, environment, development work) that have political aspects, but are not openly political organizations such as political parties.
One can distinguish local, national and international NGOs.
According to the UN, the first NGO, any kind of private organization that is independent from government control can be termed an "NGO", provided it is not-profit, non-criminal and not simply an opposition political party.

More on non-governmental organizations. More on organization types: Contingency Theory, Functional Organization, Hierarchical Organization, Nonprofit Organization, Organization, more...