Can a 501(c)(3) Sell Products & Services? These 18 Charities Sure Do

Aug 13

I began this list out of a personal need to understand exactly how charities can make money beyond receiving donations and grants. I discovered just how common this is! Let’s check out a few.

What are some of the largest, most well-known nonprofits?

Mayo Clinic

Earned revenue: $7B+/year on patient services and medical care as a hospital
Why it's still a 501(c)(3): The care, research, and education they provide are considered charitable and educational.

Harvard University (and other Ivy League schools)

Revenue: Billions annually

How? Tuition, research grants, licensing intellectual property, executive ed programs, real estate rentals.

Example: Harvard Business School earns tens of millions per year selling case studies.

Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)

Revenue: ~$400M+

How? Ticket sales, gift shop, licensing, publishing, and event rentals.

Mission-aligned: Education and preservation of art.

The Nature Conservancy

Revenue: ~$1+ billion/year

How? Sells carbon offsets, conservation easements, eco-tourism experiences, and consulting to corporations.

Not just donations — they charge real money for land use agreements and sustainability strategies.

PBS (Public Broadcasting Service)

Revenue: Hundreds of millions

How? Licensing, DVD sales, syndication, branded merchandise.

Ken Burns documentaries get sold and licensed — not just broadcast.

Goodwill Industries International

Revenue: ~$6 billion/year

How? Selling donated goods at their stores.

Mission-aligned: Provides job training, employment services, and support for people with barriers to work.

Habitat for Humanity

Revenue: ~$2+ billion/year

How? ReStores (sells used building materials and home goods), volunteer fees, construction services.

Mission-aligned: Affordable housing through direct action.

National Geographic Society

Revenue: ~$500M/year (though they spun off some media assets)

How? Publications, licensing, museum exhibitions, and branded experiences.

501(c)(3) side still does grants and education.

Khan Academy

Revenue: ~$60M+

How? Freemium platform model — some partnerships pay, and they’ve started exploring monetization through enterprise or school districts.

Still mostly grant-funded, but shifting.

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

Revenue: ~$500M/year

How? Admissions, merch, events, and animal adoption programs.

Mission: Conservation and education.

What about large landscaping-related nonprofits?

The Watershed Project

Focus: Restores urban watersheds, rain gardens, and green infrastructure.
Earned income: $1M+/year providing fee-based ecological landscaping and rain garden design/install.
Mission-aligned: Community resilience and education through nature-based solutions.

Greening of Detroit

Focus: Urban reforestation and workforce training.
Earned income: $6M+/year offering tree planting and green infrastructure services for municipalities and private clients.
Notable: Runs a Green Corps program training Detroiters in landscaping and forestry.

Civicorps

Focus: Job training for youth and young adults.
Earned income: $9M+/year with contracts for landscaping, trail maintenance, tree planting, etc.
Structure: AmeriCorps partnership; sells services to public agencies.

TreePeople

Focus: Urban forestry, water capture, and climate education.
Earned income: $15M+/year on environmental consulting, site assessments, native landscaping support.