“Philanthrocapitalism” is all the rage these days – the use of business thinking to strengthen philanthropy and the not-for-profit world, which is the world I have been working in since 1982. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve been told to “behave more like a business” I would be a successful philanthrocapitalist myself.

The problem is that these calls are misguided and possibly even dangerous. They threaten to erode the distinctive values and independence of the not-for-profit sector and reduce it to little more than a subset of the market.