It has always been a challenge to define the nonprofit sector, mainly because of the
scope and the diverse organizations that could be described as ‘nonprofit’. One significant
feature of nonprofits is the “absence of stock and other reflections of proprietorship”
(Quarter, 1992, p. 42). Although the government sector (excepting Crown corporations)
generally fits this criterion, it is viewed as distinct from the nonprofit sector (Day & Devlin,
1997).