Non-profit does not have to be equated with near-zero-salary for employees. The cash in flow (the revenue part) for non-profit comes from patrons who are well-off and have desired to give away part of their surplus wealth. As the non-profit startup grows and shows results they can do rounds of funding from other patrons, institutions and government just like for-profit startups will do roadshows. The return of the investment is the positive impact they created on lives of disadvantaged people or future generation. The important thing to realize here is that for-profit and non-profit are not that different. Both have revenues, expenses, profits, return on investment, competitors, deadlines, talent acquisition, business plan, products, metrics, investor objectives and so on. The only thing changes is definition of profits and return on investment. There is a huge benefit in running non-profit just like for-profit organization.
I think you misunderstood my point. I agree with you that a "non-profit does not have to be equated with near-zero-salary for employees."
My only point is that while there is a __financial__ incentive for for-profit founders to eschew short-term salary, there is no __financial__ incentive for non-profit founders eschew short-term salary.
Despite my financial analysis, I still think this initiative could great for non-profits. I am really excited and optimistic to see what comes out of it.
> My only point is that while there is a __financial__ incentive for for-profit founders to eschew short-term salary, there is no __financial__ incentive for non-profit founders eschew short-term salary.
Even that's not necessarily true; sacrificing short-term salary to stablish an organization where you could have a long-term, modest salary doing something you care about (and therefore can stay with over the long term) is a financial incentive. It may not appeal to the same people that a big cash-out payday from a for-profit startup appeals to, but its still a financial incentive.
Even then I think you are chasing the wrong horse. My wife has worked in non-profits and social good startups for several years now and getting to know her friends it's obvious that sometimes they may make decisions based around finances, but frequently and I would say usually their decisions are based around impact of the organization. YC stands the chance to greatly increase the organizational effectiveness of these organizations, which is an issue that many non-profits struggle with and could help them leap forward tremendously in their early days.
I would highly recommend reading chapter on "Performance Philantrophy" from the book Richistan: http://www.amazon.com/Richistan-Journey-Through-American-Wea...