NGOs are best described as which?

• A. A for-profit corporation
• B. A government agency
• C. A non-governmental, non-profit organization that runs aid programs and lobbies for people's rights around the world
• D. A trade agreement

Answer: (C)

Non-governmental, non-profit organizations operate independently of governments and rely on private funding to carry out their missions. They often run aid programs—disaster relief, health, education—and advocate for people’s rights by lobbying governments and international bodies to influence policy. They don’t aim to earn profits, unlike for-profit companies, and they aren’t government agencies that run public programs. They aren’t trade agreements, which are formal treaties between countries. This combination of independence, non-profit status, hands-on aid work, and advocacy best captures what NGOs are.