Not-for-profit describes a group that is not set up so owners can take home the extra money. A not-for-profit school, hospital, or charity can still charge fees and can still have money left at the end of the year; that leftover is meant to go back into the work, not into someone's pocket as profit. People use it as an adjective (a not-for-profit hospital) and as a noun (she works for a not-for-profit). In American English, nonprofit — often written as one word — is the more common twin, and most speakers treat them as the same. Though actually lawyers sometimes try to split them, one for the group and one for the activity, but in ordinary talk they blur. British English often says charity or non-profit-making instead. The hyphens are usual in not-for-profit because the three pieces work as one idea.