Nonprofit investment, as its name implies, refers to an investment behavior in which investors do not aim at obtaining direct economic profits. This is not a failed investment, but an investment strategy with unique purpose and consideration. On the surface, this kind of investment seems unattractive under the traditional income measurement standard, but after a deep exploration of its background, we can find that it plays an irreplaceable role in many aspects.

In the dimension of risk diversification, nonprofit investment sometimes plays a key role. For some large investment institutions or high-net-worth investors, their portfolios tend to pursue diversification and balance. Non-profit investment may become a unique part of the portfolio to hedge the fluctuations caused by other high-risk and high-return investments. Just like a huge ship sailing in the vast sea, although most of the cargo carries the hope of profit, in order to ensure the stability of navigation, some seemingly "useless" ballast stones that can balance the hull are also loaded appropriately. These nonprofit investments are like ballast stones. When the market is in turmoil and other investments fluctuate greatly, they reduce the risk exposure of the whole portfolio by virtue of their relatively stable characteristics, and avoid the possibility of being devastated by a single pursuit of profit.

From the perspective of supporting innovation and development, nonprofit investment is an important boost for many emerging fields and start-ups In the frontier fields of science and technology, environmental protection, etc., some projects or enterprises often face great uncertainty and long value realization cycle in the initial stage. At this time, the traditional profit-oriented investment is often discouraged, but nonprofit investment can find its potential social value and long-term significance. Venture capital institutions, charitable foundations and some visionary private investors will invest money to help these innovative projects start, even if they don't see any profit returns in the short term. For example, some small technology companies that focus on renewable energy research and development need a lot of money in the early stage of research and development, and their success is still uncertain. The intervention of nonprofit investment provides them with financial support, which makes these innovations that may change the future energy pattern continue to advance. What these investments value is not the immediate profits, but the potential promotion to the future social progress and industry changes, and the huge social benefits and possible economic returns that may be brought in the long run.

In the category of socially responsible investment, nonprofit investment has a distinct embodiment. Many investors turn their attention to the development projects, the construction of educational facilities and the improvement of medical resources in poor areas. These projects often lack a direct profit model, but from the perspective of social development, they have inestimable value. For example, some international organizations and charitable investors invest in clean water supply projects in remote areas of Africa to improve the living conditions of local residents and improve their health. This kind of investment will not bring direct monetary profits, but it has made great contributions to the sustainable development of human society and narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor, which embodies a higher-level investment value and mission beyond economic interests.

Nonprofit investment is not completely insulated from economic interests. From a macro and long-term perspective, it is sometimes an indirect and strategic investment. Some large enterprises will make nonprofit investments in small and medium-sized suppliers in the upstream of their industrial chains to help them upgrade their equipment and improve their technology, even if this will not directly bring profits to the enterprises. However, by improving the production capacity and quality control level of suppliers, enterprises can ensure the stability and efficiency of their own supply chains, so as to obtain more stable product output and market competitiveness in the future, which is actually an investment behavior to protect their long-term economic interests from a strategic perspective.

（Writer：Lany）