What’s in a Name?

Social-investment organizations? Social-profit groups? Citizen-sector organizations?

Prompted by an opinion article in The Chronicle, readers of Tactical Philanthropy are debating whether the term “nonprofit” needs to be tossed in the dustbin of history.

The author of Tactical Philanthropy, Sean Stannard-Stockton, who works for an investment-management company in Burlingame, Calif., has remained somewhat agnostic in the debate.

“I don’t have a firm name in mind. I think the sector is still evolving and prefer an inclusive word like social enterprise with the broad definition of enterprise,” he writes. “But I’m open to other ideas.”

Mr. Stannard-Stockton has invited others to pitch new names on his blog.

Though perhaps there are some charity officials who will say it’s best to remember the words of Shakespeare: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”