Social welfare organizations generally refer to those non-governmental social organizations that do not regard profit maximization as their primary goal, and whose main pursuit is social welfare undertakings. Earlier non-profit organizations were mainly engaged in humanitarian relief and poor relief activities, and many non-profit organizations originated from charities.
Some Western scholars classify public welfare organizations as non-governmental organizations, while some Chinese scholars call them the third sector or non-profit organizations to distinguish them from government organizations and corporate organizations. Regarding the concept of social welfare organizations, there is no consistent and universally recognized definition.