Oh my word. Your idea of not-for-profit production companies is really skewed in the wrong direction. There are so many of them in NYC, where I am. Other production companies that would resent a non-profit production company just doesn't get it, in my opinion.
"Most people perceive a non-profit or not-for-profit corporation as one whose aim is to provide altruistic work to aid others."
That's a
charity. Not all not-for-profits are charities.
For goodness sakes, think about it - most theater companies are not-for-profit. They're arts organizations and not charities, but they qualify to be non-profit. For film/video production, making historical/educational media qualifies a company to establish a not-for-profit corporation. A non-profit can also have a separate for-profit arm, which can distribute its profits as any normal profit-making corporation and would pay taxes.
Besides, here in NYC with so many production companies around, I highly doubt anyone is going to even know what my company's status is, nor resent me for the work I intend to do.
Here are a few websites of not-for-profit production companies in NYS that are pretty much doing what I want to do, to give you an idea of what they're really about:
http://www.outofthebluefilms.com
http://www.firelightmedia.org/
http://www.aubinpictures.com/
http://www.incite-pictures.com/ (For-profit arm of Cin Qua Non, Inc., a not-for-profit)
http://musefilm.org/
