idealist.org

"New not-for-profiteers should have their eyes open when starting work! Many organizations seem to devote a tremendous percentage of their resources to fundraising. If you are not on the program side, you will be relegated to support functions—often, you will not feel you are directly making an impact. In sum, be certain you'll like the actual day-to-day work, recognize that 'not-for-profit' doesn't always mean world-changing, and keep in mind always what your next step should be—often, this means graduate school to get out of PR and fundraising and into program-side work."

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"Nonprofit salaries are not all that bad! It depends on the organization, true—but also on your expectations and your appraisal of your other career options. For example, I'm a writer. When I got my first job out of college, I had been applying for publishing jobs and getting turned down for positions that offered barely a living wage, little or no benefits, and no possibility of advancement. Then, experimentally, I applied for one job in nonprofit public relations. The salary they offered me ($18,000/year in 1986 dollars, plus good benefits) seemed so huge to me (150% of the salary for a publishing job I'd been rejected for) that I wondered what terrible expectations they would have to make the salary worthwhile; it was more than either of my parents had ever earned!

I have met people in nonprofits who seem to have a chip on their shoulders because they think they could have been making so much more money in the for-profit world; they seem to feel that the world owes them something for having sacrificed these hypothetical high salaries. I have never seen that I sacrificed anything by working for nonprofits. There are higher-paying jobs in the world, true, but how many of those are both realistically available to me and tolerably interesting? I think I work in nonprofits less because I am an idealist than because for-profit business would just bore me to tears!"

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"I do not like to promote that feeling of 'all nonprofit employees should be working for pennies.' Although my salary is definitely lower than if I were to be in the private sector, it is still a decentsalary. People in the nonprofit world should be encouraged to bargain for salaries and not feel guilty about such an action. For so long, I felt as if bargaining for a salary in the nonprofit world was considered negative/greedy and wrong. That if you weren't working for next to nothing with amazingly long hours then you weren't really dedicated.

Although nonprofits do differ tremendously in their 'bottom line,' nonprofits are still businesses and will pay as well as they can to recruit and RETAIN good people.

Like now, my first job was at a nonprofit. I took the salary they offered and then realized later that I could have gotten $4,000 more per year had I bargained. Since it was nonprofit I trusted that they were being as upfront and honest with me as I was with them....but, in the end they are a business and need to survive. I don't fault them—I fault myself."

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"One upside to most nonprofits is that once you are 'inside' an organization, you have a much greater chance to grow into other positions. I am a living example of this type of growth. I spent years doing accounting as a job and writing for fun. So when I accepted a job at a Christian nonprofit, it was in the field of accounting.

Because the nonprofit was small, everyone used their skills to the max. Besides doing spreadsheets, I began to receive small writing assignments. When those were successful, I was given larger assignments. Later, I was transferred into communications and began writing full-time.

I have since left the nonprofit, and I am a freelance writer for a number of nonprofit agencies as well as for-profit companies.

I don't think I could have made this dramatic of a change in career inside any other type of business."

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"My first hand experience is that I succeeded getting an executive director position largely because I had volunteer experience in the field. My formal education was lower than all the other candidates, but I knew the field, so I was selected. I can't say enough about relevant volunteer experience. It doesn't replace a good education (I was, in fact, allowed to complete my degree while working for the organization), but it really gives you an edge."

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"In my experience, volunteering and/or temping is an excellent way to get in the door at a not-for-profit. These organizations are small, understaffed, and strapped for cash; they look to the closest capable body when filling open positions. I've seen it happen again and again."

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"I think it's great to emphasize the importance of volunteering when looking for jobs in the nonprofit sector. Volunteering not only gives you relevant experience that can be applied to the job search, but it can also help you work out what kinds of jobs within the nonprofit sector might interest you the most. It's also a great way to try something out before getting 'stuck' in a full-time position."

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"One thing I would add on the education front is looking into certificate programs at local universities and community colleges. These can be a fantastic resource and are not usually as expensive as degree programs. I took the fundraising certificate program offered through UCLA Extension when I was first making the transition from nonprofit service to administration. I learned a great deal of valuable information about the differences in business practices between the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. I gained unique tools for working within those business perimeters, such as grant writing skills and effective ways to work with Boards. I also made amazing contacts with people who were already working in a variety of positions in the nonprofit sector and developed a strong support system with others like myself who were transitioning within the field."

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"I have an interview in about two weeks with an organization that I saw had posted an ad in Idealist for a different position. I liked the organization and what they were doing, so I emailed them directly (their work was in line with a lot of my experience and education, but mostly with my interests as I've never held a position in a nonprofit).

I emailed them anyway about ANY job, letting them know that I was very interested and they asked for my resume and cover letter. A few weeks later I had an interview set up!"

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"I just wanted to let you know that I found what sounded like my 'dream job' here in October. They asked for an email with a couple of paragraphs about me and why I thought I was suitable for the job. I wrote to them and sent my resume. No response for two weeks or so, then I received an email that the job was filled, but that I would have been the next person they would have interviewed. I was disappointed, but I replied that if by some chance the other person didn't work out to contact me. Lo and behold, about a month later I got a call asking if I was still interested and available for the job, since the other person had major transportation problems. I interviewed and have been working at my dream job for three months. I'm not sure I'd exactly classify it as the only dream job I'd ever want, however I am still really happy and just knowing that I succeeded in getting my 'dream job' means a lot in terms of my self esteem."

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"As a first job out of college, it's pretty hard to snag a good job in any case, let alone at a good not-for-profit, so it might be necessary to work from the inside out. I mean a position within a large company that either coordinates volunteers, coordinates donations/drives, or something similar. Ford, for example, is trying to develop a vehicle recycling program. It's not exactly nonprofit, but profit isn't the primary motivation. It seems like other companies might have similar opportunities related to their industries. It might just take the right person or creative thinker to find it. Also, most large corporations have philanthropy chairpersons, which would be a good place to start."

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"I'd say that particular areas of interest for a candidate in assessing culture should be stability of the organization. How long have people been there? How long do they stay? Is it a revolving door? Do people leave the organization in order to get increasing responsibility or does the organization notice/reward good work with increased responsibility within the organization?"

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"Someone who is entering a nonprofit for the first time needs to quickly learn the history of the organization(when was the organization started? Why? How? Who was involved?), in order to begin to understand the 'company politics' and 'organizational views.' Every company has politics... however, since nonprofits tend to be issue-oriented, many people mistakenly take these issue-views to also be the philosophical views. People should research a nonprofit as much, if not more, than any other company. We are a good breed... but we are not infallible, and someone who is looking for the first time should not be blinded by wanting to 'be involved' with a certain issue. Many times, their findings should go hand in hand with their own ideals... but it's worth checking into."

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"I applied for a variety of positions and settled on a grant-funded grantwriting position with a mid-sized women's healthcare center. It seemed like a wonderful and stable position with friendly coworkers in a well-equipped work environment. The only thing that struck me as a little odd during the application process was that the Executive Director position was also open, and one of the board members had temporarily taken on the job responsibilities until they could find someone new. It didn't seem like that strange of a situation, considering the fact that turnover is not entirely uncommon in the nonprofit world, but it did strike me.

By the time I started the position, another board member had started part-time as the 'Acting E.D.' and had begun to rework the center's marketing strategy, as this was her primary field of employment. Within one week, I learned that the center was considering a merger with another local healthcare center, which is also not uncommon these days; however, the other center had a completely different client focus, history, and mission. It was unclear why the women's healthcare center would want to merge. It was a well-run, financially secure organization with a positive community image and strong client base.

It became clear over the next couple of weeks that there were many board members who were angling for the merger because of the personal benefits of becoming associated with the larger, university-operated clinic. The board member in place as the Acting E.D. helped divert any resistance that could come from the staff during this process. The Board did not communicate effectively with the staff and there appeared to be a number of conflict of interest situations at hand.

You can imagine that I was shocked to have been pulled into such turmoil. It was obvious that they knew about the potential for the merger when they hired me, but intentionally chose not to share that information with me. They were very interested in filling the position because they wanted to satisfy the conditions of the grant that funded it, which came from the same foundation who they had returned money to in the previous year because of failed administrative efforts with another program. They were also interested in shoring up their administration to make sure they were an attractive prospect to the other healthcare center. Don't forget, I was writing grant proposals for programs that might not even exist by the time they were reviewed. I was even advised by board members to continue with my efforts, and not mention the potential merger to foundations. That wasn't an ethical option in my book.

I left after only three months, which didn't exactly look good on my resume, but I couldn't stand the thought of working in such a dishonest, tumultuous environment. It was a huge mess, and a lot of tension developed between the staff and the Board that is probably still being worked out two years later.

I took five months looking for my next job to make sure that it was with a strong organization that I respected and would be proud to work for. I moved to Seattle and am now back with an arts organization, one that is thriving and growing and supported by an excellent staff and dedicated board. So, there is a happy ending, but it took a very stressful situation to help me learn the questions I needed to ask when searching for a position.

I think it would be helpful in your report to include questions that might be useful to know when looking at the strengths and weaknesses of an organization as a potential work environment. Some people out there who are just getting started may not know the obvious questions to ask about the financial stability of an organization, the backgrounds of the key administrative personnel, the strength of the Board, how involved the Board is in the ongoing operations of the organization, etc."

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