Think you want to work for a nonprofit?

Think you'd like to switch from the corporate sector to the nonprofit sector? Check out an article published this week -

"Your True Calling Could Suit a Nonprofit": http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/jobs/06career.html

As someone who's been in the nonprofit field the entirety of my 10 years since college, I thought they pretty much hit the nail on the head in terms of pros, cons and how to go about it. Good stuff!

My only push-back on the article is that their thoughts on how to find nonprofits was pretty weak. Looking at who United Way funds is helpful sure, but that's just orgs affecting the specific issue areas United Way focuses on. It's also worth looking at other funders that address different issue areas - Seattle Foundation, Gates Foundation, Allen Foundation, Social Venture Partners, Washington Women's Foundation, EarthShare of Washington, ArtsFund, Pride Foundation, etc. I also thought the idea of contacting the Chamber was totally random. Maybe that plays in other cities but it didn't make any sense to me here.

And really, your best bet in getting a nonprofit job when you're doing a sector shift ties directly into networking. Seattle is an extremely community-minded town. Talk with people you know and respect about where they volunteer and where they give their money. Ask them questions about the organizations they're affiliated with and why they chose them. See if they can connect you with people at those orgs. And if there's an org you already know of, look at their website, find the person whose job is closest to the work you want to do, contact them and ask them for an informational interview (30 minutes). In those interviews, learn about those orgs and also ask them what orgs you should be looking at/who you should be talking to given your interests. Be respectful of their time, come having done your homework, and you'll walk away with new information and a person who is excited you're interested in the field. Nonprofit employees are generally very friendly people. Connections aren't everything but they're certainly helpful, and you really only have to do some easy, basic outreach to get connected.

The rest of the article was spot-on. It won't be less stress or less hours (maybe more!), you'll get paid less and that becomes more apparent the higher up the chain you go, and when you're working in a realm with multiple stakeholders and goals that are harder to measure than market-share or profits you do get faced with (occasionally annoying!) ambiguity. All that behind said, you just might totally love it. It's a pretty good gig getting paid to do something you believe in with your whole heart.

-- Tara