Finding Your Next Gig in a Nonprofit

Is charity all it’s cut out to be?

I had just finished a summer internship with a local nonprofit hospital. Looking back, the place was great and so were the people. Needless to say, I learned much more from them than they got from my inexperienced self in those three months. In fact, I learned more about finance, planning, accountability, integrity and working together than maybe anywhere I have been since.

Plenty of calculations and an audit later they offered me a chance to stay on board. But no, I had my sights set “higher” and politely declined. The investing world had captured my interest. A corporate finance job or, dare I say now, a job on Wall Street was what I really wanted.

So instead, diploma in hand nine months later, I did a belly smacker into a sinking job market and began one solid year of unemployment — with no income. I had one large employer request to interview me-with no job guaranteed-on the opposite coast with all expenses paid by me to demonstrate my “real interest”. I had doors slammed in my face at the biggest and smallest investment firms. One famous analyst even suggested in a letter that for starters I get my MBA at an Ivy League school and we could then talk.

I had a cabbie try to drive off with my suitcase that held nearly all of my belongings at the time. I stayed at a YMCA while I searched for work. I drove nearly 1,000 miles only to find out the recruiter had just learned the position was already filled, finding myself in a new place combing through help wanted ads with no other real prospects. By this time, I had tired of being quizzically asked what I thought the high price of gold may be that year.

Any trick questions aside, to me it all seemed like my dreams were going up in smoke. But then one day the phone rang.

That’s when I got my first sampling of nonprofit work. From there, I did eventually spend a number of years in corporate finance. But then I returned to the nonprofit world for good. And boy have I got the full monty.

Maybe there are a lot of people thinking that by working for a nonprofit they can add some good to our world that they can’t in a corporate position.

The search term “nonprofit jobs” gets a lot of net-play nowadays. Maybe it’s because there are many dissatisfied corporate types seeking new paths. Maybe there’s a lot more turnover than I realized. Maybe there are a lot of people thinking that by working for a nonprofit they can add some good to our world that they can’t in a corporate position. Maybe some want to see if the grass is really greener or easier to cut on the other side. Maybe it’s just because of high unemployment. Or, more likely, a melting pot of the above seasoned with much more.

Whatever your own reasoning may be, here’s what you need to know if your heart truly lies in finding a nonprofit gig.

1. Employment in a charity is best viewed as a ministry- not a job.

When you make sacrifices without seeking economic benefits, it’s a ministry. When you seek the maximum economic benefit, it’s a job.

Public charities can never have an oversupply of staff and volunteers willing to serve others. Indeed many are already blessed with dedicated people like this; however, you will find more than a few employees concerned primarily about their own self-interests too. This is a revelation for many entering the field for the first time.

2. Nonprofit employment has an uncertain duration.

And that’s why it’s better to call it a gig than a job. Your position could extend over the life of a grant. A failure to have that grant renewed means the gig will likely be over. To save money, the nonprofit may find someone willing to volunteer to do work that you are currently paid for. That could also push you out of work. Or maybe a program fails or is discontinued. Your gig may fall by the wayside too. On the flip side, you may spend a lifetime there.

3. There are many ways to find fulfillment through your work.

Getting involved with a nonprofit is just one of them.

4. Volunteer first if you can.

It’s a great way to contribute while learning about the organization, its culture and its mission. It also positions you to see where your gig could most benefit the nonprofit. When the opportunity presents itself, you will have already cemented relationships. Your pitch can be more powerful with a volunteer experience to back it up.

5. Limited resources will be the rule- not the exception.

Don’t be surprised with old or broken equipment, a lack of help, workspace that’s too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter, not enough parking spaces, outdated technology or disorganized processes that sometimes work and sometimes don’t.

6. Despite their uniqueness, nonprofits are still no different than any other part of society.

Anyone trying to escape another situation may be disappointed. You may not like your nonprofit boss. You may not gel with coworkers. You may have difficulties dealing with very diverse organizations. Many of the same people and things you have encountered elsewhere are likely to be part of the mix.

7. Nonprofits are becoming an endangered species.

Sustainability is always top of mind but an ongoing struggle. A number of nonprofits have already folded and without help many more are expected to be close behind.

Like my search for an investment position, do you feel your dream for a nonprofit gig just had cold water poured on it? If the answer is yes, you are viewing the previous points as problems. But if you view them as opportunities, your experience should be much richer- and more realistic too.

What we get out of an experience may be positive even if it appears negative at the time.

Everything happens for a reason. There are often many paths to the same place. And sometimes what we are looking for isn’t anywhere close to where we expected it to be. What we get out of an experience may be positive even if it appears negative at the time.

My time unemployed helped me into the future.

I learned to be more resourceful.

I developed a greater appreciation for the journey.

I recognized a greater need to bring meaning to each moment rather than meet or even exceed expectations.

And that’s helped me in my nonprofit work.

Some organizations like public charities are very fragile. Some people are too. It’s our responsibility to try to elevate them.

True power resides in service to others in need- not money. There’s an opportunity in promoting the difference.

There’s never an oversupply of goodwill. So what’s your next gig about?

I found myself doing work in nonprofit organizations. I consider it one of my life ministries. Only you can decide if it’s one of yours too.