Nonprofit University Blog

For the record, this will be the last blog post for 2008.  The Nonprofit Center and I are taking a  two week vacation to relax, re-energize, and come back afresh.    Rather than end the year being all philosophical and pollyannaish, I thought I’d try being practical and positive.  The hard reality is that many people are going to be looking for jobs in the new year.  (And why, when the economy is  already running roughshod over us, do we have to have scoundrels like Bernard Madoff exacerbating things?  But I digress.)  As I’ve often pontificated, the nonprofit sector, regardless of what you’ve done to date, is a great place to find future employment. So, a few suggestions.    

1. First and foremost, figure out where your passions lie, and pursue them.
2.  For both those moving within the sector and those looking to move into the sector, get involved in the sector.  Volunteer!  I don’t care how much volunteering you’ve already done, do more.  Volunteer in organizations with different kinds of missions, organizations that reflect different parts of the nonprofit sector.  The more connections you have within and across the sector, the better off you will be.  And don’t be scornful of the tasks you might be asked to do:  stuff envelopes, serve food, clean out cages, play games with residents, answer phones.  Just rub elbows with staff and, potentially, board members.
3. Think more responsibility:  join the board.  Yes, you are still technically a volunteer, but as a board member, you are a volunteer with a legal, fiduciary and moral responsibility for the organization.  Now, you will definitely be rubbing elbows with board members.  And generally, board members have connections to other boards of nonprofits and other nonprofits.  So, now you’ve expanded your network multiple-fold.
4. Do not be shy about letting people know you are looking for a job in the nonprofit sector.  Do not hesitate to be a sponge and soak up all there is to learn about a particular nonprofit and the sector in general.
5. Craft your resume for the job you want to have, not the job you had.  For those of you crossing over from the for-profit side, translate your skills and talents developed in the corporate world into the tasks and responsibilities of the nonprofit world.
6. Finally, for those of you coming from the for-profit world, stop, look and listen before you presume that the corporate way is the “best” or “right” way.  There are actually a number of things that the nonprofit sector does really well, while there are some things that it does poorly.  So, bring selectively from the for-profit world and be open to accepting, again selectively, from the nonprofit world. 

 While I wish all of those job seeking the best of luck, look at the task that is ahead of you as an adventure that will reap rewards.  At best, you will find a fulfilling and rewarding job.  At worst, you will “only” expand your network, horizon and yourself.  Sounds like a win-win.

 
HHH

I’ve only just learned of using the term angel as part of the explicit label of some investment companies.  I just thought that all venture capitalists and investors of whatever ilk were angels to someone or some organization by the very nature of what they did.  But as so frequently happens, I’ve since heard/read the term a trillion times in the weeks since.

Angels in the nonprofit world, that’s another story.  We all have been looking for them since our inceptions, I’m sure.  Unless, of course, you were one of the lucky few and were started with an angel’s gift.  These angels are the ones that come with checks with lots of zeros.

This year, however, new angels may come, bearing smaller gifts, most likely.  And we should treasure them just as much as the ones carrying the heavy load of zeros.  According to a study conducted for PayPal, 73 percent of Americans still plan on making gifts to charities this holiday season, a beautiful 13 percent increase over last year.  And this same survey, which, for the purposes of putting it all in context, was conducted in mid-October, also found that while folks were still planning on giving to charities they were also planning on cutting back on how much they spent on traditional presents.

Couple this with the added statistic from a second study, conducted for World Vision, that found that 49 percent of their respondents were “more likely” to give a contribution to a worthy cause—feeding the homeless, sponsoring an animal, providing heat for a family—as the present given to a family member or friend.  This same study also revealed that 84 percent of the people surveyed preferred receiving a gift that would help others over a traditional gift.

Do you hear those wings fluttering?  Make it happen, and then appreciate the giver and the one in whose name the gift was made.

My doctor says I need to ease up on the head banging.  I’d actually let up a little until I received a response to my recently published Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed.  The commentary suggested that those laid off from for-profit jobs should look to the nonprofit sector for satisfying employment:  their skills and talents are needed and will be valued and they can feel good while doing good.  The responses to this piece was phenomenal and all extremely positive, with many saying, “Thank you!” or “You were talking to me!” Until yesterday.  Yesterday’s response was a lengthy e-mail from a man who had made the switch from the for-profit world to the nonprofit years ago.  And he wasn’t happy.  He suggested that nonprofit folks talk out of both sides of their mouths.  They say, “We value your skill sets and perspective and they are important to us,” but then they ignore the recommendations and observations that result from those very things that are allegedly valued.  This generated only a little head banging:  why would we seek out specific talents and then ignore them?  It just doesn’t make good sense—business sense or any other kind of sense. But what really got my head aching was his comment that when he tried to go back to the corporate world, he was categorically rejected because of his years spent in the nonprofit sector.  Why, he was asked, was he qualified to work in the for-profit sector when his most recent years of employment were with organizations “structured to lose money?”  BANG!  BANG!  BANG!  Are people really that stupid?  Are there people out there who honestly believe that nonprofits are structured to lose money?  Are there really people out there who believe that nonprofits want to run a deficit, that they enjoy living close to the edge, having no cushion?  Are there people out there who really think it is fun not to sleep at night?   I understand the value of language, and there is no doubt that our name—the nonprofit sector—does not help us.  But, then again, we aren’t called the deficit sector.  Our name suggests that we are covering our costs but have nothing left to go around at the end of the day.  And since when does a category name determine the performance of all members of that category?  It is a statement of fact that AIG is in big trouble.  But is the entire insurance sector?  Banking is in trouble, as well.  But the small, well-run banks are “banking” on earning new customers from the struggling large, previously for-profit conglomerate banks.   I thought that to run a good business you had to be smart, do research, know the facts, and make decisions based on hard data and an understanding of the real picture, and not rely on stereotypes or presumptions.  At least that is how we run smart businesses in the nonprofit sector.    

Instilling in children a sense of responsibility to help others less fortunate than they and to give back to others and communities is a challenge under the best of circumstances.  When children grow up with one of two images—absolute devastation, as witnessed on September 11, 2001 or in the aftermath of bombing raids or Katrina and her sisters and brothers, or extreme opulence, as seen through the lives of entertainers, sports figures and other “celebrities”—it becomes an even greater challenge, and one with which conscientious parents continually struggle. 

And as with so many other things, the teachings at home can either be reinforced or undermined by the company a child keeps, the lessons learned at school and the messages blasted by the media. Thus, my hat goes off to Charles and Betty Frank and The Hill School, a private, co-educational, predominantly boarding school for grades 9-12 in Pottstown, PA.  The Franks (Mr. Frank, as well as the Franks’ two sons are all Hill alums) have taken The Hill’s commtment ot communtiy service by its students and pushed it one step further.

With the Frank’s gift of $35,000, The Hill has created a Student Philanthropy Council (SPC) that will ultimately be responsible for making grants to nonprofits serving the Pottstown area.  (Nearly 50 students applied for the 12 slots on the SPC.)  The SPC is spending this fall semester learning about philanthropy, culminating with releasing requests for proposals.  In the spring, members of the SPC will make applicant site visits and ultimately distribute a total of $10,000 in grants to three to five Pottstown area.  Over the next two years, the SPC will distribute the remaining $20,000. According to The Hill’s research, no other high school in the country has a program like this.  (A small number of colleges, however, do).

Why?  How many high schools have stock market clubs and/or classes that give students real money to play the stock market?  (Oh, the lessons they are learning this semester!)  How many of Future Business Leaders of Tomorrow, Future Teachers of Tomorrow, Future whatever of Tomorrow and every kind of service club imaginable?   And yes, many of the clubs regularly hold car washes and bake sales, but most often the proceeds go to fund the clubs activities, while infrequently do the proceeds make their way to a charitable purpose.  But even when the latter does happen, it is a very different “learning” than will come from the work the Franks are funding and The Hill is implementing.

At The Hill, students will learn about serious philanthropy, the kind that involves coming to an understanding of the needs of a community and the nonprofits that exist to meet those needs.  They will learn the difficulties of having a zero sum pie and a need and demand that far exceeds that pie; and they will learn how to assess the goodness of the business of a nonprofit—which we all know is vastly different than the goodness of its mission—and then make the tough choice of saying yes to some and no to others.  They will at a very early age learn to be very good philanthropists. And while I have nothing but praise for the Franks, The Hill, the students who applied and those who were selected for the SPC, I cannot help but wonder why The Hill is the only high school in this vast country of ours with such a program? 

(Originally printed in the Pottstown Mercury, 11/15/08)