I graduated from college in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003 -- a time when good non-profit work seemed impossible to come by (I was applying for some entry level jobs that received over 500 applications) and there didn't seem to be much guidance as far as how to go about it. Although there are more resources out there today than there were in 2003, I still get lots of questions from well-meaning college students and for-profit professionals who want to break in to the non-profit world. As someone who hires (for full-time positions and internships), and as someone who loves seeing people work for progressive causes, I'm happy to help.
This is my attempt at providing some answers. It's long overdue, and will be up for an eventual revision... It's also way too long to put in one post, so look for the next installment later this week (I'm on vacation, can you tell?) that will cover how to find a job and how to get paid!
Also, I'll be asking friends for their feedback as far as how this framework might apply to other organizations like trade associations, unions and hill jobs.
Types of non-profits
There are 28 different types of non-profit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes as defined by U.S. Internal Revenue Code. The most useful distinctions for the D.C.-bound employee:- 501(c)(3): a non-profit, educational, religious or charitable organization (giving money to a 501(c)(3) organization can be used as a tax deduction)
- 501(c)(4): a political non-profit organization (no tax deductions)
Separately
- a PAC is an organization that supports or opposes particular candidates partial to their issues
- and a 527 generally does issue-based politics... Check out some of the larger ones
In the world in which I work, most of the non-profits are in fact a collection of organizations organized under each of these banners (e.g.: the Center for American Progress (c)(3) and the Center for American Progress Action Fund (c)(4)), allowing the organization to maximize its work both in educating the public (typically (c)(3) work), lobbying Congress (typically (c)(4) work), and working to support causes (527 groups) or providing financial support to candidates or political parties (PACs).
An organization that is set up under multiple umbrellas generally might have clear roles defined for specific employees, and how much work they will do that falls under either umbrella. The point is, if the job description reads like it's purely educational (501(c)(3)), but the organization has a 501(c)(4) under its umbrella, you might want to ask how the two work together and how that might affect your role.
Do you know what kind of work you want to do? If not, perhaps working for an organization with these layers might give you some good exposure to both.
In my current role, which is almost entirely (c)(3) work, there are often direct ties to current legislation, which gives me opportunities to speak on the hill or to members of Congress, which is then allocated to the (c)(4) payroll of my organization. I appreciate that my job isn't entirely political, lets me focus on my issue, and yet I feel satisfied that my work is making a difference -- I can see the application directly.
Types of non-profit work
I've never really seen a resource that provides a framework for this, or I would happily refer you to it. But, generally speaking, there are some clearly defined areas of work that seem fairly universal to non-profits. For the larger non-profit, whole teams and divisions are devoted to these areas, while smaller non-profits (5-10) people can only devote one or two staff per area. Accordingly, it feels like it's easier to find entry-level jobs for people with less experience in the larger non-profits. Internships, on the other hand, are much easier to come by.- Programmatic: These are the folks who work on the special educational efforts of the organization. They are issue experts, who may or may not have an academic background in the area but do have some qualifying relevant experience to the issue. For example, an environmental scientist who examines and determines the strengths and weaknesses of the Clean Air Act given today's realities. These are the people who really know the issues at the heart of the organization, and know the issue experts in their field. From the entry-level perspective, positions are either administrative/assistant-work or non-technical research.
- Development/Fundraising: These are the people responsible for ensuring that everyone in the organization gets paid, in addition to the overhead. Either they work directly with the organizations membership (focusing on the low-dollar membership vehicle), or they focus higher up the financial support level, focusing on major donors, public or private grants, financial or in-kind sponsorships from organizations and businesses, and fundraising events.
- Communications: These are the people responsible for getting the message out, by media relations and oversight of the organization's media including member communications, the website and other marketing materials. You'll find people with skills in writing, editing, public speaking and visual design (and the larger the organization, the more likely you'll find these roles to be split). For the entry-level employee, you'll find positions that help develop contact lists, pull together materials for press events, do broad-spectrum searches on the daily news as it pertains to your issues, etc.
- Political: These are the folks who strategize about how to get legislation partial to the organization passed: the language of the bill, who should be the lead and co-sponsors of the bill, how to get votes for the bill, and how to support the legislators that support it. From the entry-level end of things, you'll find lots of administrative support and coordinator jobs that help carry out the organization's efforts. You don't always have to have hill experience for an entry-level job, but you should definitely have your wits about you as far as how things generally work in Congress, and who the Congressional leaders are.
- Legal/Counsel: These are the folks who a: make sure that the organization's activities and efforts are legal with respect to what non-profits can and can't do and b: serve as experts on particular legislation and how it fits into or changes existing law. I haven't seen much in terms of entry-level work in this area unless it's an administrative position, unless you're a law student or law grad. Perhaps there is more room for paralegals?
- Executive/Management: There's always need at the top for the C-Suite-type positions (CEO, CFO, CMO, etc) that largely oversee the entire organization's activities. Again, not much for the entry-level except for executive assistant-type positions.
- Administrative/Finance/Operations:: Like every other business, you need people to handle the day-to-day activities that keep the organization going, from managing the organization's facilities and handling in-house events to managing bank accounts and tax records. Entry-level positions here are as one might expect them to be; if you have experience in event management, finance or accounting, there are entry-level positions to be found.
- IT: I put this in its own category, although it could probably fit in the last category, probably just because I personally think this is the area that most non-profits stand to gain the most from. We're in a world where technology can vastly alter the way a small organization (like most non-profits) can operate, and how they can get their message out. From salesforce.com, 37Signals and Google, technology solutions are exploding and changing the game -- it will be up to the IT professionals, in many ways, to identify the right solutions and bring non-profit workers along with implementation and extensive training. Good luck!
The hard part is, of course, finding a job, getting the job, and getting paid for it all. Look for my next installment later this week!
In the meantime, I'd love to hear feedback as to how helpful this is. Are there any changes that you might suggest? Questions that you still have about the information above? Let me know!
Labels: careers, non-profit work, non-profits
posted by samir @ 15:39
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