April 27, 2009
Conference Notebook: Young People Urged Not to Give Up on Nonprofit Careers
By Caroline Preston
Washington
The economic crisis is shaking up the nonprofit world in ways that are making it more difficult for young workers to find jobs but could also present them with new and unusual opportunities to advance, said speakers and participants at a conference here that wrapped up on Saturday.
“Business as usual is out,” said Diana Aviv, president of Independent Sector. “You may have thought that long before the economic crisis, but now you’ll have a lot of executives who will be interested in the kinds of solutions you have in mind. This is the time for creativity and innovation.”
Nearly 200 nonprofit workers, most in their 20s and 30s, attended the annual conference of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network. Sessions that focused on how young people can advance their careers and work effectively with people of other generations were similar to those at the network’s past year’s conferences, but they took on a darker hue because of the economy.
Speakers said that the sour economy is leaving some employers more open to the sort of feedback Ms. Aviv described but causing others to hunker down and enter survival mode. They encouraged young workers to push their employers to look for new approaches and embrace risky ideas.
Helping their bosses discover new technology is one way for younger employees to shine, speakers said. But Frances Kunreuther, who leads the Building Movement Project, which seeks to strengthen social-change organizations, said she worried that nonprofit leaders were taking a too-narrow view of the contributions younger employees can make and that they need to more fundamentally restructure their organizations to cultivate young leadership.
“When we think about multigenerational organizations, most people are thinking about millennials who ‘tweet,’” she said, referring to Twitter, the social-media site that allows people to send short updates on what they are doing and thinking to people who sign up for their profile.
Ms. Kunreuther encouraged the audience to think about other ways the nonprofit world would change over the next year or two. She described how donors today are less interested in how “unique” a charity is and more interested in how it is working with other organizations to produce change.
“That language is going to be completely different over the next year,” she said.
Leadership Gap
She and other speakers talked about the much-publicized “leadership gap” at nonprofit groups. The Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit organization, published a survey last week that said that 28 percent of charities have plans to fill senior-level positions this year.
While some speakers said the leadership gap would mean more jobs for young people, others talked about whether the bad economy was shrinking that gap or whether it ever really existed at all.
“We’re not seeing it,” said Ms. Kunreuther. She described how older workers who had left the nonprofit world for other jobs were migrating back to nonprofit groups and how graduate programs in nonprofit management were seeing a big jump in applicants.
But others talked about how the economic crisis could present new opportunities. Rick Moyers, director of programs at the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, said some younger workers are getting “cool new jobs” because seasoned employees are leaving their positions or have been laid off.
“That’s not the best way to get professional development opportunities, but it’s a way,” he said. Mr. Moyers said he was promoted just a few months ago because his predecessor left for another organization and the Meyer Foundation couldn’t afford to hire anyone new.
Executive directors are under massive stress right now because of the economy, he said, and some are simply walking away from their jobs. “This crisis is like the straw that broke their backs,” he said.
Other speakers urged young workers to enter nonprofit work now, even in a job that is far less than ideal, because when the economy rebounds, the opportunities for growth will be big.
Speakers also fielded questions from young people who worried that executive directors and other top leaders were never going to retire. Glen O’Gilvie, chief executive of the Center for Nonprofit Advancement, said there was no easy way to approach a conversation about succession planning, which he described as almost as delicate a subject as talking planned giving with board members.
“I think what helps make leaders feel they can leave is when their organization is stable,” he said.
Don’t Give Up
Young people attending the conference also heard another refrain: Don’t leave the nonprofit world, even though times are tough. People in their 20s and 30s are often considered “sector hoppers,” unwilling or uninterested in staying in one job or one type of organization for too long.
Speakers said they were concerned that the economic crisis and the strain it is putting on workers will accelerate that trend. But never in recent memory has the nonprofit world needed good leaders as much as it does today, said Independent Sector’s Ms. Aviv.
“We need smart, connected people who are interested in making the world a better place,” she said. Ms. Aviv said she understands just how challenging the work is, ending her speech with a poem entitled, “I’m Tired, I’m Whipped.”
But as young people think about career options, Ms. Aviv said, “Think about the difference you’re making.”
Ms. Aviv also cautioned the nonprofit world against going the way of the South African wine industry during apartheid, when it lost its edge by not being able to trade with and learn from winemakers in other countries. Ms. Aviv, who grew up in South Africa, said she was worried that charities were cutting travel costs, subscriptions, and training.
“If you don’t know what others are doing, you don’t move forward,” she said.
Obama’s Role
Speakers also discussed other big trends affecting the charity world, including the Obama administration’s approach to nonprofit issues.
Ms. Aviv discussed the administration’s proposal to limit deductions that wealthy people can take for their charitable donations. Her group has said the plan would dampen giving, but Ms. Aviv said she hoped the nonprofit world could have a broader debate about the sacrifices wealthier taxpayers will have to make to pay for the sorts of social programs that many in the nonprofit world would like to see.
“We need to have a serious conversation about the revenue side and what price we’re willing to pay to have the revenue to do the kind of works we do,” she said, encouraging young people to get involved in those discussions. “Too often we’re focused in our self-interest.”
The mood at the conference was sober but hopeful. During an exercise in which participants were asked to stand between two ends of the conference room based on how optimistic or pessimistic they were about the nonprofit world’s future, most chose a place in the middle.
Conference participants, some of whom had recently been laid off, said they were concerned that the nonprofit world was shedding jobs and that charities were closing. But they said they were encouraged by President Obama’s emphasis on service.
Among other advice offered at the conference:
- Graduate school will get you a second look. Chuck Bean, executive director of the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington, described how he recently received more than 200 resumes for a job that paid $32,000. With so many applications to wade through, he said, “a good program will provide a leg up.”
- Wait at least two years before starting a new charity. Mr. O’Gilvie said now is not the time to be a fresh face approaching foundations.
- While opportunities to go to conferences and get additional training are generally viewed as an early casualty of hard economic times, some speakers said they were investing more in professional development as they lay off staff members and give remaining employees new responsibilities. “My commitment to professional development in 2009 is greater than my commitment in 2008,” said Tamara Lucas Copeland, president of Washington Grantmakers.
Many people at the conference said they were committed to the field, although some spoke of frustrating experiences within their organizations.
A few people who started their careers with arts groups said they planned to broaden their skills so they could find jobs with organizations that were on more-solid financial footing.
After losing a job and witnessing a merger go awry, Emily Martin of Grand Rapids, Mich., said she was probably going to leave nonprofit work, perhaps for a job in government.
“I see a lot of problems that will have a hard time being addressed in this economy,” she said, citing how understaffed some organizations were and how little room there was for growth.
Comments
Commenting is closed for this article.
Previous: President Signs National-Service Bill and Issues Call to Volunteer
Next: MacArthur Foundation Awards Prizes to 'Creative and Effective' Small Charities Around the World
Sorry, but there’s no way I am staying in the nonprofit sector when I can make more and be treated better in the for-profit world. If I were to stay in nonprofit, I’d be in the same low-level, go-nowhere position in 10 years as I am now. How am I to ever buy a house or support a family like that?
I bust my butt to do exceptional work and be recognized, but have experienced that my drive to succeed is a detractor in this sector, not the reverse as it should be. Though I may be on a soap box now, I assure you I bring nothing to my workplace but a positive attitude, 60-hour-a-week work ethic/dedication and creativity in all that I do.
Nonprofits want people who will do (a lot) more for (a lot) less pay, and shut the heck up about it. I am not swept under the rug so easily, nor are my generational counterparts.
— Anonymous Apr 27, 01:49 PM #
Being passionate full-time about what you do is the best thing – but, working 60 hours a week is a sign of a workaholic – no matter if you are getting paid by a ‘for’ or ‘not-for’ profit organization.
— Melisa Apr 27, 02:34 PM #
For blog coverage of this event and emerging leaders perspectives see: http://www.rosettathurman.com
Also, the twitter feed for this event can be found here: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23ynpn09
— Heather Carpenter Apr 27, 02:50 PM #
It seems one of the key elements, for me, about working in the non-profit sector is the ability to directly affect positive change in my community… and the “community” that my organization is a part of connects through a national network of arts organizations. Sure, I could work with a for-profit corporation and make more $$, but my organization allows for flexible schedule (allowing me to pursue my own creative work), full health benefits (even though I work part-time) and the solace in KNOWING that my work with my organization is truly in support of a national arts sector AND my organization has the (not so) unique culture of a positive work environment where almost 100% of the staff are also practicing performing artists – including our Directors.
I’m 35 years old and have been with this organization as a grants manager for 5 years. I have seen many former staff members come and go, but the general retention level is quite high. This is due, I think, to the full understanding of the Directors that staff members DO have other options. However, our directors are highly engaged with the staff, supportive and even encouraging to former staff members who have moved on to other endeavors. There is a level of commitment from our staff that is not only matched by appreciative actions of our Directors, but fostered through a positive work environment and a belief that the work of our organization, and thus, each staff member individually, truly makes a difference through fulfillment of our mission and goals.
So for all of the 20-30 somethings out there… hang tight… follow what you believe, seek partnerships with leaders in the field and trust that the non-profit field continues to learn and grow… I am confident that it is our generation, in partnership with our current leadership, who can and will sustain the non-profit sector through this financial crisis and emerge a stronger field with an even greater ability to sustain the positive change that is happening now.
Good luck all… see you on the other side!
— SC Apr 27, 04:53 PM #
The baby boomers need to go. If all gen xer’s have to look forward to is to help senior leaders “discover new technology” then we are better served in the for-profit sector. Too many in upper management are more concerned with their next compensation increase than truly moving their organizations forward while the younger generation hops from org to org until graduate school is complete, then we can move to the for profit sectors where our talent and creativity (as will as tolerance for horrible management) are rewarded in both compensation and ownership of our work.
— anonymous Apr 28, 10:07 AM #
From my humble yet experienced view, a willingness to work 60 hour weeks is not an attribute that I find commendable. Instead I look for employees with a strong capacity for prioritizing and an ability to focus on what’s most important without getting distracted by seemingly urgent matters that do not give a return on investment. I want ppl who can find a work-life balance, not workaholics.
— Jim Clay Apr 28, 12:08 PM #
Thanks, Caroline, for this terrific roundup of comments from presenters and speakers at the YNPN conference. As a young nonprofit worker who did not attend this year’s conference, I appreciate your coverage.
— Regina Mahone Apr 28, 01:58 PM #
One of the toughest parts of non-profit development work is that it is not an area of work open to young people. Yes, “experience”/years alive is somewhat important, but 50-60 year old development directors are not willing to change their methods or the organization’s fundraising approach. As a young professional who has loved fundraising, I honestly believe I will never move up. How lawyers, financial advisors, and other for-profit professionals are more “qualified” than me, who has NPO experience, is ridiculuous. I think working in the for-profit sector for a few years then jumping over is going to be the norm as organizations and their staffs are unwilling to mentor and train the leaders of tomorrow.
— Anonymous Apr 28, 10:50 PM #
As a young person interested in fundraising and working on a graduate degree in Nonprofit Management, I believe it is extremely frustrating that every fundraising position requires experience. Young fundraisers need mentors to give them direction and help them earn experience. Further, young fundraisers are the future of the profession. I mean, how many young people do you see that actually say they want to have a career in fundraising? That is why we must mentor those that are interested and give them chances.
— Joe Apr 29, 10:24 AM #
As a soon to be ex-worker in a nonprofit I am insulted that I have an advanced degree yet because I only have two years of working experience I am relegated to an assistant position where I run mail lists and copy edit letters. Which I wind up rewriting completely for my “experienced” manager.
— anonymous May 7, 04:45 PM #