Secrets of Nonprofit Life

In the last five years, I have been blessed to tell people that I work at a nonprofit. Sometimes, they understand (usually because they have worked at a nonprofit at one time or another), but often, I get the look of confusion...So, I have compiled a list of things that people don't know about working at a nonprofit:

1. Some nonprofits are awesome. Some are not. Right now, I feel like I am at one of the best nonprofits (our church) that I have ever seen. The respect that I recieve from the pastor is beyond anything I could have expected.

2. There is rarely a clear and organized structure of power. There is an Executive Director (and possibly other directors) and a Board. It often gets tricky as to whom in in charge of what. This leads to some confusion for staff and the community when it comes to making large decisions.

3. Just because they have budgets does not mean they have money. Nonprofit means just that...at the end of the fiscal year, they make no profit from the work that they do. Every penny is spoken for.

4. Being a nonprofit that is considered a charity does not mean that we are required to give you a handout. You should still treat us with respect and know that we can say no to helping you. With that being said, we really do want to serve you, to help you overcome your barriers and to see you succeed. But sometimes, success does not come in the form of a check. However, most often, we really just do not have the means to help (See #3.)

5. Just because it looks like a desk job doesn't mean it is. I know plenty of people who work at a nonprofit and put in tons of hours of physical labor. Often, we don't hire movers because we don't have the money. We do a lot of our own IT work, maintenance work, cleaning work, lawncare, etc. In my old job, I serviced the elevators, went up on the roof to work on the air conditioners, salted sidewalks, had my husband mow the lawn, cooked for kids, etc. I was the IT person, as well as the one who got the call when the alarm system went off. Just last week, at my job now, the pastor was snow blowing the sidewalk. It happens all the time, which feeds into #9.

6. More often than not, we are also the printers. That means that all brochures, flyers, and business cards are made, folded, and cut by us. Also, the mailings that you get, those are usually folded and stuffed by staff and volunteers. In the last five years, I have cut and/or folded over a million publications, I am certain. So, please be kind if there is a misprint, a misspelling, or a crooked fold.

7. Just because a place calls itself a nonprofit doesn't mean it is. Nonprofits are required to be registered with the state and are a real entity. Often, they have .org at the end of their web address, but they don't have to. And, many (but not all) can be checked with the Better Business Bureau. Just because they say they are a nonprofit, doesn't mean they are legit.


8. People who work at nonprofits generally spend half their time figuring out exactly what their job entails and the other half of the time doing it. Often, training is non-existant or consists of "here are some binders, read them and look through your office and when you're done, ask me any questions that you have." Additionally, policies and job descriptions change a lot at nonprofits. When you are operating using money that is donated or granted, they change the rules, so you change the rules. Fortunately, it seems to be betterment most of the time. So, if we say "I don't know" or "Let me ask so-and-so first" to something that seems like a very simple question, we probably really don't know.

9. There is usually twice as much work as there is staff to do the work. That means that sometimes, your phone call will get lost, your email will be unanswered, and your meeting may be forgotten. We are human beings. However, we have not forgotten you. And we are okay if you call, email or contact us again. However, if you try more than three or four times, we either haven't gotten to you yet and we have you on our to-do list, or we are ignoring you, but 99% of the time, we just haven't found the time. I promise.

10. People that work in nonprofits do so because they care. They do not make big money. No one begins working in nonprofits to climb the ladder or get rich or gain power. We are all just trying to serve people. However, like many other jobs, sometimes, people get worn down and tired. Nonprofit workers may grow exhausted more quickly than others, depending on the circumstances. It's called compassion fatigue. Please, give us the benefit of the doubt. We are often being called to do twenty things at once and we want to serve will all our hearts, but it can be tough.

So, hopefully, you now have just a slightly better idea of what goes on within the nonprofit world. Like many other industries, there is good and there is bad, there is easy and there is hard, but often people have the wrong opinion of what goes on at nonprofits. I have heard numerous people state that it's all a scam, that in nonprofits, people just pocket all the money donated, that it's all politics, etc. And, in some nonprofits, it may be true, but there is so much more that goes on...