Designing Your Nonprofit Career
by Lauren Canary, CNP. Central Michigan Bachelor of Science in Public and Nonprofit Administration and Religion Graduate of 2022.
Follow Lauren on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-canary/
When designing a nonprofit career, you have to ask yourself several questions. What is my passion and how can I live it out every day? What do I care about and why do I care about this issue? If I care about the environment, ask yourself why? Continue asking yourself why five times and you will conclude on why this social issue matters to you as well as the unique importance it has in your life. My name is Lauren Canary, CNP and my “why” is creating safe worship spaces where everyone is loved and accepted for who they are, just as they are. I live out my “why” in a variety of forms, my favorite being through mission work within the United Methodist Church. This is what I am designing my career around as well as it being a passion of my own.
Below I have outlined five steps that I believe will help create and foster the growth of a nonprofit professional as they tackle the obstacle of designing their career and life goals. This is an extremely personal journey as nonprofit work comes from the heart. If you do not love what you are doing, change what you are doing.
Step One: Find An Existing Nonprofit That Aligns With Your Passions
There are thousands of nonprofits that currently exist right outside your door, each with different values and missions that most likely align with your passions. If you love animals more than anything, find a nonprofit that cares for abandoned pets. If your passion is elderly folks, locate a nonprofit that makes the elderly feel beautiful by doing their hair. If you care deeply about educating children on cyberbullying, find a nonprofit that teaches prevention programming to schools. Whatever your passion is, find the place where it is being lived out by others.
Step Two: Be A Sponge Within An Existing Nonprofit
Once you have found the nonprofit that aligns with your passion, it is time to get involved. Participate by volunteering with the organization in whatever capacity you can. Bring friends with you to volunteer and actively connect with the community you are serving. Learn about others who are working and volunteering at the nonprofit and discover why this mission resonates with them. If you are able, donate more than just your time- whether that is financially or in-kind donations- anything you can donate is extremely beneficial to the organization.
As you develop relationships within the nonprofit, look for ways to grow in leadership. Are there programs that you can spearhead? Is there a fundraising goal they are trying to meet that you can help support? What connections do you have outside of this nonprofit that can be brought in? As you navigate this space, pay attention to what challenges you see this nonprofit facing. Where are some areas that can be improved and what does the staff have to say about the working atmosphere? All of these questions will be answered with time and connection to others.
As you grow in leadership at a pre-existing nonprofit, pay attention to what is working well, such as donor relationships but also notice cracks within the organization such as the ED not delegating. These are things that will be important to remember later in your career. So write them down or record them somewhere for future reference which can be extremely helpful. Be a sponge and absorb as much information as you can within the different avenues of an existing nonprofit.
Step Three: Network!!
The biggest growth opportunity as a professional in the nonprofit sector is networking. Connect to anyone you can whether that is through luncheons, community events or online. The more contacts you have, the better off you will be. By attending other people’s events and getting yourself out there, it makes you look like you want to be involved. The individuals hosting the event will remember you were there to support them and will be more inclined to help you out later.
As you network and build connections, ALWAYS use someone’s name if possible. If you are able, remember little details about them such as what their family looks like, vacations they may have planned or their favorite sports team. Remembering things not pertaining to their work shows that you are more interested in who they are as a person and that you are not there only for organizational gain. People like to know they have made an impression on others and will feel important to you.
By creating relationships with others, there are chances for unlikely collaborations, new donors, or support in a variety of forms. Networking is one of the best things you can do as an individual or organization. It not only gets you connected to others with similar passions, but also can be an asset in a future event or programming initiative.
Step Four: Apply For The Jobs That You Do Not Think You Are Qualified For
Apply, Apply, Apply! Now that you have seen the innerworkings of successful nonprofits, met others in the field and discovered what your passion is, it is time to buckle down and get to the real work. Go back to school and obtain the education necessary to successfully lead a group, nonprofit or program. Dig deep while asking the harder questions to yourself and others such as why is this an ongoing problem? Why is our mission, our mission and what are the root problems that are creating a systematic issue? As you gain this education, start looking into jobs that you feel called to work.
When looking into nonprofits and applications, pay special notice to the organizations’ mission, values and vision. What are they currently prioritizing and where do they hope to be in five years? Ten years? Do they have enough funds to support the work they are doing? Does it seem like a good fit when it comes to the staff and organization as a whole? If everything checks out, apply.
Apply to the hard jobs that you do not feel qualified for. Apply for the harder jobs that seem impossible. Reach out to nonprofits that align with you and ask if they are hiring. Follow up with individuals in your network and learn of different opportunities. There is no harm in applying and following through the interview process. Each interview is a chance to become more confident in your abilities, help you define your strengths and learn about different things happening in the community around you. Hold yourself to a high standard and do not settle for a job just because they offer it to you.
By knowing your own career goals, you can be picky about the nonprofit that you go to work for. As you volunteered for an organization prior to applying, you already know what your expectations are. You know your passions and by applying for a wide range of jobs, you are able to find the best fit for you & your lifestyle.
Step Five: Stay Positive And Check In With Yourself To Avoid Burnout
Congrats! You did it! You discovered your “why” pertaining to your passion and set intentions in career aspirations. You expertly navigated the nonprofit world from volunteer to donor, all the way up to an employed nonprofit professional. Take a deep breath and congratulate yourself but now is when the real work begins. Put your education to use, utilize your ever-growing network and help foster growth in someone just starting their nonprofit journey.
There will be pitfalls and obstacles that set you back, but expect them. Take a step back to assess the situation and then go tackle it. Keeping a positive attitude is critical as the work you are doing can often be hard, stressful, and overwhelming because it matters. You are changing the trajectory of people’s lives and the work being completed is imperative. Keeping a positive outlook and recognizing that you will not know the answer to everything is imperative.
Check in with yourself, especially in the beginning as you will have tons of excitement and an urge to do all the things. Pace yourself and recognize when you need a break or are losing your passion. Burnout is real and will happen. It is perfectly normal to become exhausted with your work but having support from fellow nonprofit professionals, family and friends can help resolve some of the burnout. Believe in yourself and the work you are doing, it is incredibly important and matters.
Overall, as a new nonprofit professional, I have learned that when designing your nonprofit career, you have to trust yourself and know yourself. Learning why your passions are what they are will help set you up for a career rooted in dedication and love. Learning from others and absorbing any information you can, will help you avoid some mistakes but also shed some light on how the sector works and operates. Creating a network with a diverse group will demonstrate different benefits to everyone while creating an atmosphere of collaboration and support. Trusting yourself and the education you hold will help you feel confident in applying for your dream job despite how qualified you feel. You have the power to choose where you will end up through hard work and perseverance. At the end of the day, we are all trying our best to improve our world and keeping a positive outlook on life will help keep us motivated in a healthy manner. It is a hard career to plan for, but it is a selfless career that is significant to the improvement of the world around you.
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