It seems the not-for-profit sector needs a good PR campaign. I work with interns and none of them want to pursue a career in the sector. I’m here to tell you: you’re missing out! NFPs are rich and exciting places to work. You get to come to work every day and create real change. That is extremely rewarding. As part of my work, I get to write the success stories of new Canadians. I hear about the very real ways that my organization has helped them find meaningful work commensurate with their experience. Pretty powerful stuff.

I’m thankful to work in the NFP sector. Perhaps you might consider it too...

Myths:

Charities don’t play by the same rules as the private sector.

Wrong! We are a business. In the same way that you have policies and procedures, we do too! We are an organization and work like one. Instead of working for a bottom line, we work to make an impact in people’s lives.

Everything is slack and puppies and rainbows

Well, this is kind of back to number one. But, my office is no different than yours. We have shit to get done! We’re not sitting around singing kumbaya and just hoping for some miracle that social change will happen. Not-for-profit work is tough - you’re busy! I have no time for puppies and rainbows. I’m making real change in the world over here.

I cure cancer and feed starving children in developing countries

Nope! We are so fortunate to live in a country where there are many social services available to us. Charities step in to support those who may have fallen through the cracks. Those who are in need of assistance - whatever that may be. In some cases, it’s not people - it’s the environment, animals, justice. Look around your neighbourhood and I think you’ll discover lots of faces in need of help. And, hopefully you’ll also see many places who are there to provide it.

Truths:

People who work at charities wear many hats

My title is Marketing and Communications Coordinator. Beyond what you might imagine I do, I also do lots more. I’m a fundraiser. An event planner. An internal communications specialist. A graphic designer. A community manager. A project manager. One of the reasons I love working in the not-for-profit sector is this very thing - I get the opportunity to work with different teams on different projects. There’s always something new and I get to work on it!

You work with talented and passionate people

NFP organizations are stocked with talented people who are passionate about what they do. Someone recently said of our organization that we have excessive passion capital. I wouldn’t say it’s excessive, but I work with awesome people. My colleagues are there to make good things happen and the synergy in our office is remarkable.

Great work-life balance

I have a great work-life balance because I get to live my passion when I come into work. I don’t dread going to work because I am passionate about the work we do. I know that we have impact on the people we serve. That gets me out of bed every morning. I work hard, and then I go home. And that’s all we can expect of ourselves. Sure, as community manager I respond to tweets, etc outside of office hours but it hardly seems like work. (I get excited about social media notifications.)

If you’re looking for meaningful work in the public, private or NFP sector, check out bmeaningful - a site for jobs with impact.