Nonprofit Leadership Is More Profitable Than it Might Seem

Many people believe that running a nonprofit organization is honorable but hardly profitable. Why would a person want to waste his or her time saving the world when there is more money to be had in for-profit business management? This is inaccurate, as independent studies show that nonprofit work is lucrative, and those managing the organizations feel better about what they do.

Nonprofits Need Good Talent, Too

Those who argue against managing a nonprofit organization have a misunderstanding that charity work is not competitive. According to an article on New England College’s website, however, many nonprofit organizations solicit for quality talent as aggressively as Fortune 500 companies do. These organizations do more than fundraise, and they have as much of a need for topnotch managers, finance, marketing and communications, and policy personnel as major corporations do. They’re businesses, too, and they understand the need and are willing to pay for this talent.

Nonprofits Are Growing

Another incorrect assumption is that there isn’t a viable job market for those looking to manage in nonprofit work, which is also untrue. Statistics show that the charity sector makes up 9.2 percent of wages and 5.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in the United States. This contradicts the assumption that there aren’t jobs available for those looking to work in the nonprofit sector. There appear to be plenty of opportunities, which makes it easy to find good-paying work supporting something for which a person has a passion.

Retirement Will Open More Jobs

NEC also reports an anticipated increase in job openings for the nonprofit sector due to the current workforce retiring. As managers leave their posts, a leadership gap in charitable work is expected, and this opens the door to a new generation of workforce entering the job market. Employees may have to start at the bottom of their favorite charity, but with hard work and determination, it’s expected they’ll rise through the ranks quickly. Earning a master’s degree gives workers a better chance for promotion, so learn more about NEC’s masters in public policy, a degree in nonprofit leadership.

Unique Interdisciplinary Structures

As employees rise through the ranks, they’ll discover that nonprofit work is far from boring, and it isn’t because they are fighting for a cause. Part of the reason why it is assumed that charity work doesn’t pay well is because these organizations staff minimally to ensure that more money goes toward their purpose. Those working within the organizations work outside of their job roles, including managers, which helps employees gain valuable experience and job skills. The more a person knows about everything the nonprofit does, the better chances to manage it when the opportunity arises.

When you review the research and the statistics resulting from it, it appears that there is a lot of misinformation being disseminated about nonprofit management. This is not only a rewarding career. It is also a profitable one. Charitable organizations need the talent to bring in money as much as Wall Street businesses do, and they don’t have people organizing “occupy” movements against them because they work hard to better the world.