Wisconsin Nonprofits website aims to promote and celebrate the nonprofit communities— the work they do, the people they serve, and the services they provide. The Wisconsin nonprofit website is actively involved in numerous online educational projects.

How to have a successful career in nonprofit

You must be a multitasker because of stretched resources. If you get your satisfaction out of non-material things, this is a great career track.

You must learn how to motivate volunteers and staff who are there for idealistic rather than monetary reasons. I tend to motivate them around an issue or an injustice rather than a product; the power in that is strong (for the right people).

I find I am able to build strong credibility when I can speak from personal experience and bear witness to the appalling situation that most of our planet’s population is forced to live in.

One of the biggest challenges is burnout. Not only are resources very limited, which means a person works harder or does more than one person might be tasked with a profit-making organization, but at the same time, that person isn’t getting paid for what they do. Add to this that more and more of the responsibility of guarding society’s well-being is being shifted from governments to the nonprofit sector creating intense competition for the scarce financial and human resources.

Words of Advice If You Are Considering This Career Path

More and more nonprofits are trying to be run like private sector businesses, and we’re seeing nonprofits more in the MBA curriculum too—in courses and in cases within courses.  Look for evidence that these issues are part of the discussion throughout the curriculum and not just one course, as though nonprofit issues are distinct entities 100% of the time. They have the same business problems other organizations have, perhaps more amplified.

I’ve come to realize that there’s not one bottom line; there are many bottom lines.  A nonprofit manager needs not only to raise and manage funds but must also try to gauge how best to address complex societal problems through programming and advocacy aimed at multiple audiences. Keep Reading.