Thursday, August 26, 2010

    7 Tips for new or future nonprofit professionals

    I was recently highlighted as a guest on the My Nonprofit Experience blog, by Madelyn Anetrella. Her blog is excellent and I encourage you to check it out (...not just because she highlighted yours truly!). Thanks Madelyn!

    I won't share the entire post, but here's a list of seven tips for new/future nonprofit professionals

    Advice for future nonprofit professionals:

    1)
    Get involved in a nonprofit that you are passionate about and don’t work for… know what it is like to be a volunteer and/or donor to another NPO. This can often teach you more about how to (or how not to) treat your constituents.

    2)
    If you’re not on Twitter & Facebook, get there.

    3)
    Find someone to serve as a mentor within your organization. It will benefit you in many ways: a) learn from the mentorship; b) gain an advocate who has been with the organization longer – he/she will promote you and your ideas if they feel a sense of responsibility for your development; and, c) it can give you a better sense of what topics and decisions are critical to your NPO’s leadership.

    4)
    Find someone to serve as a mentor at another organization. In addition to the benefits of #3, you will broaden your network and be able to bring valuable ideas to the table at your NPO.

    5)
    Understand that red tape and bureaucracy is common at NPOs.

    6)
    Don’t just accept that red tape and bureaucracy is common at NPOs. You may not be able to change it all at your NPO, but having a “can do” attitude will go a long way.

    7)
    Get to meetings on time and do your homework before a meeting. I often hear from NPO professionals that meetings eat up too much time and rarely start on time. Prepare your information, know what you hope to accomplish in the meeting and be on time.

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