Is it Time to Quit Your Nonprofit Job?

Many nonprofit employees stay at their jobs much longer than is healthy, making themselves martyrs for their nonprofit cause. All too often, this blind commitment to a cause can keep people in dead-end nonprofit jobs forever. What is a dead-end nonprofit job? It could be that envelope-stuffing gig you took right out of college, wide-eyed and idealistic, but now it’s time to pay your school loans back. It could be the job training center you work for that won’t listen to your ideas about bringing the clients up to par with technology. It could be the communications position you were excited about as an English major, yet no one will let you change the newsletter or start a blog. Maybe you’re just broke and tired of your ideas not being heard. Maybe it’s the desk and ancient computer you’re sitting at right now. Maybe it’s time you quit. If you’ve had it up to here, at least you’re not alone.

The Young Nonprofit Professionals Network just released a report called “Stepping Up or Stepping Out”, a survey of about 1000 young nonprofit professionals. The survey revealed that about half of current young leaders, i.e. the future of nonprofit leadership, plan to leave the sector altogether because of burnout, low salaries, no opportunities for promotion, and just plain stress. Here are some other reasons it might be time for you to kick your nonprofit job to the curb:

You’re no longer passionate about the cause. As people get older, wiser, more experienced, often their priorities change. Maybe you were gung-ho about women’s issues, but now you’re really psyched about the environment. Go where your passion takes you; that’s why you came to the nonprofit world in the first place!
Your role limits your opportunities. You might currently be an IT person, but you want to learn fundraising. Or you know that you want to be a program director in the next year but you’re a receptionist right now. There’s no reason you need to be an administrative assistant for three years. Ask for an upgrade or begin exploring your options based on the experience you’ve gained.
There are no opportunities for advancement. Perhaps you want to move up, but there is only one position above you, and that is the President. Or maybe you’re ready to move beyond your associate position into a director role with supervisory capacity. If promotion isn’t possible, maybe you need to move on to a bigger nonprofit with more advancement options.
You’re being blocked by your bosses. Many young leaders are trying to develop themselves through additional training or finding mentors to help them in their nonprofit career, yet I have heard time and again about how they often get “blocked” by their bosses from doing it. One young woman asked her boss for permission to attend a free federal grantwriting seminar, because she knew it would help the organization later as she advanced in her job. Her boss not only told her no, but said it was because the training would be “over her head” and she wouldn’t understand anything. I couldn’t believe that in a sector where we are helping people, there are some folks who are so “threatened” that they are preventing the development of future leaders. If you’re surrounded by haters, it may be best to leave that organization behind!
You’re not receiving a fair salary. How do you know? Because you’ve had to eat PB&J for lunch the last three weeks. Not cool. See these helpful nonprofit salary guides for the market rate for nonprofit positions in DC and NY from Professionals for Nonprofits.

Now let me assure you, dear readers, that I am not advocating young people leaving the nonprofit sector, but that we need to make good decisions about where we spend our time within the sector. There are too many nonprofits we can work for that we should be able to be happy and work toward a cause. We deserve challenge, recognition, and a fair day’s wages. I mean, let’s face it. Young people working in nonprofits today did not go to graduate school to make copies all day, they came to make a difference. And if your nonprofit is not helping you do that, then it may be time to say goodbye.

Have you had an experience where it was hard for you to leave your nonprofit job? Please share in the comments!

http://twitter.com/laurenelizab Lauren E. Price

Right on, Rosetta. I agree with all of these. As it relates to bullet 2, my experience thus far has been that I get out of my nonprofit jobs exactly as much as I am willing to put into them — not in terms of sweat equity, but in terms of creativity, innovation, and being willing to apologize rather than ask permission to try something better for the sake of the mission. Just because my current job doesn't include a skill I want to build (managing staff, for example) doesn't mean I can't create a role to build those skills that serves my nonprofit's needs (starting and managing a great internship program, for example). I recognize I've had terrific managers, but I hope that young professionals like us will be willing to take a few risks and ADVOCATE FOR OURSELVES before simply throwing in the towel at a particular place of employment. Hope to meet you at YNPN National in Denver!
meandjoanielee

Yes! I feel like almost all of the items listed above described my position at my org. Although I felt conflicted about leaving, I quit two weeks ago and haven't looked back. I don't miss it. I am currently working a part time job, cutting my expenses and taking a job overseas at the end of the summer. In the meantime I am working on personal issues, taking time, having fun, relaxing and having space to think about what I really want to do. It is the best decision I have ever made.
http://twitter.com/blackgirlinmain Blackgirlinmaine

I am dealing with this right now except I am closer to middle aged and I am the Executive Director. Which sounds nice except its a small organization and I have a board that is fearful of growth, I have been in my position 18 mos but am starting to feel rather ambivalent about my position. The salary is low yet our budget is small but with a board unwilling to do anything other than rely on grants real growth will not happen. Anyway this was a timely piece for me.
http://blog.spicersconsulting.com Scott Spicer

Rosetta- I think what you've written here is very useful and it is important that we engage in these conversations at this time in particular. One piece of advice I would gave to YNP's who are in the position that many of us are- including myself: while you feel uninspired or stuck in your non profit job and the job market is so bad right now- diversify your portfolio by engaging with non profits outside of work in leadership capacities. Get on the Board of Directors at another local agency, connect with projects that you can take the lead on as a volunteer and find out about efforts amongst your colleagues where you can practice your innovative skills that may not be exercised at your day job. This can get the attention of your supervisors and open up the possibility for new more solid job opportunities. There's much more to say about what all of us in the non profit sector have been dealing with over the past 8 years, but for now I'll leave it at that. Thanks for what you do.
http://www.rosettathurman.com/2010/11/when-youre-doing-the-right-work/ When You’re Doing the Right Work | Rosetta Thurman

[...] people even end up being martyrs for the cause, burning out and quitting their nonprofit job out of [...]
http://twitter.com/prakash496 Prakash.TV

Rosetta, you have hit the hammer right at the center of the nail. I have been discouraged by the constantly autocratic form of non-profit leadership above my head and i have been trying to get out for a while. I stumbled upon your article as i was researching what my options were.. Thank you for sharing this with us all.. ~ prakash
http://Prakash.TV
Jacqueline

Thank you for this. My experience as a person of color in non-profits has been pretty negative. It’s clear that non-profits lag behind the for-profit world on issues of diversity leadership. There is also a lot of abuse of authority which is not in line with the written values of organizations. I have become very pro-union. Non-profit workers should explore unionization to help force change because it’s not happening fast enough. There’s a real conflict when we work for improving the world, when the environments we work in are often dysfunctional or political autocracies. There are no checks and balances in many non-profits. Workers who are subject to clear injustices have no where to turn to resolve issues because there is no HR infrastructure in place. I have seen so many people of color leave, due to negative experiences, which if taken collectively, signal a systemic and cultural problem in the non-profit sector.

I am leaving my current position where I have been bullied by my supervisor while the leader of the organization has looked the other way. My experience has been so traumatic that my physical and mental well-being has suffered tremendously. I finally decided to leave because my supervisor was harrassing me daily by giving me multiple large projects to be executed at the same time with little to no turn-around time or resources of support; preventing me from using my interns to help execute projects; requiring me to work around the clock year round just to keep my job. Any attempts I made to clarify priorities would be met with hostility and anger. It has been a nightmare situation. I had to make a choice between my life/personal well-being and my job. I chose my life. I don’t know if I will ever work in non-profit again.
http://twitter.com/bsaunders bsaunders

I’ve found two career needs that I think are very difficult to address in the nonprofit world: 1) the desire to work on products rather than services, to make things. (It took me a while to understand that as distinct.) 2) The desire to be a professional specialist rather than a manager. (As far as I can see, one can be a consultant, but there are very few senior team positions that do not include managing others.)