I was reached out to by a recruiter (external agency) for a nonprofit a few weeks ago. When he sent me the job description, I noticed that the posted salary range was 70-75k, when I'm currently already making 75. I told him over the phone that I'm looking for at least 85k based on my experience and what I can bring to the role. He asked me if that was negotiable, at which point I said that yes I was willing to negotiate based on the rest of the offer package/benefits/etc.

I found out later in the process that he must have taken that as agreeing to a lower salary, because through LinkedIn messages with him I realized he'd initially submitted my salary expectations as 80k. The process moved very fast after that, and I got the written offer yesterday for 80k.

My question is - is there still room for me to ask for 85? That would be 10k higher than the highest end, but I don't know how comfortable I'd be accepting the offer at the 80k level. I'm currently employed so there's no urgency to get another job, although I am excited about the potential role and the company. And if I do ask for 85k, should I tell the recruiter my expectations or start negotiating directly with the company's HR who sent me the offer?

Long rant. I left the public affairs department at our city’s major museum for a development role at the smaller, but well-connected, contemporary art museum. This museum was founded in the early 2000s by the wife of a major funder who was frustrated at the lack of opportunities in the art world, even with financial backing. She passed away shortly after, and the museum has struggled ever since. Most recently, there was an open letter to the board about the toxic and abusive executive director, who was fired, and a co-director model took over.

I noticed red flags but ignored them. It was the classic story: moving goalposts, withholding information, canceled meetings and touchbasis, not reading monthly reports, ignoring emails, only functioning off the chat feature, and a total lack of support. I've been there for five months now and managed to correct government funds that had been misallocated for a capital project that was never started. I secured a $100k corporate donation (compared to about $25k in corporate funding from previous years) and got a multi-year donor on track to give next year. Alongside the fact they chose to not replace the grants manager so I was doing all the reporting applying and prospecting for the institution. And they put membership under me for fun I guess. Every accomplishment was met with, "It's not fast enough," "that seemed easy so you need to find more money", "was fhis even a priority " or "We have a cash flow issue, so you need to double your efforts."

Most recently, we had our Gala, which fell on my wedding day (planned before starting). I didn’t attend, but I offered to draft thank-you emails for the co-directors to make it easier afterward. Because of the constant demands, I didn’t get everything done. (I did stay until 8 PM the night before my wedding, time that I could’ve spent, I don’t know, actually preparing for my wedding?) I sent over the incomplete draft with placeholder text and a note: "Hey, didn’t finish, but here’s a start. Have a great Gala." The co-director ended up sending it out as is. To a lot of major contacts.

Today, Friday, I was called into a cramped finance office. (For context: this was not disclosed in the interview— all offices small shared spaces, no windows, no HVAC in a four-season climate that ranges from below 0 to over 90 degrees.) The contracted third-party HR did all the talking, and only one co-director was there, refusing to look at me. They said I’d received warnings, which I hadn't, that it should be no surprise I'm fired. It was. I had no feedback on my preformance outside one conversation in July were they told me to spend more time on proposals (how??) They fired me for poor communication and embarasing mistakes and mix ups.

A few takeaways:

1. Organizations don’t get less messy overnight. Let leadership prove itself before you give them the benefit of the doubt.

2. Never overextend yourself—any extra effort will just get criticized.

3. Always check those 990s. If they're in a deficit and doing a lot of hiring, there's a serious reality check needed.

Honestly, I could go on about how wild this experience has been, but here's the kicker: I got the termination letter criticizing me for "embarrassing mix-ups"—yet they spelled my name wrong and completely botched the check dates. The letter isn't on letter head and has inconsistent formatting. It uses unprofessional language it's so sloppy. Its like the definition of what they are citing for reasons I'm being fired. It would be insulting if it wasnt so stupid and therefore hilarious. Now, they’re telling staff that they appreciate and thank me for my efforts I moved for a better opportunity and the development role will be split among everyone’s responsibilities and are debating whether the role is even needed. (For context, this is an organization with a $2 million budget!)

Hey everyone! I’m a product designer with a background in healthcare and business, but I’m interested in exploring the nonprofit world, especially in creative roles. I’d love to hear from folks who work in nonprofits;

what’s it like in general? Are there any unique challenges or differences compared to the corporate world?

Also, if you have any advice on how to navigate the nonprofit space, especially from a product or creative perspective, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks so much in advance for any 💚

Hi everyone! I am in a new role but I want to apply to another job. Do I put my 3 month present role in the resume? Also, is it ok to quit on probation? Thanks

I've been in development roles for a while and want to make sure I'm not missing out on new ways to fundraise that could help my nonprofit. What are some new(ish) methods that people use to raise money these days?

I’ve been working for a nonprofit I myself was apart of for 3 months, We work within a vulnerable population. (Foster individuals) I was hired on due to lived experience. But I’m seeing things that just don’t align, the thought of leaving breaks my heart due to relationships built and formed with individuals that have been hard to reach before I started. Or director has an image in their mind of who they feel we need to pour into, we talk about helping those that have fallen through the cracks, but the ones that have fallen through the cracks are still the same ones they feel don’t need the same help in compared to those who are doing great (not saying they don’t deserved support) I had an instance of stalking when I started a member was getting aggressive and very calculated with timings of showing up in office, I was told they would not be apart of the organization anymore, and the opposite happened they were taken in and just put with someone else, due to very clear lies and manipulation (that can be shown via documenting done) Due to this we begged to have ID on file for everyone, so we know who we are working with, as a major part of the job is transporting individuals in our personal vehicles. A safe measure that was quickly shut down. Were mandated reporters however situations that need to be reported are covered and told to just leave alone and not rock the boat.

Financially the only one seemingly doing well is the director, with a new car brand new home built etc. which is awesome, until hearing that our books were flagged and they spent a day at the airport trying to fix them before anyone else could see them.

I debate on leaving but I’ve built relationships with the ones that nobody there will talk to, they want numbers to grow but won’t put the work into those numbers that are coming in unless they fit the mold, at this point we just have names in the system without any sort of outreach When it comes to events everything is last second, and employees are the ones that get the stress load from this, employees get the backlash when a major event isn’t fully executed in 2 weeks time.

This is my first run in with a nonprofit and honestly it has me not feeling great Does it get better? I love the work but feel like it’s not operating for the right reasons.

hello all! I run a 501c3 and am considering adding a 501c4 (action fund) to the org. does anyone have any resources on best practices, guidelines, etc. for this process? for example, do we need a separate website/instagram account? thank you!!

I recently started as a director of the University Annual Fund for my alma mater.
I have a background in sales, niche tax roles, director of recreation programming for a city, and customer service/coaching roles.

I believe I was hired for a few reasons.

1. I am an alum and donors like that kind of engagement.

2. I have an ambitious and go-getter mentality, which the boss appreciates.

3. I can be very engaging when speaking/meeting with people.

4. I have a history of running operations that have many moving parts that require planning and executing at different stages of projects throughout the year.

There may be other items, but those are likely key factors.

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed in the new role and really want to do well.... probably have a bit of first-year jitters and not knowing what I don't know, but I don't want things to crumble during my first year either just cause I overlook something.

I am curious about what is a good place to start learning about non-profits, terminology, logistics, strategies, etc.
I am hoping for something that is easy to digest and something I can build off of.
I love listening to books on Audible, podcasts, Youtube, etc.
Happy to look at courses as well.

There is ample experience on my team; however, we are small and mighty, so it feels hard to ask for help or pointers at times because they are all so packed themselves.

Often, I am tasked with something and start googling like a mad lad trying to find a viable answer. I then go off of that but I am unsure if whatever page I land on is just skewed or perhaps a viable resource..

Thanks in advance for tips and advice!

I called for a special meeting to address concerns about how complaints are handled and other items. this was not on the agenda but before I could start the meeting a board member stated the by laws didn’t have term limits and since it didn’t have term limits the default was one year. It was over one year since the last board.

The term has been 2 years for about 16 years. They over took my meeting and now I am no longer part of the executive board which is too coincidental with me bringing concerns to the board. We still had the meeting but as a board member by default I am still a board member due to by laws. What are your thoughts.

I'm the sole employee of a tiny community development nonprofit. We are well regarded locally and have even gotten national press for some of our projects and programming. My board is one-third fabulous, half good enough, and a couple that need to go.

I've largely dragged this np along through strength of will but we're at the point where A. I'm exhausted and need to hand some of this stuff off to the board and fresh volunteers and B. We cannot grow past where we are right now because I cannot take anything else on.

Many years ago we had three standing committees, but switched to project-driven, which solved a lot of issues for us at that time (so we're not going back to three standing committees).

In looking at the calendar to start scheduling planning meetings for our various projects and programming though, I'm not sure how many different meetings to schedule and how some of them could be combined.

Our projects largely fall into a few buckets:

Environmental (includes raising funds and planting and maintaining bio-diverse greenery and habitats for native pollinators in our urban community; raising funds to install bike racks to encourage biking; a compost initiative; running an organic community garden; advocacy, litter pick up days, etc.), Community Building (includes free community festivals to engage locals; free movie nights; etc.), Placemaking (raised funds and commission public art, both murals and sculptures - all nature/conservation themed; street banners that get recycled into tote bags after they become weathered and need to be replaced; public trash cans that we installed and pay someone to empty; directional signage; crosswalks installed, etc.) and Supporting Local (helping our local indie shops and businesses; conducting some combined marketing for the area; running a few activities a year to support our indie shops; etc.)

H E L P - I'm exhausting just typing all of that.

Any tips on how to consolidate meetings that make sense to consolidate? How many different meetings are too many?

Any ideas appreciated.

TLDR: the process for an entry-level position has been drawn out over three months and now they want a fourth interview and it’s breaking my brain and I’m wondering if this is indicative of the kind of work environment, I would be entering and I should run or if I’m overreacting.

I’m going to do my best to not be long-winded and I would appreciate other peoples perspectives, because I definitely don’t think I’m thinking with a clear head right now.

I currently work for a nonprofit doing a job that I am pretty good at, but don’t like that much. I applied for a position that is much more aligned with my skill set and passions at a museum downtown that is also a nonprofit. They have a second research location a few towns over that my spouse works at. So we would be working for the same company but in different locations and not really have anything to do with each other.

I applied for the job when it was posted in August, the deadline application date August 30. in my phone screening three weeks after that, the HR person told me that the timeline for this position would be the phone screening, a online interview, an in person interview, and then they would offer the job to someone the first week of November.

The job I currently work in is pretty specific, and the more notice that I could give to my current team that I am leaving, the less it would screw them over. they are all genuinely good people that have been very kind to me and I want to do everything I can to be respectful of that. I mentioned in both my in person interview last week, and in the phone screening well over a month ago, that I would like to give more than two weeks notice if possible.

When I mentioned this at the in person interview last week, my would be supervisor said something like it’s really important that this person start in November due to an event happening in December, but WHEN in November is flexible. I thought that was a little bit odd, because had I been offered the job today, I would be starting like right before everyone is off for Thanksgiving and it’s pretty much the end of November, but whatever, not my problem.

Then today I get an email informing me of the “good news” that I am a final candidate and it’s down to a 30 minute online interview with the head of the department who I have yet to meet. Apparently she’s going to give me a scenario that would be applicable to the position and that will pretty much be the whole interview.

So I’m getting the impression that this fourth interview was not part of their original plan, it’s probably down between me and one other person, they’re going to ask us this stupid hypothetical question, and pick a part our answers and choose one of us from that.

Assuming they like my answer better, they will probably offer me the position in mid November, which will mean I will be quitting my current job literally days before I’m supposed to travel across the country for a conference. I would have to bail out at the very last second I have been telling them since September that that is not something I feel comfortable doing like on a moral level.

I do want this job. It would be in line with my career goals in general much better than my current role, and if nothing else would look good on my résumé and point me toward similar things in the future hopefully. I like everyone I have met so far, my partner is happy working there, there are a lot of benefits. The pay would be about the same or slightly less than what I make now. Safety is somewhat of a concern in my current role and I would not have the same concerns in this new environment.

I’m really frustrated that they’re putting me through the wringer for what they listed as an entry-level position, and it feels disrespectful to my time at this point. This is not like a six-figure position that will make or break the company and it’s becoming a red flag to me that they are dragging at the process.

Separately, I’m having a really hard time processing all of that rationally. I am neurodivergent and I really struggle with unknown life changes. Like if I get this job, cool, if I don’t get it, I’ll be OK. But in this interim where I don’t know which one is going to happen I’ve been having a really hard time, focusing on my current role, other responsibilities, and I’m just really stressed out and disjointed and beyond frustrated that they have stretched this process out over three months at this point.

All the information I have from my partner experience working for this company, and how the day today was presented to me at the in person interview has reinforced that I do want this job. However, this convoluted-ass process has me concerned that I’m currently jumping through hoops for an employer that will not respect my time or conduct themselves in an organized fashion and then dump the fallout of that into my lap and that the expectations will not be reasonable.

Do you, and objective observer, feel that my concerns are valid, or is the stress of the situation, causing me to read further into what is probably a normal process?

Because I thought I would get an answer today or next week and instead, I was given yet more timeslots to organize my busy schedule around to give these people more of my time to decide if they want me when I feel like they have more than enough data to decide if they want me.

And at this point, if I get the position, great, but I’m going to tell them when I can start, and if that doesn’t work for them, then they should probably have listened to me the first two times. Which sucks because I don’t want to start off on a bad foot, but I also don’t want to let them walk all over me at the expense of my own mental health and screwing over my teammates who have been nothing but kind to me.

Ugh. I need a hug.

I (23F) have been working at a grassroots, youth led organization for over 4+ years. I’ve done so much for the org and have grown so much through it - from grant writing, leading programming, building a space, etc. but now, I am incredibly burnt out. I feel that the ED and I don’t get along well anymore, and I find myself feeling micromanaged and under stimulated in my role. This sucks because we’re great friends in our personal lives.

However! There are also so many pros: I have a managerial position where I have lots of leadership and mentorship to the youth we work with, they lend me so much tech I can’t currently afford like a laptop, and the hours are incredibly flexible and dependant on my schedule. Basically it’s a nice side job for extra income (which is always nice as a broke post grad), but at the cost of me feeling really really unmotivated and sad in the role.

I need your advice: should I cut ties with this non profit, or continue to stay on? Im currently on a 2 month leave as I transition into a full time job, but the ED reached out asking if I’m coming back on a part time basis because she really needs my help writing grants. Any advice is very appreciated!

Hi everyone! I have a question about sales tax on event tickets for non-profits. I'm in Quebec, Canada, and I'm wondering if events hosted by non-profits are required to charge sales tax on ticket sales. I've looked through a lot of resources but haven’t found any specific info on this for Quebec. Has anyone here had experience with this or knows how it works? Thanks in advance!

I'm one year in, and I believe there is a major divide between "new" and "career" case Managers, regardless of specialization, in terms of practical knowledge.

What so you wish you had known before starting your career path? What do you think new case Managers should know that they aren't being taught?

Hello, I checked the rules and these are not a CRM and I am not asking how to use. I checked the Wiki and these types of programs were not covered.May I ask if anyone has used either of these programs from SutiSoft and a simple rating reply (1-5 with 1 being lowest)? No details, pricing, etc. If not allowed, please remove or advise and I will.

Thanks!

Hi. I have inherited an art collection of about 50 pieces. I have many years on nonprofit boards and working with fundraising of different kinds, but I know nothing about, and have no experience with, art. I would like to donate it. Anyone have any suggestions for how and where? (Los Angeles area)? The work is not high value, but they are all mid/late 20th century artists with an exhibition and auction history.

Through a series of adhd task avoidance and hyper fixation I just found out my teachers union has not had tax exempt status since 2016 for not filing a form 990 for at least the previous 3 years, nor do they have an active EIN or business registered through the state. I point blank asked them and received this response:

It is my understanding that the tax situation started when our auditor died awhile back. We were in the process of correcting the tax status issue when, coincidentally, our new auditor died as well. We weren't informed by the respective companies of these deaths until well after they happened. The issue is now in the hands of the auditor we've been using for PERC certification, who is also a tax specialist. We do not have a resolution to the problem yet, but once we do, we will let the Reps know.

On a scale or 1-10, how screwed are we? Also, should I be concerned for the safety of the 3rd auditor?

I apologize if this isn’t an appropriate use of this sub.

We’re preparing our year-end campaign and have already started sending non-solicitation emails - more of updates, etc. - to let people know how grateful we are and our (their) impact.

We sent one email in October and are planning another email in early November just focusing on gratitude.

We intended to send the email on Nov. 1 but I’m behind schedule. Normally I’d send it next week, but with the election, I’m not sure if it’s better to wait until the end of the week or delay it to the following week.

How are your organizations handling communications during the election?

Thanks all!

ETA: I was able to send the email on November 1 after all! So far the open rate is solid and I’m pleased. Thanks for your feedback!

hi,

i was just invited for an interview for a job at a startup nonprofit (between 30-50 employees), i won’t name it but it assists people in getting affordable housing and social services. the role would be directly working with clients and the description sounds similar to when i was a case manager. it also pays pretty well, much more than any other case manager job i’ve seen.

i was really excited about this, but then i was warned by someone about potential downsides of working for a startup. after some googling and reddit searching, im terrified. it seems like startup employees rarely work less than 50-60 hours per week, and overall startups foster a cult-like environment that requires employees to bend over backwards for their job.

most things i read about startups were related to tech, marketing, sales, etc. that’s why im posting here because im curious if a startup nonprofit would be different?

my current job in healthcare has 9-5 hours, but a long commute and in office every day. it’s an intense high stress job and i’m miserable. i’m seeking better work-life balance in a field im more comfortable in. the potential job i’m interviewing for offers a hybrid schedule which is appealing to me but im so worried about getting sucked into a job that requires me to work long hours routinely. although i have passions and strive to be good at my job, i am not the type of person that goes above and beyond for a job. i work because i have to, and im generally not driven or motivated by work. i’m afraid a startup environment would be bad for me but the job, based on description and salary, looks great.

any experience or advice on this?

Hi! So I am an outreach worker for a mental health agency, and part of my job is to find places willing to let me set up a table just to give out information (and help people who are interested sign up). We only accept patients with Medicaid, or people who qualify for it(in CA so Medi-Cal), though we also have wellness centers that anyone over 18 can visit. Does anyone have any ideas for where I can inquire about setting up a table?

What are your suggestion on how to negotiate wage, etc. after being offered a role? I could use some help.

Some context: The nonprofit recently received a sizable state grant that is resulting in an 800% increase in staff. I have more experience negotiating wage and other benefits with a for profit and would be grateful for insights with nonprofits, especially small nonprofits.

After consulting the PNP Staffing Group's 2024 NONPROFIT SALARIES AND STAFFING TRENDS, their offer is 7-16K below market rate in this part of the country.

Beyond the wage, their benefits are fairly lean compared to my previous employers:

• Healthcare reimbursement of up to $450 per month
• PTO accrued at 10 hours per month
• Sick time accrued at one hour per 40 hours worked

Thanks for your suggestions and advice!

hello everyone,

I will be going to a donor’s house tomorrow. This donor invited me to his apartment at our last breakfast meeting. This would be the third time that I have met with him and I will be discussing the projects that are happening within the organization.

There has been a growing concern about the age of our donors and this donor in particular is 93 years old. The executive Director told me months ago that he felt that he should be the one to speak on endowments or Legacy giving since he has a years long relationship with this donor.

The Director that I am speaking of will be leaving in December and he decided to ask me if I would feel OK asking about legacy giving or endowments. I do not have much experience in development and I do not feel comfortable with doing this at all.

This donor currently funds our fellowship program at $70,000 per year. If I were to ask for an endowment that last 10 to 15 years, how much would the endowment need to be?

Please entertain me, if I had a gun to my head, what do you think the best thing I should say to get this donor to even think about an endowment.?

I have worked in non-profit for many years and while I have never really experienced pressure like this (making a goal). I have had a lot of success already (have only been there about 6 months), but the ED, without me knowing before I began, decided to run a deficit budget. So she's all over me to make more revenue. The job is only 30hours/week (she changed the terms during the final phases of hiring) and the pay is mid to low. I took it expecting a pleasant work place with nice people and flexibility. I'm also being pressured to take their in-house Bible study and have been told I must do it within the first year or basically I am fired. This was not disclosed during the interview process. So, I mean, this is all weird right. . .

Yes, I’ve resorted to asking Reddit…

Is it appropriate to share correspondence between the nonprofit (written by nonprofit employee/contractor) and a government agency with a member of the nonprofit who isn’t a Board Member (this is US-based)? Nonprofit is a trade association. Concern is that the nonprofit works on behalf of all the members and by sharing information to any individual member this might be construed as giving an advantage or helping a specific member over the rest? I can see why sharing with the Board makes sense since they’re the governing body.

Thanks in advance!

I get at least monthly request for per diem for our sponsee's travel, etc. As a policy we don't issue payments without invoice support. Does anyone else experience this dilemma? How do you handle it/what's your policy?

I have been working in professional fundraising for about five months. I am in charge of all fundraising fields at a non-profit with a budget of about $2.5M annually and 15 full-time staff members.

Recently, I solicited a $100K donation from a major donor. Everybody at the organization was very excited, but I would like perspective for re-writing my CV. I have mentors from larger organizations who specialize in 6-figure donations.

Is $100K "impressive" for an organization that size or is it expected?

What is everyone using for cloud storage of the board's policies and documentation? Ideally it would be great to find one that allows for easy collaboration undocuments that are in Microsoft Office as well as Google suite. We have a small agency and right now everyone is maintaining these policies on their own devices. Of course that makes me very concerned for a number of reasons.

I’m in higher ed and am really struggling to navigate getting quality assignments - I had an initial portfolio assigned, which my manager barely glanced at at the time of assignment and it turned out to be a dud - it was basically 90% discovery, extremely low giving, with only 2 handoffs of decent prospects from other gift officers.

I’m being encouraged to refresh but kind of forced to build my own portfolio from scratch using prospects from various list pulls. I’ve never been in this position before at a large org and the assignments are very murky waters since some outreach has been done with a number of these prospects by other gift officers. In the past I’ve been a one person dev office and could find my own top prospects or I’ve only taken over portfolios from former gift officers or been assigned very warm leads to upgrade with, maybe, 20% discovery.

Very curious to hear what the process of being assigned prospects is at your org. Especially if you are a major or principal gift officer.

Hoping someone else has had to address this issue with their organization and has some advice.

The non-profit I work for does a lot of travel/meeting with various members of local government, companies and our constituents. 3 members of our small staff (10 people) spend 80%+ of their time traveling, in meetings or at conference/events.

We are looking for a very lightweight, super user friendly tech option to allow these staff members to record audio notes and have those transcribed and stored digitally for other staff to review/edit and action. Obviously, as a non-profit cost is a major factor.

I was thinking/hoping for an app (these staff members are not the most tech savvy) that could be loaded onto their phones and record with a few clicks.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I want to get a few logo items made as end of year thank you gifts for some key volunteers at the NPO I work for. I'm thinking about a tote bag with our logo and then a few extras in the bag. (A insulated travel mug, a nice notebook, etc.)

Our NPO does have a place they use but the company only does larger orders (100+ of items) and I really only need about 20-25 each of a few different items.

I feel like every place I look online is either suspiciously cheap/low quality, or highly out of my budget (Moo, for example).

Do any of you have recommendations for online swag printing that's good but won't break the bank?