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Donna Freedman

Living With Less

Serve America (and get paid)

Continued from page 1

[Related content: college, jobs, recession, giving, Donna Freedman]

Teaching at home and abroad

Teach For America is a harder nut to crack. While AmeriCorps has 88,000 positions, Teach For America has only 4,000.

More than 35,000 college seniors and recent grads competed for those Teach For America jobs -- a 40% increase over last year. According to communications manager Eva Boster, up to one-fourth of the seniors at 135 colleges applied to Teach For America.

It certainly didn't hurt that the president mentioned Teach For America when he signed the Serve America Act on April 21. (That bill, incidentally, will triple the size of AmeriCorps over the next eight years but won't affect Teach For America.)

Teach For America's applications for the upcoming (2009-10) school year are now closed. The organization's Web site promises that information about 2010-11 applications will be available soon. Positions pay $29,000 to $47,000 a year, depending on where you wind up, and can include grants toward relocation costs plus the AmeriCorps education benefits outlined above.

Applications for the Peace Corps, founded in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, are the highest in five years. With a 27-month commitment to live overseas and a standard of living that, at best, roughly mirrors that of the people you're trying to help, it's not for the faint of heart. Yet the Peace Corps tucks away some of your pay and hands you a little more than $6,000 to ease your transition home. Student loans are deferred.

Will work for good

Plenty of shellshocked, pink-slipped workers are looking for work somewhere, anywhere. So are a boatload of newly minted graduates. Neither type of job seekers will get very far in the nonprofit sector unless they really want to work there. Hiring managers can smell desperation and/or insincerity in boilerplate résumés.

"Nonprofits are going to be able to tell which people are just looking to ride out the storm," says Meg Busse of Idealist.org, which has a networking database of jobs, internships and other resources.

It's important to note that the nonprofit sector encompasses a broad swath of causes and missions: the environment, education, social issues, political advocacy, energy and the arts. Many hospitals are nonprofits. So are some private schools and colleges. About 1.9 million nonprofit organizations are registered with the Internal Revenue Service, and millions more aren't registered, says Otting, of the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group.

Otting, the author of "Change Your Career: Transitioning to the Nonprofit Sector," notes that Obama's economic stimulus plan will encourage growth in the nonprofit sector. Among other things, this will mean an increased need for grant writers.

But again, a skill set alone is not enough to get you hired. You cannot sell yourself the same way you would with a traditional job -- and if you try, your résumé probably won't make it any farther than the recycle bin. It's best to talk up previous involvement with community or nonprofit causes and then segue to your qualifications.

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Lost your job? Here are some answers © Creatas/PictureQuest
Lost your job? Here are some answers
Liz Pulliam Weston, MSN Money's personal-finance columnist, talks about where the jobs are in this recession.

For realists and idealists

Volunteering counts. Have you delivered meals to seniors for five years in a row? That signals dependability. Maybe you've served on your church's stewardship committee fundraising board for a decade; this demonstrates commitment and fundraising skills. Has someone you love struggled with a disease? Say so, and then say why this motivates you.

"If you wear your heart on your sleeve, the nonprofit sector will applaud your fashion sense," Otting says.

Some people really do want to give back. Ben Rattray of Change.org says the economic downturn has led some to re-examine their careers. What he's been hearing is, "If things are going to be this unstable, I might as well do what matters to me."

Rattray, whose site launched a networking database of its own May 12, calls this "an opportunity to pursue a passion." But it does not necessarily entail sacrifice. The notion "that you will automatically be impoverished" by working for a nonprofit is not true, Rattray says.

Otting agrees. "There are a lot of people in the nonprofit sector who make a lot of money. You can work in the nonprofit sector and eat something other than ramen noodles."

Continued: How to find a nonprofit gig

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Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:16:22 AM
Great job, Donna. A dose of idealism, with a large serving of reality thrown in for good measure! I am a volunteer with a nonprofit, and hoping to transition from my career in the "normal" business world to working with the nonprofit sector. Even with all my contacts and experience, it is not easy to do. The relatively small amount of time I put in as a volunteer is some of the hardest work I do all month. Nonprofit is not a place for sissies and benchwarmers!
Friday, May 29, 2009 10:19:57 PM
the Body of Chist is already all this and more, been the True Gods plan all along, that darn pride and independent selfish thing always getting in the way. Let go, salvation is here. Jesus saves, your family awaits.
Saturday, May 30, 2009 12:33:11 AM
Actually, you can't even get a volunteer job for some non profits!  That is how bad things have become.  I interviewed for an entry level position with a senior services agency even though I have a Master's degree.  But my "real" work experience is five years old since I have been self employed.  The interviewer said I was certainly qualified but I didn't get the job.  I emailed her back and asked if I could volunteer in the office since they seem to really need the help. I never heard back from her.  I did great work and accomplished alot in this field before I took my "mommy sabatical" and became self employed while I raised my son.  My husband, who lost his job 7 months ago, has interviewed over a dozen time in three states and nothing, even though he has tons of experience and the same Master's degree.  He also asked about volunteering for a non profit in which he interviewed and never heard back from them.  I think that one of the side effects of this economy is that people are becoming more suspicious and just meaner in general.  I don't know anyone that is working right now that isn't getting more flack or more stress from their employers.  All that my husband and I have ever done is work for non profits in mental health and social services and we can't even get in the door anymore with the offer of volunteer work.  How sad is that!
Saturday, May 30, 2009 4:33:18 AM
Ard the world, jobs are getting harder to get. You may have the experience and qualifications but you may still not get the job. To all those who have jobs now, appreciate it , work hard and grasp it with two hands. There are tons of vey experienced and qualified people out there who can;t even get a  job now. Working in a non profit organization has always been deemded low pay, lack of qualified staff and little corporate governance thus alot of conflict but do take in mind that in most countries getting into the social service industry is very easy due to the fact that not many people would consider working in it but due to current times, beggars can't be choosers. For example alot of students in China did commerce subjects such as finance, MBA, accounting etc but are unable to find a job, they would even take up waiter jobs now. Appreciate what you can find and hold on to it for dear life. Rem to budget wisely as money would be the source of most quarrels, sucicides and unhappiness during a recession. Make a time table from 8-5pm daily and follow it such as wake up, jogging, apply for jobs, volunteer, cook dinner etc. so as to set your internal clock to the same as working so when you get a job you will intergrate easily back into it.
Saturday, May 30, 2009 5:54:36 AM

Unfortunately people don't realize that  nonprofits have to watch for liabilities on their volunteers. I have found it very satisfying to volunteer and intend to do so. Unfortunately now all people are cut out to volunteer. You can not tell the people you are helping that they are lucky to have you even if that is true.

Saturday, May 30, 2009 7:22:14 AM
Why should any comments be removed, unless "foul" language was used.  Nice article, but it leads to the discussion of the new Civilian Army that the OBAMANIACS want to put in place.  That will create lots of so-called jobs.  Gotta go get those terrorist right-wing conservatives and put them in jail or camps and then there is the "necessary" reduction of people over a certain age, as they are too much of a drag on the New World Order and economy within Globalization....
Saturday, May 30, 2009 9:19:43 AM

I worked for a non-profit for three years and they were some of the best years of my life.  I loved most of my volunteers but I have to say that some of them, especially the older people, treated us like lackeys who should be grateful that they were there to help, and they expected us to slaver over the fact that they were giving two hours of their precious time every month.  There was one woman that I wanted to "fire" because she treated me horribly and she treated our students like children but because she had been a volunteer for seveal years, I couldn't do anything about it.  If you are going to volunteer, that is great, but please remember that the staff are trained professionals who deserve your respect and who have a very challenging job.  It is wonderful that you want to put in a few hours a week but the organization has other things to do besides kowtow to you just because you are giving your time.  That is not to say that volunteers should not be valued and appreciated, but volunteers should remember what they are there for-to help the mission of the organization, not to have their egos stroked.

Saturday, May 30, 2009 10:09:12 AM
This is  bunch of bull.........what we all need is a job, not running around some rain forest trying to teach someone to grow food. Let the people who feel as if they are changing a unchangible world dothis work. No one is helping me keep my head above water, why should I help anyone else.
Saturday, May 30, 2009 10:14:20 AM
Thanks for your comments -- this helps, as I have been having similar experiences as you.  I even applied for cashier's positions and was told welfare mothers with experience were also applying and would be hired over me(even though I once supervised cashiers).  When does this joblessness for the over educated and experienced end? Especially those of us age 50+? I see a generational shift here -- there's finally room for the X generation at the top.
Saturday, May 30, 2009 10:19:15 AM
Donna, Unfortunately you discourage me from even trying. By going for the catchy headline, you may be turning good people away from the non-profit sector.  You better be right in your assertions,and not be applying to the whole what a few of your pessimistic sources told you.  Otherwise you are performing a disservice to the public-- the danger of all journalists, especially bloggers.
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