Feed the soul and the bank account

I have to find a job. Nothing against the one I have, which I adore—but I need a job job, the kind with a salary and benefits and a few days of paid vacation a year. I can’t intern forever. That’s no respectable way to live. Or eat, says the intern writing her blog post over a bowl of canned beans and corn.

My job search is getting off the ground with several informational interviews and job fairs, and it’s fun to have all these possibilities before me. I could research Middle East policy for a glossy K Street think tank. I could plan events on conflict in Africa for a little program whose staff greets visitors with a steaming cup of chai. I could save the world and then go home and relax.

The world is my spring roll.

Well, the world should be my spring roll. The world may continue to be my canned beans and corn if I stay in the nonprofit sector. I’ve been wondering whether it’s possible to live on the salary of a junior nonprofit staffer, so I asked actual junior nonprofit staffers with whom I did informational interviews. It turns out that yes, in fact, you can. And the secret is simple:

Get a second job.

Great. So now I don’t just have to find one job, I have to find two. Maybe three. And keep them. And pay income taxes on them.

So now I want to know: Is it possible to live only on the salary of a junior nonprofit staffer?

Yes, with some creativity. But it’s not obvious. Instead, it’s assumed that a nonprofit career doesn’t become financially viable until you get into middle management. So why not start somewhere corporate that pays more, and when you’ve racked up the experience, take your skills to the nonprofit sector?

That’s the hurdle the sector is about to hit. Think about it: the economy is in the toilet and graduates still need to pay off loans and credit card debt. Meanwhile, nonprofits are feeling the drain of dollars from their budgets as charitable donations ebb. And over the next few years, as Baby Boomers retire en masse, nonprofits will be left with gaping holes in their leadership. Everyone can move up a rung, but you still need someone at the bottom. Who wants to—or can afford to—start climbing this ladder?

I’m sure you think I’m about to recommend that nonprofits pay junior staffers more. Well, you’re right. Kind of. The nonprofit sector can’t afford to let the best and brightest get snapped up by someone else. We can’t take a time-out while we shuffle upper management and dragnet promising graduates. If we do, the sector will be in crisis mode in a matter of years. And though new initiatives like the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (check it out on OK Radio) are a well-timed step forward, they aren’t a cure-all.

It’s what Stephen Covey has been saying for years: we all have urgent things and important things, and to be effective, you have to do the important things before they become urgent—before they become crises at all.

And it’s like young nonprofit staffers themselves are saying: to make ends meet, you have to be creative. Maybe the answer isn’t higher salaries. There are other ways to attract staff: strong benefits packages, flexible hours, sponsored training, transportation comp, telecommuting, and so on. Some of these ideas do require money. But the point is, you can recruit and retain skilled staff without breaking the bank. It’s a win for the new hires, the organization, and the sector.

Let’s not forget the Boomer EDs and the senior staff during this transition, and the creative ways to work with them too—everything from keeping EDs in a consulting capacity to job-share positions for middle-management staff with family obligations. We’re creative people. We can think around these challenges.

Hopefully nonprofits will wise up to this reality before we hear the massive sucking sound of the Baby Boomers vacating their positions. If said wising up occurred in the next two months, hey, I wouldn’t complain. I could stand to be courted with some competitive benefits.

Take note, nonprofit sector: you want me to want you.