Newspapers / Philanthropy Journal of North … / Oct. 1, 1993, edition 1 / Page 26
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26 • Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina October 1993 Careers Compensating charity Nonprofits beginning to value professionals More and more young people are starting careers in the nonprofit sector, and those in the field detect the beginning of a trend toward more competitive wages - good news for a sector notori ous for underpaying its workers. By Katherine Noble he nonprofit sector is I notorious for long hours I and low pay - and for los- • ing its employees as they reach their 30s to jobs with salaries that can support families and a mid dle-class lifestyle. That’s a trend that may be chang ing, and as more and more talented young people let their passions lead them in their choice of careers, some experts say the sector is realizing that keeping these valued employees past their 20s will require more com petitive compensation. Jacquelyn Gist, career counselor for nonprofits, the arts and social work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says that when students interested in careers in nonprofits tell her they know they won’t make a lot of money working for a nonprofit, she tells them: “Don’t be a mar^.’’ In the late 1960s, young people contributed to the devaluation of nonprofit work by working for little or no wages, says Gist, who was one of those young people. “If people see our work as unim portant, then the very causes we are working for become unimportant.” Today, she sees that changing. “1 think today there is a definite professionalization of the nonprofit sector,” Gist says. “There has to be.” If the nonprofit sector is going to keep people past their late 20s and early 30s, “it’s got to pay people what grown up people make.” The nonprofit sector is made up of “professional human beings, doing professional work, dealing with com plex issues and they’re beginning to demand adequate compensation. Salaries are never going to be what major corporations pay, but we’re starting to get away from people in their mid-30s making $18,000 a year.” Robert Hawkins, 29, deputy direc tor of People for the American Way in North Carolina, a nonprofit consti tutional liberties organization, says all the attention to high executive salaries generated by the United Way scandal hurt the public’s per ception of nonprofit salaries. “Right now, there is so much scrutiny of salaries in nonprofits,” Hawkins says. “Part of that has to do with what went on at United Way, but it makes me upset that the per ception is, if you work for a nonprof it, you should not make a lot of money. “We still have to pay the rent and feed our kids just like everyone else.” Like Gist, Hawkins doesn’t think the salaries of most nonprofit employees will ever reach the corpo rate level, and he doesn’t think they should. But he says salaries are get ting better. ‘"The sector can’t afford to lose its most experienced people,” Gist says. “It’s got to start paying them more.” Sue Stein of ACCESS, Networking in the Public Interest, says the non / profits that are surviving have become stable and are therefore able to provide better salaries overall. ACCESS provides networking services and job listings nationwide for people looking for work in the nonprofit sector. A recent survey of 2,229 nonprof its nationwide by Abbott, Langer & Associates, shows that althou^ the median salaries of file clerks, cooks and typists still hover in the low to mid-teens, median sal aries in profes sional positions such as out reach workers and counselors neared $20,000, while positions like directors of program ser vices, public relations and information were in the low to mld-30s. Editors, field staff direc tors and planned gift managers received annu al compensa tion to the tune of $40,000, whUe directors of government rela tions, publishers and legal officers received $50,000 to $80,000 a year. Median annual income for chief executives of nonprofits ranged from $20,000 for nonprofits with a staff of one, to more than $250,000 at the hi^ end of the scale. have an av/ful lot of students coming to me and saying, 'I want to do something that matters.' JACQUELYN GIST Career Counselor UNC-Chapel Hill More than 75 percent of top exec utives, however, made less than $75,000 a year. As in most professions, entry- level salaries are relatively low. Dian Poe, career specialist for community and public service or government at Duke University’s Career Develop ment Center, says entry-level sal aries in the Southeast range from the mid-teens to low 20s. But whether the sector manages to make its salaries more competi tive and keep this generation of ide alists into their 30s and beyond, more young people are deciding to work in the nonprofit sector than in the recent past. According to the Independent Sector, 15.7 million people, or 11.4 percent of the workforce, were employed in the nonprofit sector in 1990, the latest year for which statis tics are available. Both figures have been increas-; ing steadily since 1977. “I think our society is once again experiencing an upswing in social consciousness,” says Gist of UNC- Chapel Hill. “I have an awful lot of students coming to me and saying, ‘I want to do something that matters.’ “It’s like caring is cool again.” Gist’s position was created in 1992 because more students were asking for direction in finding work in the nonprofit sector. 'When the Children’s Museum About the World in Raleigh recently advertised the position of outreach program developer, with a salary between $18,000 to $21,000, plus benefits, more than 80 people applied. “We got a very, very good response,” says Anne Kabore, the nonprofit’s educational programs coordinator. Pam Hartley, 22, a Morehead Scholar and 1993 graduate of UNC- CH with a degree in speech commu nications and an emphasis on per formance studies, landed the covet ed position. Hartley was working as a volunteer when she appUed for the job at the Children’s Museum. When Hartley graduated in June, she was determined to work in the nonprofit sector. So determined, in fact, that if she couldn’t find a paying job, she was willing to volunteer at a nonprofit by day and work ni^ts to pay the rent - which is what she did from May until the end of July at the Durham Arts Council. Career counselors recommend at least one internship as crucial to landing that first job in the nonprofit sector. At Duke, for example, Poe takes a group of about 125 students to a nonprofit job fair at Georgetown University every February. There, the students make contacts and set up interviews for internships and full-time employment. Hartley says she isn’t alone in her dedication to nonprofit work. She says her friends that didn’t go to graduate school all went to work in the nonprofit sector after graduation. “I can’t work just to make money, just to fill my time,” she says. “There must be a reason to it.” For job listings in the nonprofit sector call 800-424-7367 for The Nonprofit Finder, and (617) 720-5627 for Community Jobs. GOOD NEWS About GOOD WORKS September marked the debut of a monthly statewide newspaper for people working to make life better in North Carolina. People who work for nonprofits, foundations and businesses. People who serve in government, the schools and higher education. People who contribute time and money to doing good. Your fellow professionals and volunteers will be reading the Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina. To keep up with what they're doing — and simply to keep up — you should read it, too. Name . Street Address . City . State. Zip Code. This is: Phone Home Address ■ Business Address Title . Organization . 1^1 year ($57) S 2 years ($104) B 3 years ($143) Please Bill Me Multiple-copy discounts available. For rates, call (919) 829-8991. ^ Check Enclosed Mail to: Philanthropy lournal of North Carolina, P.O. Box 191, Raleigh, NC 27602 PI Philanthropy Journal A monthly publication of The News and Observer Foundation P.O. BOX 191, RALEIGH, NC 27602 (919)829-8991 for subscription and advertising information.
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Oct. 1, 1993, edition 1
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