Careers in the Nonprofit Sector

 

Careers in the Nonprofit Sector

Why Nonprofits?

Nonprofit Numbers:

  • $147,273 was the median income for nonprofit CEO's in 2010 (Source: Charity Navigator)
  • Over 1,500,000 nonprofits in the United States in 2011 (Source: NCCS)
  • Nonprofit employment and wages in Michigan increased from 2006-2009, despite the major economic crisis, with a gain of 2.69% in jobs and 14.7% in wages. (Source: MNA)

NGOs to Consider:

  • Check out these links for a comprehensive listing of environmental NGOs: GuideStar or Charity Navigator (try searching on the keyword "environment")

 
  • Love your job.
  • Make a difference.
  • Work with others who also care about the environment.
  • Gain valuable professional experience.

The Environmental Nonprofit Sector is a dynamic and ever-changing field to work in, ranging from small to international organizations, and tackling issues from education, to conservation, to environmental justice. Optimism is abound for the sector in 2012 with experts predicting more diversity among leaders, more capacity-building cohorts, and innovative use of social media to connect to broader and more active audiences. (Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review)

Our Top Four Sites for Finding Nonprofit Jobs:
Michigan Nonprofit Association
Michigan Nonprofit Job Center is a leading reource for
nonprofit job opportunities in Michigan		 Idealist.org
Find volunteer opportunities, nonprofit jobs, internships, and organizations that want to change the world
Nonprofit Times Career Center
The Nonprofit Times is the leading business publication for nonprofit management and post jobs for those looking for management level positions
 EcoEmploy
A national environmental job listing site


Nonprofit Networking Sites:

Young Nonprofit Professionals Network: A networking organization for the younger generation of nonprofit leaders with 30,000 members and 34 chapters
LinkedIn: The professional networking site that helps you connect with organizations and contacts and subscribe to leaders in the industry, like Nonprofit Today.

Tips from the Experts:

  • Finding Nonprofit Jobs Online by Joanne Fritz, About.com

  • Idealist.com's Tips for Narrowing down your job search

"I spent 12 years working for a national environmental NGO and had amazing opportunities to do a lot of different things. I trained endangered species activists to lobby their Members of Congress, led efforts to strengthen organizational capacities of state affiliate organizations, set up press conferences, served on multi-stakeholder groups with industry groups and NGOs, helped organize major environmental conferences, led education efforts to reduce animosity towards wolves in wolf country. “SNRE Alum and current SNRE Career Coordinator, Lisa Yee-Litzenberg (previously worked for the National Wildlife Federation)"

Did we miss anything? If you find resources you think would be helpful to others or think we can improve this page to make it more useful for you, please let us know at: snre.careers@umich.edu