Specifically, we’re looking for somebody to lead the growth YPSpeak, recruit contributors, manage scheduling, and get the word out on social networks and in real life. This person would help grow our user community, help guide our ongoing web development to reflect what our community wants by being a liaison with our users, and help spread the word about YP Chicago and YPSpeak by attending YPC and other networking events. It’s a big, important job.

Given that we’re a small volunteer run organization this person would have a ton of impact.

If you are interested in this position please email Fred Cadena.

Advantages

• The ability to do meaningful work and to create positive change for a community or a cause. While some may call one an idealist, it’s nice to have a heartfelt reason to get out of bed on the coldest of Chicago mornings.
• An opportunity to wear “several hats” due to understaffing. For instance, when our staff was downsized I was asked to take over writing grant reports and requests, which served as an important learning opportunity.
• A greater organizational culture of like-minded people. While not always existent, many nonprofits bring together like-minded people, allowing a safe space to share your opinions on matters. This makes for a much more enjoyable lunch hour if you can talk about the news together without disagreeing on every subject. Also, such an environment can inspire teamwork and collaboration instead of internal competition.
• Fancy titles. In order to make up for lower wages, many nonprofits will provide you with a super fancy title that can assist you down the road, if it fits on your business card. For instance, at one time rather than being an “Executive Coordinator” my title was “Executive Coordinator of Board and Staff Relations.”
• A more casual work environment with a more relaxed dress code, flexible schedules, or even dog-friendly offices. At my current office, we all get to coo when our Executive Director brings her puppy into work.
• More generous benefits. While nonprofits are known to provide lower wages than other sectors, they do tend to offer excellent health benefits, retirement packages, and even more vacation time.

The Disadvantages

• Lower wages. This is a huge disadvantage of working for nonprofits—employees are usually paid less than comparable for profit and public positions. However, mid- to upper-level nonprofit managers in larger organizations oftentimes have similar salary ranges to comparable positions in other sectors. So if you have under five years of experience, you should plan to have a salary in the low-$30K range at a nonprofit.
• Burnout is common at nonprofits. Due to both the personal and professional investment of the employee in the mission of the nonprofit organization, oftentimes the individual will blur the line between personal and work time. While I am not burnt out yet, I oftentimes find myself taking work home and going the extra mile just because of my emotional attachment to the subject matter and cause.
• There is a larger amount of turnover at nonprofits for many reasons. People move on to better-paying jobs, go back to school, switch sectors, or burn out. Additionally, there is a lack of professional development and leadership training opportunities to continue to engage employees, which affects the organization’s ability to retain employees.
• Nonprofits lack resources and are chronically underfunded which lead organizations to rely upon volunteers or to overwork the already burnt out staff.
• It is difficult to measure success. A strong motivator is the ability to measure success, and at for-profits this can usually be easily measured in profits. However, it’s more difficult for nonprofits to measure success when success is measured in the advancement of a cause, especially when the cause requires a long-term strategy to achieve its ends.

For more information on nonprofit careers, visit Idealist.org.