Volunteer service is one of the ways people interact with nonprofit organizations (NPOs), with almost 65 million adult Americans donating their time in 2017, according to the Statista Research Department. It’s easy to see how volunteers play a large and important role in the way nonprofits run, but these organizations also hire paid employees.
The word “nonprofit” describes how an organization functions. An NPO is a tax-exempt organization with a mission to provide benefits and services to the public at low to no cost. Nonprofits raise and earn money like a for-profit business, but instead of those earnings going to shareholders, they’re put back into the organization. For-profits, on the other hand, are owned and operated with the mission of making money through the sale of a product or service, and profits are kept by the owner or paid out to investors.
Anyone looking for a paid position within the nonprofit sector can begin their search just like they would for any other job, but with a few exceptions in mind. In this guide, we’ll go over nonprofit resume specifics, the most popular NPOs and common positions as well as where to look for jobs in the industry.