It takes more than a dream and a desire to help others run a successful nonprofit.
Behind every great nonprofit there’s a team of dedicated professionals who put their full passion into their day-to-day work. If you’re someone who is looking to get more from your career then keep reading! A career in nonprofits is the perfect place for you.
| TIP: Finding the right talent in the nonprofit sector isn't easy. Read our guide on recruiting for a nonprofit organization. |
Whether you’re just starting in your career or looking to make a career change altogether, the nonprofit industry is a great place to start. Here’s a quick look at some of the most common job titles for nonprofit professionals.
While some of those titles might look familiar to you, others might be totally new! The nonprofit sector is full of jobs designed specifically for certain industries that you can’t find many other places.
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To make your search through this article easier, we’ve sorted the above job titles by corporate function. Click the links below to jump ahead: |
Depending on the type of nonprofit you’re applying to, you may see different job titles than the ones listed below. For the sake of clarity, we’ll be focusing this article on the most common nonprofit job titles and descriptions.
Note: All salary information for the job titles listed below have been pulled from Payscale.com and represent the average annual salary for roles based in the US.
The key difference between nonprofit companies and for-profit companies is how they make their money. Nonprofits rely on donations from outside sources to keep their business model afloat. For this reason, fundraising jobs are always in high demand.
The Director of Development is the senior-most fundraising professional at any nonprofit organization. They manage the overall fundraising strategy and work closely with the chief finance officer to ensure the nonprofit has adequate funding to support its mission.
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Average annual salary for a Director of Development: $64,000
While the Director of Development manages the overall fundraising and processes for a nonprofit, the Major Gifts Officer handles the strategy behind who a nonprofit accepts donations from. This person often works with high-profile donors who plan on contributing significant amounts of money to a nonprofit.
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Average annual salary for a major gifts officer: $68,000
The rise of social corporate responsibility has paved the way for a new type of nonprofit role. Corporate Giving Managers work directly with enterprise businesses on their corporate giving and volunteering efforts. These positions can work in either the nonprofit or for-profit sector, but the goal of the job is the same.
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Average annual salary for a Corporate Giving Manager: $53,000
Many nonprofits source their funding through public or private grant programs, which are gifts awarded to nonprofits to support their work. To qualify for these grants, nonprofits often employ the help of a Grant Writer who creates the proposal, collects the necessary materials, and manages application deadlines.
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Average annual salary for a Grant Writer: $48,000
Nonprofit fundraising is perfect for those who consider themselves social and don’t mind communicating with others. The type of person who works in sales would be the perfect fit for nonprofit fundraising. Much of the job is spent meeting with new people, building relationships, and maintaining trust between a nonprofit and donors.
If you’re the type of person who enjoys more behind the scenes work, then operations might be the right path for you. Nonprofit professionals who work in operations often have advanced degrees, specialized skills, and years of experience in the working world.
The Chief Executive Officer of a nonprofit acts similarly to CEOs of other organizations. Much of their time is spent meeting with their director level staff and making big-picture decisions for the future of the nonprofit. They are also the primary communicator between nonprofit staff and the board of directors.
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Average annual salary for a nonprofit CEO: $105,000
The role of a Chief Financial Officer for a nonprofit isn’t much different from that of any other industry. They work to maintain the finances for an organization, keep the nonprofit compliant with tax-codes, and communicate with donors own finance professionals when soliciting donations.
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Job responsibilities include:
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Average annual salary for a nonprofit CFO: $75,000 – $100,000
Because the IRS grants certain nonprofits tax-exempt status, nonprofits must remain compliant with the requirements expected of them. A Chief Compliance Officer ensures that a nonprofits processes, data management, contracts, and financial standing are all compliant with IRS regulations.
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Job responsibilities include:
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Average annual salary for a nonprofit Chief Compliance Officer: $68,000
To attract new donors, volunteers, and supporters to your nonprofit, you’ll need to get the word out about the incredible work your team is doing. The role of a Communications Director for a nonprofit is not unlike communications roles in the for-profit sector. The difference is that you’re communicating directly with donors, volunteers, and the general public. It’s a lot to juggle at once!
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Average annual salary for a nonprofit Communications Director: $70,000
Nonprofit operations are designed for professionals with an eye for detail. These are the folks who keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes. Much of the job in nonprofit operations is spent tracking data, creating annual strategic plans, and optimizing the backend experience.
One of the key ways nonprofits raise money is by hosting large events. Whether its annual fundraising events to raise capital for your next big campaign or it’s an educational workshop informing the public of your work, event management is necessary.
The role of a Program Manager is to design and implement key programming activities throughout the year that drive education and public awareness. Events that a Program Manager might run are volunteer and donor education workshops, community speaking events, and more.
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Average annual salary for a Program Manager: $51,000
Anything that doesn’t fall under the umbrella of the Program Manager usually falls to the Special Events Manager. This is the person designated to run annual fundraising events, donor dinners, and more. Events managed by the Special Events Manager usually focus on fundraising which results in a lot of overlap between this role and the Director of Development.
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Average annual salary for a Special Events Manager: $52,000
It’s important to note that in some nonprofits, these two roles are rolled into one single job. Ultimately, event management is the perfect career path for people who love taking big picture ideas and then creating an experience with the finer details.
One of the things that make nonprofits unique from other industries in their reliance on people outside the organization to help keep things running: volunteers, donors, and members all play an important role in the health of a successful nonprofit. And with that comes the jobs required to manage all the moving parts.
The primary role of a Volunteer Manager is to coordinate volunteers in the most effective way possible. This can include everything from screening potential volunteers, to managing volunteer paperwork, to identifying where a volunteers skills are best put to use for the organization.
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Average annual salary for a Volunteer Manager: $51,000
Some nonprofits rely on annual membership subscriptions to finance their organization. The Membership Manager is in charge of ensuring all members of an organization are getting the most out of their membership, meet all the requirements for membership, and answer any questions or concerns members may have about their experience.
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Average annual salary for a Membership Manager: $50,000
The primary funding source for nonprofits comes from donors. The Donor Relations Manager works with the Director of Advancement to ensure that donors have a pleasant experience they’re onboarded to the organization. They answer questions about upcoming funding opportunities, maintain the contact information for current donors, and more.
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Average annual salary for a Donor Relations Manager: $49,000
Nonprofit people management is designed for professionals who enjoy working with others. HR professionals make especially good people managers, but anyone who has worked in a customer service or people-facing role would also excel in this field.
When it comes to finding the best places to find nonprofit work, the conversation usually splits one of two ways: best cities to work in and best websites to find nonprofit jobs. Lucky for you, we’ve put together this section to cover both of those things!
With more than 1.5 million registered nonprofits in the United States, there isn’t a bad place to find work in the nonprofit sector. However, some cities do provide more opportunities than others. Here are the six best cities for nonprofit professionals as of 2019.
Source: Greatnonprofits.org
As the nonprofit sector continues to boom, this list is likely to change. So before you decide to pack up and move to a new city for work, check out the nonprofits in your own area! You might be surprised by what you find.
Once you’ve figured out the job title you want to target and the city you’d like to work in, it’s time to start your job search! The following websites were either designed specifically for nonprofits professionals seeking work or they have extensive resources for nonprofit professionals.
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Best nonprofit job boards: |
Another great way to find the nonprofit job of your dreams is to reach out to your network to people already working in the nonprofit sector and get their input. Or you can go directly to your desired nonprofits website and see if they have jobs posted there.
As we’ve covered in this article, there’s a nonprofit job out there for your unique set of skills. If you’re ready to take a chance on a career where you feel good about going to work every day, consider making your mark in the nonprofit sector.
Take what you’ve learned from this article and learn how to write a resume that communicates your skills. Don’t forget to seal the deal with an amazing cover letter to pair with it!
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