The Best and Worst Moments of My Nonprofit Career
Katya Andresen is hosting this month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival and the theme is “highs and lows of your nonprofit career.” While I didn’t participate in the carnival and have fewer years in public service than those who did, I love topics like this because they are reflective and I walk away with a different understanding of my experience and the experiences of others.
Let’s start with the bad. The fact that I tend to come in with a million and one ideas and can be a bit impatient means that I have had plenty. My lowest moment was when I was tutoring as an undergrad in my education program. My placement was in the classroom of a first year teacher in an inner city school in Philadelphia. I spent one day observing and another working with a small group of students.
It was an incredibly difficult situation. The students had to be read to, which didnt work as none of them were listening. Meanwhile next door a teacher was constantly YELLING at the students. There was noise, security guards were making rounds, kid getting up and leaving… a nigthmare.
So when I got my students I told myself I was going to be different. Not like these stuffy teachers who have no connection at all with the students. Students were going to respect me because, I’m cool. (yep…my thoughts). While the students were nice, we didnt get much work done. I was so busy trying to be a cool friend that we spent a bunch of time yapping about TV and friends instead of focusing on work.
By the time I tried to assert some authority it was too late–time with Ms. Allison was time for relaxing, a break from class. And instead of talking to the teacher and getting some help I spent time fussing with the kids, getting frustrated with them and myself. And of course, the guilt would kick in that I am supposed to be helping these kids but I wasn’t. I just wasted their time and mine. And my ego wouldn’t let me ask for guidance.
What I learned: Nothing is as easy as it seems. When you start some place new it is easy to see everything that is wrong. What’s hard is getting to the root of that problem. In this case, I saw the issue as people not being nice enough with the kids without realizing that more is necessary when it comes to teaching and that my role wasnt just to be their friend. Additionally, when you see the problem, it is easy to think that you are the one who can fix it, ignoring others or your own shortcomings.
Now for the good. My highest moment was when I started a “Career Day” program for low-income teens I was working with in North Philadelphia. I was running a leadership training program and during the mid-year review, the students said they wanted to go out, meet people, and learn about different opportunities. When I mentioned spending a day with someone in a field they were interested in, they LOVED it. So I called up board members, alumni of my college, and friends and asked if they would host a student for a day who was interested in their career.
The response was overwhelming. So many people were eager to participate and we had a range of opportunities for the students to choose from: an art consultant who helped cities and companies with design, an architect with his own firm, an attorney, an art teacher with a video and music production company, a college professor, and many many more.
It went wonderfully and the kids and adults had an awesome time. Just by asking I saw how much people wanted to give of their time and how these students were so eager to learn. Additionally, a few students were offered summer internships 
It is the highlight of my (brief) career thus far.
What I learned: Listening is key. I made it a habit to constantly solicit feedback from my students to ensure that they had a hand in planning the program and that the activities we did were both fun and educational. By asking, I also acknowledged that while I knew of activities beforehand, I didnt know the students and needed to be flexible to accommodate them. I also learned that people will give if you ask! The worst a person can say is no and even then, ask if they know of anyone who can help.
And of course, a little patience and humility dont hurt.
I’d love to hear from some of my fellow nonprofiteers so I’m tagging Rosetta, Kevin, Colleen, Eric what are your nonprofit high and low stories?
Do you all have a high and low nonprofit story? Share!
Thanks to Allison Fine’s post for inspiring me to participate.
Photo Credit: images.com
Thanks for the shoutout, AJ! I love this post, and I think that both situations, your student teaching and Career Day were enormously influential and informative parts of your unfolding journey. I particularly like these sentence, “Nothing is as easy as it seems. When you start some place new it is easy to see everything that is wrong. What’s hard is getting to the root of that problem.” I’m still working on that part – how to get to the essence of something without being distracted by all of the byproducts and unintented consequences of a problem. Thanks for crystallizing that for me.
AF
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ajlovesya Reply:
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:17 pm
No problem! Your post definitely helped me as well. Moving from being secretive about what I am doing to sharing and collaborating–asking questions and making connections is exciting and energizing. However, making the shift is still a struggle for me. Sometimes I operate on a “In Real Life vs. Virtual Life” which means Im willing to share online but no so easily with others in my immediate area. Sometimes it feels as though the two are worlds apart when in reality, someone can just hop online and see what Im thinking! Thanks for helping me make the connection!
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Thanks for the tag, Katya!
My lowest moment actually became my highest moment, as I think happens to so many nonprofit execs.
It happened years ago when I was still practicing traditional transactional fundraising while serving as President of the Los Angeles Mission. We had a huge direct mail file, and we used to do wealth identifier screening and such. The screening turned up a guy who was a big wheel on Wilshire Avenue–classic major donor prospect.
So I started doing all the tried ‘n’ true moves management moves with this guy, and everything was going great–or so I thought. I ultimately scored an invitation to visit his office. I went in ready to bag my prey.
Then the guy said to me. “I know why you’re here, why you’ve been calling, why you’ve been sending me stuff, why you’re always so nice to me. It’s because you’ve done research, and you know exactly how much money I’m capable of giving to you. And your friendship is totally predicated on that.”
Er…
I had been truly pantsed. I felt naked. The guy was absolutely right. I was at a loss for words. All I knew was that now was not the right time to bust out the calendar and CD I had brought to give him.
“OK, you got me,” I said, slumping back into my chair. “But if you knew that was the gig, why did you invite me here?”
“Because you run the largest rescue mission in the world,” he said. “So I figure that means you ought to know more than I do about how to deal with homeless people.”
He then went on to explain how every day he passed hoards of homeless people on his way to work, on the freeway, on the way home, and at the gas station. He said he was happy to give money to the mission, but that still didn’t help him to be able to know how to interact with the homeless people he saw in his own life daily.
That conversation led ultimately to a lively brainstorming meeting–one that I hardly could have expected given the way our meeting had started. Instead of talking about ways that he could support the mission, we talked about ways the mission could support him as he sought to help the homeless people he encountered in his sphere of influence.
It ultimately led to a project we did with an advertising agency based on the concept of “pogs”–the milk bottle cap kind of thingies that were popular back in the 80s and early 90s. “Spare Change can make a change” was the name of the campaign. We sent each of our donors a sheet of punch-out pogs that they could carry in their pockets. When they encountered a homeless person they could give them an LA Mission pog and some change and say, “Look, the change I’m giving you here is going to run out, but this pog has the phone number to the Los Angeles Mission on it. You can call them from anywhere 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and they’ll pick you up and take you back to the mission, no questions asked. They’ll make sure you have a clean bed, a warm meal, a shave, a shower, and a chance to enroll in their training programs if you want to.”
It was a seminal point in my growth in thinking as a fundraiser: Stop trying to get people to support you and instead find ways to support them as they tackle the cause in their own sphere of influence. Ultimately that approach is the best–and most genuine and appreciated–”move” we can make with a donor.
By the way, the story of pogs ended up being written up in a book that ended up falling into the hands of a woman who ended up reading it, being fascinated by it, meeting me…and marrying me!
So this truly did become my best nonprofit experience!
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ajlovesya Reply:
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:33 pm
I love this sentence: “Stop trying to get people to support you and instead find ways to support them as they tackle the cause in their own sphere of influence.”
Absolutely! Meet people where they are and see how you can help them. Fundraising unfortunately gets the bad rap of arm twisting and begging. Instead of approaching with our own agendas, we should engage people on their terms. Thank you for bringing this up.
Also, I would love to know your thoughts on Dan Pallotta’s “Passive Philanthropy” where giving is becoming so easy people arent actually engaging the cause. Instead they are just texting a donation, for example. http://blogs.hbr.org/pallotta/2010/02/breaking-the-leastyoucando-cyc.html Is giving, in this instance, the least we can do?
“By the way, the story of pogs ended up being written up in a book that ended up falling into the hands of a woman who ended up reading it, being fascinated by it, meeting me…and marrying me!”
Oh my gosh that sounds like a fairy tale. Beautiful!
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EFoley Reply:
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Allison, thanks for drawing my attention to Dan’s article–I hadn’t seen that, and it’s a killer piece. I loved it!
Let me recommend also Kathy LeMay’s book, The Generosity Plan. It’s like Dan’s article turned into a personal strategy manual on how anyone can become a philanthropist by being “all in” with their time, talents, gifts, and treasure. It’s written from a secular perspective and yet has examples from a variety of faith traditions, so I think it’s a great read to recommend to anyone.
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Thanks, Allison, for your thoughtful and genuine message. Listening is a profound art form and an essential skill. Nothing connects us so deeply and automatically to others. It’s so simple, yet so rarely put into practice. That you have acquired this critical cornerstone of wisdom early in your career, presages great things ahead for you. Keep listening!
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ajlovesya Reply:
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Thanks, Valerie! Im still working on becoming a better listener. It’s a very humbling practice that shows me how much I DONT know, how much room there is to grow, and how being partners is the best way to approach social change.
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Allison- Thanks for the tag. Great lessons– and a good questions for nonprofiteers to think about! In fact, in thinking about your question, I learned that my best and worst moments are tied together: the worst was when a problem came up and I didn’t have a back-up plan, and the best was when I found a creative solution to fix it. There really is a lot of being creative in the nonprofit sector (like the creation of your “Career Day”).
The worst moment of my nonprofit career was spawned by a special effects specialist, and my best moment happened because of a stuntman.
I was coordinating a large-scale event at the Science Center called “Strange Matter Weekend” to highlight a new exhibit on the properties of matter. I had multiple conversations and verbal agreements from a special effects specialist from Texas who agreed to be our headliner for a considerable sum of money (we even worked together to create his load-in and load-out schedule). After having the physical contract for 2.5 months and saying, “oh yes! I have it signed on my desk. I’ll fax it over today!”- two weeks before the event, he stopped returning my calls completely. It didn’t take long to realize he was pulling my chain and wasn’t going to show up– and there wasn’t much time! My lesson? Be careful about trust. Even though you are a nonprofit, people will still play games to get money… Not everyone cares about the cause. (side: always have a back-up plan).
One of my best moments came out of this crisis. I had to find a new, creative headliner ASAP. I was discouraged and felt manipulated; what could be an as cool/cooler headliner for Strange Matter than a special effects guy, and who could do something that cool on such short notice? I called the United Stuntmen’s Association and their founder, David Boushey, (whom I’d never met and with whom I had no connection) agreed to headline on the spot. Not only that, he said, “How much was that bozo charging you?– I’ll create an educational program for less.” Within the two weeks, he worked with me to create an educational and captivating show about the make-up and properties of safety equipment– and even the physics of ‘safe’ falling (“Don’t try this at home” still included). It was great and our audience loved it! Lesson: There may be people who stand you up or make decisions in the name of business, but there are also people who do care about your cause. The trick is to find the right people.
It wasn’t a professional ‘best moment’ in which I personally felt that I’d accomplished something, but it was a best moment because it went above and beyond in rebuilding my trust in people to do the right thing in professional situations. These moments combine to be important lessons for me: some people are more motivated by public service-oriented tasks than others; it’s a fact of life and an ongoing struggle for nonprofit organizations. Once I realized this, I was able to bring the lesson into new projects and become more realistic and sadly, less trusting in creating agreements, and more willing/happy to create ongoing partners when contractors prove their dedication. That’s business, though. It was a sad and wonderful lesson.
Another take-away– for the record: stuntmen rock inside and out.
Thanks for the post, Allison– and for allowing me to reflect on these lessons in this interactive space!
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[...] further inspiration to bare your soul, make sure to check out Allison Jones’ own post, The Best and Worst Moments of My Nonprofit Career. My own story is there, along with those of several other similarly humbled [...]