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Introducing 2010 Inspire Fellow: Maurice MatthewsName: Maurice MatthewsHometown: Harlem, New YorkOrganization: Year UpFormer Employer: JP Morgan Chase What inspired you to make the switch into the nonprofit sector? I was looking for a change of environment. I’ve always had a passion for working with students in the social sector. Coming from an …
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Introducing 2010 Inspire Fellow: Tiffany HawkinsTiffany Hawkins Hometown: Fort Washington, MDOrganization: Eagle Academy Public Charter School (EAPCS)Previous Employer: Accenture What inspired you to make the switch into the nonprofit sector? All of my past job experiences have been either working directly in the public sector or with public sect…
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Introducing 2010 Inspire Fellow: David DeVaughnDavid DeVaughn Hometown: Newton, MA Organization: Family Health International Previous Employer: Cambridge Associates What inspired you to make the switch into the nonprofit sector? I had reached the point in my career where I knew I could add value to non-profits, and wanted to transfer my passion …
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Good to Great and the Social Sectors: Seminar ReviewThis past Wednesday following the Proinspire workshop for this month, many Fellows and alumni attended Good to Great and the Social Sectors: a discussion of what makes an organization Great. This seminar was led by a panel consisting of Schroeder Stribling, Executive Director of N Street Village, an…
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Day in the Life of an Inspire Fellows Alum: Nick TakamineAfter a year as an Inspire Fellow with FHI, an international development NGO working in global health and related areas, Nick joined FHI as a Strategy & Analysis Officer. In this role, he is leading the development of a performance metrics framework for the Business Planning & Strategy…
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Introducing 2010 Inspire Fellow: Laura StephensonLaura Stephenson Hometown: Hillsborough, CaliforniaOrganization: Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) Previous Employer: Booz Allen Hamilton What inspired you to make the switch into the nonprofit sector?I am very passionate about education, and always imagined myself working at a nonprofit focu…
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Alum Book Review: How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar: 50 Ways to Accelerate your CareerWhen I was in 6th grade, my biggest fear was of wasting my life. I was a strange kid. I even wrote a long, sappy poem about it. Re-reading that poem in the midst of a recent closet-cleaning exercise brought a bit of chagrin, but also a realization: living intentionally has been the hound at [&hellip…
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Introducing 2010 Inspire Fellow: Erika WhiteErika WhiteHometown: New Rochelle, New YorkOrganization: Association for Enterprise OpportunityPrevious Employer: Jones Lang LaSalleWhat inspired you to make the switch into the nonprofit sector?The passion I have for positively impacting the local and global community was the long-term inspiration.…
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Introducing…2010 Inspire FellowsThe 2010 class of Inspire Fellows has hit the ground running at each of their respective organizations in the Washington, DC area. In the coming weeks, we will be featuring interviews with each of the 13 fellows. Hopefully, these interviews will give you more insight into who we are professionally a…
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10 Interview Tips for Sector SwitchersNext week, Inspire Fellows candidates will be coming to Washington D.C. to interview with our 18 nonprofit partners. Based on the experience of our pilot class of Inspire Fellows, we put together a list of tips that can help any sector switcher prepare for interviews in the nonprofit sector: 1. Prep…
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Tips on Working at a Small NonprofitSimilar to for-profit organizations, there are substantial benefits and drawbacks to working at a small nonprofit organization rather than a larger one. For example, it may be confusing and overwhelming to work at a large organization where you might feel lost in the sea of other colleagues serving …
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Nick’s Application Tips: 5 Questions to Ask YourselfApplications for the 2010 Inspire Fellows program are open. For what it’s worth, I’m offering my advice for creating a strong application. As you go through the application process, ask yourself these five questions. (Note that this is my personal advice; I don’t speak on behalf of…
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On Asset Building For Nonprofitsby 2009 Fellow Rashan Jibowu Despite my short tenure as a nonprofit professional, I have significantly increased my appreciation for the great work that nonprofit organizations perform every day. But, I also feel compelled to ask: Are nonprofit business models generally sustainable? Many people corr…
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Learn about transitioning from business to nonprofit as an Inspire FellowProInspire is hosting information calls in February for candidates interested in the Inspire Fellows 2010 program. Details at http://proinspire.org/fellows/information-calls/ Inspire Fellows Information CallsWednesday, February 3 at 9pm ESTTuesday, February 9 at 7pm ESTMonday, February 15 at 6pm EST…
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ProInspire Spotlight: Keiva Dennis, National Housing Trust Community Development FundProInspire Spotlight is our monthly feature profiling sector switchers and people using their business experience in the social sector. This month we spotlight Keiva Dennis at the National Housing Trust Community Development Fund. Keiva used her experience at Deutsche Bank and her MBA from Yale Scho…
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ProInspire Spotlight: Amitabh Saxena, ACCION InternationalProInspire Spotlight is our monthly feature profiling sector switchers and people using their business experience in the social sector. This month we spotlight Amitabh Saxena at ACCION International. Amitabh is doing great work helping microfinance institutions leverage new channels like mobile phon…
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NI09: Rebecca Onie and Alex Counts on Social EntrepreneurshipMy favorite speakers from Net Impact 2009 were the Saturday morning keynotes on Social Entrepreneurship – Rebecca Onie of Project Health and Alex Counts of the Grameen Foundation. Both Rebecca and Alex shared stories about starting their organizations, the change they are trying to drive, and …
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The Same GameThe answer: This type of entity is organized and operated to make a profit. The question: What is a business? A $200-level Jeopardy! clue, perhaps. But is it that obvious of a response? In some ways, yes; in others, no. The clue, it seems, is responsive to perspective. Within a society that communic…
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ProInspire Spotlight: Valerie Faillace, KIPP FoundationWe are starting a new monthly feature on our blog. ProInspire Spotlight will feature sector switchers and people using their business experience in the social sector. This month we speak with Valerie Faillace at the KIPP Foundation. Valerie and I were roommates at Harvard Business School – she…
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A business professional’s observations about direct serviceI thought I knew what I would be doing in the non-profit sector when I became a ProInspire Fellow. The roles for those of us transitioning from the business world tend to be functional and strategic, leveraging our analytical background. However, I work at Year Up, Inc., and they are not content lea…
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Sector Switchers: Five challenges to prepare for in your new nonprofit jobI wrote today’s post for Nonprofit Career Month. In August, ProInspire launched the Inspire Fellows program for young business professionals transitioning into the nonprofit sector. As part of our orientation, we led a discussion on challenges faced by sector switchers. While many sector switc…
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Blog Action Day – how can you get involved with climate change?Today is Blog Action Day, an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. This year’s Blog Action Day is focused on Climate Change. Given that this…
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ProInspire Launch Party was a big success!On Monday we hosted ProInspire’s Launch Party at Lima Restaurant and Lounge in Washington D.C. More than 70 people attended the event and there was alot of excitement about the Inspire Fellows program. Guests included Board members, hiring partners, supporters, and friends of ProInspire. We in…
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Grad school advice from ProInspire Fellows panelOn Friday we had our monthly Inspire Fellows Professional Development workshop. This was the first workshop since Fellows started working, so we focused on career development. The highlight of the workshop was a panel about the role of graduate school in nonprofit careers. The panel featured: –…
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Book event: Microfinance for Bankers and InvestorsYesterday I attended a book event with Elisabeth Rhyne about her new book, Microfinance for Bankers and Investors: Understanding the Opportunities and Challenges at the Bottom of the Pyramid. I used to work with Beth at ACCION International so I was excited to hear more about her latest publication.…
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Working at a for-profit social enterpriseLast week, Fortune magazine published a column providing career advice for people who want to “save the world at work.” The article highlighted new startups that aim to earn a profit while also making the world a better place. This concept is not new – the terms social enterprise, …
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“I’ve found my people”Yesterday I attended the Education Pioneers Metro DC Showcase. Education Pioneers is focused on building the field of leaders to close the talent gap and transform urban education. Their program places students from top graduate schools in summer internships at education organizations around the cou…
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Article: What Nonprofit Employers Want to Know About Job SeekersLast week the Chronicle of Philanthropy had a great article (see below) about how jobseekers can make their resumes stand out for nonprofit employers. A few things from the article stood out to me as areas where I have seen sector switchers struggle: 1. Applications for nonprofit jobs have gotten mu…
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Inspire Fellows pilot kicks-off!On Monday we kicked off the pilot Inspire Fellows program with a 2-day orientation! 5 Fellows from our pilot class participated and they are a very enthusiastic group. In this picture (from L to R): Nick Takamine, Monisha Kapila, Pratichi Shah, John Wilson, Matt Chou, Meg McCann, Rashan Jibowu, Kare…
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Bridgestar article: Cultural Fit in the Nonprofit SectorBridgestar recently spoke with Brian O’Connell about the role of cultural fit in the nonprofit sector. Brian is the author of Fifty Years in Public Causes: Stories From a Road Less Traveled, and co-founder and president emeritus of Independent Sector. Brian shared his perspectives about cultural f…
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IDEO’s Human-Centered Design ToolkitIDEO recently announced a free toolkit for applying Human-Centered Design to inspire new solutions to difficult challenges within communities of need. The toolkit was developed through partnership with International Development Enterprises (IDE), Heifer International, ICRW, and the Bill & Melin…
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How to capture the market of people who want to do service?Yesterday's Wall Street Journal featured a story on Jobless Professionals Yearn to Do Good. The article looks at the increase in applications from people with business and legal experience to service programs: – Applications to Teach for America are up 42%. Nearly one-quarter of this year&…
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Article: ‘Talent tsunami’ from downturn floods sectorInteresting article from the Financial Times. Discusses how the wave of business professionals trying to get into the nonprofit sector has not made talent management easier for organizations. Credit crunch: ‘Talent tsunami’ from downturn floods sector By Sarah Murray Published: May 27 2009 18:01…
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Interview with Rosetta Lai, AALeadYesterday I met with Rosetta Lai, the Executive Director of Asian American LEAD. AALEAD’s overarching goal is to increase the opportunities and ability of low-income Asian American children to move out of poverty and become successful, self-sufficient adults. Rosetta joined AALEAD after 20 yea…
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Check out Jobs for ChangeLast week Change.org launched Jobs for Change, which aims to spark a nationwide movement toward careers in the common good. They plan to build the largest database of nonprofit, government, and social enterprise jobs on the web. Change.org has hired a team of career advisors to provide daily advice …
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Action steps for a nonprofit job searchYesterday I led a session on Making a Career Transition into the Nonprofit Sector at LaidOffCampNY. It was a great discussion with 20 people who had different levels of experience (from early career to very experienced) and a variety of professional backgrounds (advertising, finance, IT, etc.). Here…
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Bridgespan’s latest report on the leadership deficitLast week the Bridgespan Group published Finding Leaders for America’s Nonprofits – an update to their leadership deficit study from 2006. Many people have been wondering if the leadership deficit is no longer an issue because of the recession. Bridgespan polled 433 nonprofit EDs with re…
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Serve America Act signed into law!Yesterday marked a milestone in the service movement, with President Obama signing the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act into law. We have seen the huge interest in our pilot Inspire Fellows program and are excited that this legislation will create more opportunities for service. Some of the key c…
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Can philanthrocapitalism solve the world’s problems?Last week I attended a discussion called Philanthrocapitalism: Savior or Emperor? at the Hudson Institute. This lively debate featured two thought leaders with contradictory points of view:Matthew Bishop of the Economist, and author of Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich Can Save the World and Michae…
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Why you should go to happy hours and other networking eventsYesterday I attended a happy hour hosted by the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network and Greater DC Cares. I almost did not go because I had too much work to do and I was not in the mood for mingling with people I do not know. I am glad I went because it was a reminder […]…
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Put yourself in the other person’s shoesYesterday I attended a Compass DC event about megacommunities. Reggie Van Lee, author of Megacommunities: How Leaders of Government, Business and Nonprofits Can Tackle Today’s Global Challenges Together spoke about the tri-sector approach to problem solving. Megacommunities was a new concept f…
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My Dad’s Journey for an Encore Career: Part Iby Monisha Kapila One of the hottest topics in nonprofit human capital is leveraging the potential of Baby Boomers who are looking for an "Encore" career. Encore: Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life started as a concept in a book, and is now taking hold in society through the lead…
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Social Citizens who want to make a differenceby Monisha Kapila Today I wrote a guest post about ProInspire for the Social Citizens blog, a project of the Case Foundation: http://www.socialcitizens.org/blog/do-you-want-job-where-you-can-make-difference Social Citizens was started after the release of a discussion paper from the Case Foundation …
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What kinds of nonprofit jobs are good for sector switchers?One of the first questions that sector switchers ask is “What kind of jobs can I do in a nonprofit organization?” This is a complicated question because the nonprofit sector is so diverse, and made up of many “sub-sectors.” To make things simple, nonprofit jobs usually fall into 2 buckets: 1…
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Why Launch ProInspireIn early 2008, I heard Tom Tierney from the Bridgespan Group speak about the leadership deficit facing the nonprofit sector. He said: “The leadership deficit looms as the greatest challenge facing nonprofits over the next ten years.” In fact, his paper suggests that the nonprofit sector …