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Time to Read: About 5 minutes
Dear Colleague,
Thank you for subscribing to the Capability Company ezine. This month’s issue is focused on cultivating non-traditional employees, and why you’ll be glad you did over the next 5-10 years. I hope you find it useful.
Rebecca Worters
President, Capability Company
Avoiding the Nonprofit Workforce Dearth:
Cultivating Good Leaders Now
Much has been written and said about the upcoming shortage of nonprofit professionals. With baby boomers retiring and Executive Director turnover projected at 70% in the next five years, nonprofits need to take a hard look at where new employees will come from. Who is going to mind the store?
When we look at the available workforce, answers do emerge. Nonprofits will need to cultivate non-traditional candidates to take the reigns in the future.
Some non-traditional candidates are people who have been in the for-profit sector and who want to get into the nonprofit sector and work for a “cause.” They do have transferable skills.
Other candidates are still in school and are enrolled in the growing number of nonprofit management degree programs. One organization that is doing good work to facilitate match-ups with such aspiring nonprofit managers and nonprofits is American Humanics based in Kansas City.
Right now there are not any formal channels for getting introduced to people wanting to go from for-profit to non-profit work. Laura Gassner-Otting has written an excellent book called Transitioning to the Nonprofit Sector: Shifting Your Focus From the Bottom Line to a Better World that guides for-profit professionals in making the switch.
As a nonprofit organization it’s best to begin developing relationships now with these two groups by hiring them as interns or involving them in meaningful volunteer work. Observe their work and dedication levels, and if they are good, smart and dedicated, hire them. That way, you’ll not have to put the fire of a crisis in leadership down the line.
Capability Company helps nonprofits find, recruit and hire the best top administrative team members. To find out more about our services and to see if we can help you, visit http://www.capabilitycompany.com/.