Posted: 4/26/25
When I decided to take a risk in my career, transitioning from sales to fundraising in 2009, with the objective of finding more meaningful work, I was unaware that there appeared to be an unwritten rule at the time that nonprofits should be careful when considering the hire of sales professionals or others who came from the business world. I suspect that there was a concern that the culture would change in nonprofits by inserting the competitive mentality of business professionals, and that decisions would be made in favor of profits over the mission.
In my experience, it is understood that nonprofits place more emphasis on their mission, or the positive impact they have on the world, whereas business professionals typically focus on profitability. Businesses mostly measure success by the amount of money they make, while nonprofits value the number of people they help or the impact they have on the problems they are trying to correct. This is not to say that nonprofits do not understand the need for funding, only that decisions regarding the mission are foremost in the organization.
What has surprised me lately is that I have seen the term “sales experience” or similar phrases in job ads seeking to hire fundraisers. I had never seen this before but it seems to be showing up more often now. It appears that nonprofits are starting to recognize that adding some business strategies to an existing fundraising plan can be helpful to earn enough money to support the programs necessary to make a difference. There are only so many donor dollars to go around so competition among nonprofits can result. I am not sure where this is going but for those individuals who would like to move from business to the nonprofit, it would be in their best interest to indicate a personal interest or affinity in the mission when applying for a nonprofit position. While nonprofits are showing signs of becoming more competitive, it is still the mission that matters most. I would advise against business professionals trying to fake an interest in the mission as well because hiring managers in the nonprofit can typically identify a fake relatively quickly.
If you are looking to move from business to a career of doing good, be prepared to express your genuine interest and how you can benefit the mission.
Photo by: Andrea Piacquadio (www.pexels.com)