Each day, people like you have ideas on how to make the world a better place, but don’t know how to put their ideas into action. To help you take the first step, we’re profiling budding social entrepreneurs who are tackling issues that are important to them, one step at a time.

The idea

Chris Baker first traveled to the Himalayas when he was 18, and hasn’t stopped going back ever since.

Chris Baker spending a day at the office in Nepal. (Photo via Chris Baker.)

In college, Chris researched rock carvings in the area surrounding Mt. Everest, and held the position of President of the Yale Mountaineering Club. Shortly after graduating he became a Kiva fellow in Nepal, working closely with Patan Business and Professional Women (BPW Patan), a micro credit program that provides women with business development resources.

From his experience in Nepal, Chris saw a real opportunity in linking the mindful traveler with local communities and entrepreneurs. Combining his passion for social enterprise and the mountains, he created OneSeed Expeditions.

OneSeed invests 10 cents of every incoming dollar directly into microfinance initiatives that provide capital to women entrepreneurs in Nepal. You take an amazing trip to Everest Base Camp; a local woman launches or expands her business.

Obstacles

Chris’s first step was laying the groundwork. As a teacher with Teach for America, Chris would spend his summers off in Nepal getting to know the people and land even more.

But as with any idea, Chris ran into a few challenges along the way:

Obstacle: Committing to the idea
Solution: After things started rolling, every founder had to make the decision to commit full time, which meant quitting jobs and possibly moving. Once everyone did there was no turning away from OneSeed.  “It’s easy to waver and and find reason not to do something, but at a certain point you have to commit and do it wholeheartedly,” Chris says. “There’s a level of momentum that comes with that complete commitment.”

Obstacle: Getting on the same page
Solution: When starting the social enterprise, the other two founding members were from Nepal. It was important to be clear and figure out what OneSeed’s core values were right away. It helped cause less confusion when communicating about the details over many Skype calls and to this day, Chris and his team are careful not to lose sight of their original principles. “The conversations and connections that come from sitting around a stove and drinking tea form the foundation of our company,” he says.

Obstacle: Fear of the unknown
Solution:  “It’s easy to be blinded by optimism,” Chris says of being an entrepreneur.  He had to become a true realist and take a self-assessment of the projections, which meant sitting down and asking himself and the team if they were going to meet their targets and goals. Once they evaluated their chances of success, Chris said they just had to jump. “When you’re making your idea a reality there is always a high risk and reward,” he says. He now has a thriving social enterprise that’s expanding, and everyday he loves his job. “I get to spend time in beautiful places with amazing people and we do a little bit of good along the way.”

Advice

Discovering the Annapurna trail in Nepal. (Photo via Chris Baker.)

Chris is now busy bringing the OneSeed name to Chile, offering expeditions in Patagonia beginning in January 2013. To date, OneSeed has raised over $16,000 for women entrepreneurs, and has trained and hired more than 30 local guides in Nepal and Chile.

Chris is of the belief that making a plan can’t be overstated enough. “Ideas are plentiful; execution is rare,” he says. “Some things wind up easier than you think.”

Specifically, here’s how he encourages you to move forward on your idea:

• Know your limits of what you can and cannot do.
• Be aware when you need to bring in other team members to collaborate.
• Draw upon your networks to find true experts.
• Recombine and link ideas across contexts e.g. travel and microfinance.
• Ask a lot of questions.

Finally, Chris advocates for acting on your idea no matter what.  “Remember you’re always going to have people warning you of the constraints, challenges, and impossibles,” he says. “But if you’re willing to follow through, you find that you can do things that seem out of reach.”

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Starting your own social enterprise and need some advice? Feel free to reach out to Chris: chris@oneseedexpeditions.com.

An ongoing experiment: can our community’s collective brainpower help an idea become reality?

Meet Tamara

Tamara Turner follows the beat of her own drum – literally and figuratively. Her passion with music began when she was five years old composing piano pieces in her hometown of Fort Collins, Colorado. Tamara hasn’t skipped a beat as an adult, dabbling in everything from film scoring to music journalism, and studying a wide range of musical styles from West African drumming in Ghana to tin whistle in Ireland to Gnawa music in Morocco.

Most recently, Tamara graduated from Boston’s Tufts University with a masters degree in ethnomusicology. There, she helped organize a “Music and Islam” symposium where, by connecting with the local Moroccan community, she brought in a Moroccan band to host workshops that culminated in a big concert. For Tamara, music plays a critical role in challenging the Islamophobia she often comes across in the U.S.

“Because music has the ability to build connections artistically, creatively, and emotionally, it gives us an opportunity to lead with the heart, transcending the medium of ‘discourse’ and offering a different kind of relationship with which to understand others,” she says.

The intention

Broadly speaking, Tamara envisions an organization that utilizes music for cultural advocacy, outreach, and education, starting with but not limited to the music and cultures of North Africa. One of the first issues she would like to address through musical bridges is Islamophobia.

The idea is two-fold: Similar to the program she helped organize at Tufts, she wants to connect with local immigrant communities in the U.S. to help share their music through concerts, education, and more. Travel is also key, as she’d like to work in North Africa to help record and archive musical traditions.

Besides fostering cross-cultural understanding, and of course, celebrating the inherent joy that music brings, Tamara also hopes to counter the exotification of non-Western music cultures that can sometimes result, however well-intentioned.

“That’s part of the vision, too. Not just piecemealing and romanticizing certain elements of other cultures, but allowing ourselves to be challenged by and uncomfortable with differences as well,” she says.

Tamara learning the guimbri with her teacher, Abdellatif El Makhzoumi, in Marrakech, Morocco. (Photo via Tamara Turner.)

Obstacles

So far, Tamara has been researching similar organizations around the world and is in the process of refining her idea.

Here are some challenges she has identified:

1. Reaching out to immigrant communities in the U.S. seems clear cut to Tamara given her experience, but incorporating the North African component is both nebulous and daunting.
2. She doesn’t want to reinvent the wheel, and is considering becoming involved with an existing organization or program at first.
3. Although she’s been encouraged by the nonprofits she’s been in touch with, she always hears a version of the same story: “Contact us after you get funding.”
4. Sustaining enthusiasm and momentum around the idea after it’s no longer fresh is a concern.

How you can help

• Do you know of any similar organizations or programs to add to her list?
• Besides initiating conversations, is there more she can be doing to get her foot in the door with people who are already doing similar work?
• How can she inspire the average person to get outside their comfort zone and, for example, be open to new music from the Islamic world?
• For music fans and non-music fans alike, what are some other effective and fun outreach strategies besides concerts?
• Aside from major cities, are there other areas in the U.S. that could benefit from such an organization?
• What are some potential funding avenues she should pursue?
• How can she best balance her vision with logistics, and prevent getting so bogged down with logistics that her vision deflates?
• If you’ve started your own nonprofit, would you be willing to share your story and the lessons learned?

Leave a comment below or send her a message through Idealist and if the project progresses, we’ll keep you posted!

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Do you have an idea that’s just starting to brew? If you’d like us to consider posting it as part of this series, email celeste [at] idealist [dot] org.

You have an idea to make your community better. But you’re feeling overwhelmed, afraid, unsure, and more. Now what?

Idealist can help.

All you need to do is share your story with us: what you want to do and why, the challenges you’re facing, the help you’re seeking. We’ll post it on this blog for our extremely knowledgeable and friendly community to name resources, give advice, and perhaps most importantly, cheer you on.

Sharing your idea with others can help it bloom. (Photo from Zaggy J via Flickr/Creative Commons.)

I know it can be scary to put your idea out there. But chances are, people will think it’s awesome too.  Don’t believe me?

• Erica felt extremely motivated by all the positive enthusiasm she received, and is in the middle of writing a play that includes elements of her hospice work.
• Shannon has several leads to collaborate with others who want to connect U.S. and Afghan youth, including a penpal organization in New Mexico.
• Melanie learned more about theatre of the oppressed practitioners and organizations that might want to work with her in the Portland area, and the support from others has helped her gain momentum on her idea.

No matter what stage you’re at, a small push can go a long way. Let us help you take your next step.

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Do you have an idea that’s just starting to brew? If you’d like us to consider posting it as part of this series, email celeste [at] idealist [dot] org.

With a new school year just around the corner (so long, summer!), now is the perfect time to start thinking about if graduate school is the right next step for you.  Idealist is here to help by hosting a series of Grad Fairs throughout the fall.

Talk to admissions representatives from graduate schools from around the country. (Photo Credit: Staff Photo/Julia Smith)

Starting in September, we’ll visit 17 cities across the United States so you can meet with representatives from hundreds of colleges and universities.  At a Grad Fair, you’ll learn about the admissions process, financial aid, and degree programs in nonprofit management, public health, public policy, social work, education, international affairs, and many other fields.  This is the perfect opportunity to explore how graduate school might help you strengthen your skill set, grow your network, and advance your career in social change.

Grad Fairs are free and open to the public.

To RSVP for a Grad Fair near you, click a city below:

Thursday, September 13 – New York
Wednesday, September 19 – Boston
Thursday, September 20 – Providence
Thursday, September 27 – Baltimore
Friday, September 28 – Washington, DC
Monday, October 1 – Philadelphia
Monday, October 3 – Toronto
Monday, October 8 – Denver
Tuesday, October 9 – Minneapolis
Thursday, October 11 – Chicago
Thursday, October 18 – Los Angeles
Friday, October 19 – San Francisco
Tuesday, October 23 – Seattle
Wednesday, October 24 – Portland
Monday, October 29 – Houston
Tuesday, October 30 – New Orleans
Thursday, November 1 – Miami

Have questions about the Grad Fairs? Visit our FAQ page for Graduate School Seekers or leave a comment below! And be sure to check out our tips for Graduate School Seekers to ensure you get the most out of our fairs.

As a thank you to our community, each week we’re highlighting interesting organizations and opportunities that you’ve shared on our website. Because of you, Idealist.org is a hub for people who want to create a better world. Thank you.

Before getting to this week’s batch of awesome nonprofit organizations, I should introduce myself. I’m Matt Cifaldi, one of the newest staff members at Idealist, and I am very excited to be here! Among other vital duties I will be taking care of at the NYC office, I am the new organization approval guru, which means that before you see a nonprofit on Idealist, I check it out. So when a nonprofit catches my eye (for a good reason), I’ll post it here and tell you all about it. In recognition of the Summer Olympics, I’m shining the spotlight on three fitness-oriented nonprofits this week. Let’s get started!

YBike

The Olympic Games are coming to an end but you can still stay active! (Photo Credit: YBike)

Scraped knees begone! San Franciscan parents interested in raising the next Lance Armstrong or just teaching their kids how to bike safely should check out YBike. Located next to Presidio Park for primo biking practice, YBike is a program of the YMCA. Its After School Bike Clubs teach local kids how to ride safely on San Francisco’s roads, and also provide valuable exercise. So if your child is yearning to leave the confines of your driveway and get two wheels on the open road, check it out!

Coney Island Brighton Beach Open Water Swimmers

Have you been watching the Olympics and thinking that a warm indoor pool is just not a challenging enough environment for swimmers? If your answer is yes, and you live in New York City, you’re in luck! Coney Island Brighton Beach Open Water Swimmers (CIBBOWS) runs open water races and practices in the NYC metro area. You can attend a swim clinic taught by English Channel swimmer Bonnie Schwartz, exercise in a group at Brighton Beach from Memorial Day to Labor Day, or just sign up for one of the many races CIBBOWS organizes. One mile in the ocean too easy for you? Try 120 miles down the Hudson. Not even Phelps does that.

Yogis on Wheels

No, this organization does not involve race cars. It is, however, the coolest type of yoga I’ve heard of in a long time. At several facilities across the Bay area, Yogis on Wheels offers yoga classes designed for people with physical disabilities. With about two volunteer instructors for every student, people who have not been able to stretch their bodies for years are able to experience that excellent post-yoga feeling that many of us take for granted. Check out the video on their website that gives a quick overview of what a class is like. And send them an email if you’re a yogi from in the Bay area and would like to help out!

I hope you enjoyed my first organization spotlight and checked out these three stellar nonprofits. Don’t forget that as an Idealist user you can connect with any organization you like, leave comments on their page, and check out what volunteer opportunities, jobs, or events they’re offering now. Happy searching!

An ongoing experiment: can our community’s collective brainpower help an idea become reality?

Meet Melanie

For Melanie Lockert, who grew up singing in the choir and performing high school plays in Los Angeles, theatre is the one place where she can really be herself. But the business side  — auditioning, networking, etc. —  has left Melanie feeling increasingly disenchanted as an adult. “I don’t believe the system functions in a way that is conducive to self-esteem and communication,” she says.

Animal exercises with third graders at Harlem’s PS 175. (Photo via Melanie Lockert.)

So when she began practicing Theatre of the Oppressed with youth at Brooklyn’s Falconworks Artists Group, she knew the focus on individual experiences as a catalyst for social change would restore her faith in the art form.

“Theatre of the oppressed doesn’t shut out anyone. It doesn’t say your experience is wrong and my experience is right. Everyone can be an actor,” she says. “ It’’s a mobilizing tool for people who have never spoken in public and who have never expressed issues in a safe environment where they can feel comfortable playing.”

The intention

Melanie recently relocated to Portland, Oregon after getting a Masters in Performance Studies at NYU. While in New York, she taught theatre at PS 175 in Harlem with the New York City Mission Society and before that, managed art programs for underserved youth in Los Angeles. She wants to draw from her experiences teaching and work with this same population to create plays based on issues they or their communities face.

“It’s a way to open up a dialogue about what these young people want, and what they want out of their lives, addressing some of the things they want to see change in their community,” she says.

Obstacles

Melanie is currently in the planning stage. Here are some challenges she has identified:

1. As a newcomer to Portland, Melanie is struggling to connect with organizations whose constituents could benefit from theatre of the oppressed.
2. Finding people is one thing. Locating a space where they could practice and perform poses another logistical consideration.
3. When she’s not playing with a local theatre company, Melanie is actively seeking full-time employment and volunteering opportunities with arts organizations, both of which have been difficult and detract her from focusing on the project.
4. Like most people with an idea, Melanie continually fights the doubtful voice inside her head: What if this isn’t a good idea? Is such a program necessary? Give up the dream and focus on making a living instead?

How you can help

• Do you have advice for overcoming paralyzing doubt?
• How can Melanie start meeting the right people who would be interested in making this idea happen?
• Do you know organizations in Portland working with youth (or women) that might be interested in having Melanie teach a workshop at night or on the weekends?
• How she can find a free or low-cost community space that would host the program?
• If she wanted to scratch working with organizations all together, how could she recruit youth by herself? What would be the legal logistics to consider?

Leave a comment below or send her a message through Idealist and if the project progresses, we’ll keep you posted!

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Do you have an idea that’s just starting to brew? If you’d like us to consider posting it as part of this series, email celeste [at] idealist [dot] org.

With the exception of a few ineffectual sessions with an in-house therapist at my college following a bad breakup, I had no experience with the counseling process when I made my first appointment to see a career counselor earlier this year. I had heard the gamut about counseling, though: it’s so helpful, it’s a total crock, it changed my life, it’s a waste of money. All I really knew was that I’d hit a wall with my own efforts to clarify my job goals, and seeking professional help seemed like a good next step.

When I first contacted my counselor, she suggested we speak on the phone for a few minutes to make sure it would be a good fit. I told her my central problem (“I’m interested in a lot of jobs and am having trouble narrowing down”) and she laid out a path to clarity: we’d take stock of my strengths and preferences, then match them up with careers that would put them to best use. Sold!

Talking to a career counselor can be like talking to an old friend - except you get job tips after some venting. (Photo credit: Linzi Clark)

Personal revelations

My counselor spent the lion’s share of our first 50-minute session taking a wide-ranging personal inventory of me. Questions went from “Did you go to a private high school?” to “What are your relationships with your siblings like?” By the end, I felt a little self-conscious from blabbing so much, but my counselor wanted to learn as much about me as possible. Toward the end of that first session, she asked what impressions I thought my parents’ working lives had made on me. As I thought aloud about it, I found myself saying, “They gave me a sense that there were no limits, but also that there was little direction.” After saying it, I realized that this one sentiment explained a lot about how I’d lived my life thus far. A good counselor can help draw you out and let you reveal for yourself factors and habits currently operating undercover.

Identifying themes

Another benefit of this kind of personal reflection was being able to tease out the strongest themes in my personality, with the goal of matching them to career possibilities. My counselor gave me a post-first-session homework assignment called “Seven Stories.” You jot down brief descriptions of 25 different times you can remember enjoying doing something, thinking you were doing it well, and feeling proud to do it. Not just one or two of those things; all three. Then you take the seven stories you like the most from the bunch and write a paragraph about each of them. The exercise takes time, but can quickly reveal some striking trends in personality. In my case, I immediately noticed themes of close personal relationships and a desire to help; in addition, my counselor picked up on the tactile nature of many of the stories, and on how most of the goals I reached came from me setting my own bars and reaching them.

After identifying themes like these, we moved on to more formal methods of personal data mining, including the Strong Interest Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (for professional use only!). Using info from all these sources, we compiled a list of some of my strongest personality trends (artistic, extroverted, collaborative, intuitive), then dove into career matching. The Strong especially includes lots of cool matching tools, but there are other helpful sources available free to anyone online, including O*NET’s Interest Profiler (created by the U.S. Department of Labor).

The total picture

Something I found at first frustrating but then comforting throughout career counseling was my counselor’s contention that there are thousands of jobs any person can find satisfying, and by the same turn, there is no such thing as a job without drawbacks. So she emphasized that career search is not about finding the one magic title that will solve everything, it’s about matching your interests and skills as much as possible to a line of work. Kind of like Dr. Phil’s 80/20 rule.

In this vein, my counselor also appreciated that there’s a lot to every job that’s not in the description, but that affects its total scope tremendously. A doctor’s bio blurb might indicate his academic degrees and areas of specialty, but it won’t mention that it can be lonely running a private practice, that his office is a two-hour commute from his home, or that insurance paperwork takes up half his time. Another example comes from my counselor herself: she always enjoyed counseling, but it took her awhile of working with teens, then business school students, before she realized she would really feel most at home working with young professionals in the arts, which is her focus now. When searching for the right opportunity, pay attention to the kind of daily lifestyle (work environment, potential colleagues and peers, even seasonal changes, etc.) your work could entail.

A few notes on choosing a counselor

A trusted friend gave me the name of a counselor she’d seen and found helpful, and since my friend and I are a lot alike, I was confident that I’d see eye to eye with the person on at least some things; it turned out she was just the counselor for me. If you can’t get a recommendation, make sure to scour potential counselors’ websites for clues to their style, and ask for a ten-minute phone chat before you book your first appointment (if the counselor doesn’t suggest it first) so you can get to know each other a tiny bit before starting. If you’re not at ease with the person’s demeanor, or you feel they’re focused on different goals than you, take an initial pass and try someone else.

Career counseling can be expensive, no doubt about it. Frankly, I don’t think I’d ever spent so much per hour on any activity, except perhaps flying. And it absolutely stretched my budget. But for me, it was worth every penny. I consider it a great investment in the future, ounce-of-prevention style: the new ideas and methodologies I learned have streamlined my thinking, and will save me time and headaches down the road.

Tell us about your experiences with career counseling!

With the exception of a few ineffectual sessions with an in-house therapist at my college following a bad breakup, I had no experience with the counseling process when I made my first appointment to see a career counselor earlier this year. I had heard the gamut about counseling, though: it’s so helpful, it’s a total crock, it changed my life, it’s a waste of money. All I really knew was that I’d hit a wall with my own efforts to clarify my job goals, and seeking professional help seemed like a good next step.

When I first contacted my counselor, she suggested we speak on the phone for a few minutes to make sure it would be a good fit. I told her my central problem (“I’m interested in a lot of jobs and am having trouble narrowing down”) and she laid out a path to clarity: we’d take stock of my strengths and preferences, then match them up with careers that would put them to best use. Sold!

Talking to a career counselor can be like talking to an old friend - except you get job tips after some venting. (Photo credit: Linzi Clark)

Personal revelations

My counselor spent the lion’s share of our first 50-minute session taking a wide-ranging personal inventory of me. Questions went from “Did you go to a private high school?” to “What are your relationships with your siblings like?” By the end, I felt a little self-conscious from blabbing so much, but my counselor wanted to learn as much about me as possible. Toward the end of that first session, she asked what impressions I thought my parents’ working lives had made on me. As I thought aloud about it, I found myself saying, “They gave me a sense that there were no limits, but also that there was little direction.” After saying it, I realized that this one sentiment explained a lot about how I’d lived my life thus far. A good counselor can help draw you out and let you reveal for yourself factors and habits currently operating undercover.

Identifying themes

Another benefit of this kind of personal reflection was being able to tease out the strongest themes in my personality, with the goal of matching them to career possibilities. My counselor gave me a post-first-session homework assignment called “Seven Stories.” You jot down brief descriptions of 25 different times you can remember enjoying doing something, thinking you were doing it well, and feeling proud to do it. Not just one or two of those things; all three. Then you take the seven stories you like the most from the bunch and write a paragraph about each of them. The exercise takes time, but can quickly reveal some striking trends in personality. In my case, I immediately noticed themes of close personal relationships and a desire to help; in addition, my counselor picked up on the tactile nature of many of the stories, and on how most of the goals I reached came from me setting my own bars and reaching them.

After identifying themes like these, we moved on to more formal methods of personal data mining, including the Strong Interest Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (for professional use only!). Using info from all these sources, we compiled a list of some of my strongest personality trends (artistic, extroverted, collaborative, intuitive), then dove into career matching. The Strong especially includes lots of cool matching tools, but there are other helpful sources available free to anyone online, including O*NET’s Interest Profiler (created by the U.S. Department of Labor).

The total picture

Something I found at first frustrating but then comforting throughout career counseling was my counselor’s contention that there are thousands of jobs any person can find satisfying, and by the same turn, there is no such thing as a job without drawbacks. So she emphasized that career search is not about finding the one magic title that will solve everything, it’s about matching your interests and skills as much as possible to a line of work. Kind of like Dr. Phil’s 80/20 rule.

In this vein, my counselor also appreciated that there’s a lot to every job that’s not in the description, but that affects its total scope tremendously. A doctor’s bio blurb might indicate his academic degrees and areas of specialty, but it won’t mention that it can be lonely running a private practice, that his office is a two-hour commute from his home, or that insurance paperwork takes up half his time. Another example comes from my counselor herself: she always enjoyed counseling, but it took her awhile of working with teens, then business school students, before she realized she would really feel most at home working with young professionals in the arts, which is her focus now. When searching for the right opportunity, pay attention to the kind of daily lifestyle (work environment, potential colleagues and peers, even seasonal changes, etc.) your work could entail.

A few notes on choosing a counselor

A trusted friend gave me the name of a counselor she’d seen and found helpful, and since my friend and I are a lot alike, I was confident that I’d see eye to eye with the person on at least some things; it turned out she was just the counselor for me. If you can’t get a recommendation, make sure to scour potential counselors’ websites for clues to their style, and ask for a ten-minute phone chat before you book your first appointment (if the counselor doesn’t suggest it first) so you can get to know each other a tiny bit before starting. If you’re not at ease with the person’s demeanor, or you feel they’re focused on different goals than you, take an initial pass and try someone else.

Career counseling can be expensive, no doubt about it. Frankly, I don’t think I’d ever spent so much per hour on any activity, except perhaps flying. And it absolutely stretched my budget. But for me, it was worth every penny. I consider it a great investment in the future, ounce-of-prevention style: the new ideas and methodologies I learned have streamlined my thinking, and will save me time and headaches down the road.

Tell us about your experiences with career counseling!

Hark! A lark! (Photo credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS, Creative Commons/Flickr)

With all the awesome organizations and people in the Idealist community, there’s no end to the variety of exciting opportunities to get involved. Whether you’re into birds or boards, tech or taxes, we’ve got something for you. Check out this sampling of great upcoming events:

Presidio Family Bird Count

On September 9th, join the Golden Gate Audubon Society for bird spotting in San Francisco’s Presidio. In the afternoon, young participants will have the opportunity to present their tallies. Last year, over 50 kinds of birds were recorded. The event is totally free and includes a “binocular bootcamp and birding basics” class for those who arrive early.

Stay Exempt Workshop

Every year, thousands of nonprofit organizations in the U.S. lose their 501(c)(3) status because they don’t file with the IRS or don’t file correctly. This one-day workshop on September 25th in Portland, Oregon will help you navigate tax compliance and regulations to keep your organization exempt.

Helping Hacks: The Goodnik Hackathon

Have a nonprofit tech project that needs help? Are you a hacker, developer, database genius, or project manager? Or do you just want to help connect some techie folks with the organizations that need their expertise? Then get involved in Goodnik’s Hackathon. For one weekend, August 24th – 26th, New York’s best developers and designers will team up with the city’s nonprofits to create innovative solutions to real technological challenges. Neat, huh?

Boulder County Board Match

Board service is a great way to get involved with causes you care about. If you live in Boulder County, Colorado and want to learn more about participating on a board, or if you’re looking to build your own org’s board, head over to to the Boulder County Board Match on September 19th. You’ll be able to make connections with local organizations, gain professional development, and learn everything you could want to know about nonprofit board service. There’ll even be childcare available if you can’t find a babysitter that day.

Is your organization throwing a party, offering a workshop, or launching a project? Add it to our event listings! Just log in and click on “Post a Listing” to get started.

It’s no secret that the past few years have been challenging for nonprofits as they try to serve their clients with shrinking budgets. We saw this first hand last year when we asked nonprofits to share the impact the recession was having on their organizations.

This year, we again approached the thousands of organizations on Idealist to ask them how they’re doing, what they anticipate in the coming year, and to learn more about their human resources practices. We also asked job seekers to share their experiences to get a more complete picture of how the sector as a whole is faring. In total, we surveyed over 1,000 U.S.-based organizations and 3,000 active job seekers to find out who’s hiring and who’s looking, the latest in funding and compensation practices, and what’s posing the biggest challenges to both organizations and job hunters right now.

In general things are looking up with 48% of all nonprofits plan to make new hires in 2012 and 54% say they will offer salary increases in 2012, up from 47% last year. However, what’s compelling are the experiences of job seekers and hiring managers.

What we know about today’s nonprofit job seeker:

From Job Seekers

• They are experienced: 30% of job seekers are over the age 50; 26% have more than 11 years of experience in the nonprofit sector.
• They value opportunities for career development: In fact, this is one of the top reasons job seekers who are currently employed full-time (33%) are looking to leave their current organizations.
• They are committed in and outside of the office: 83% of job seekers have volunteered, demonstrating an interest in staying and growing in the sector.
• They want to hear from hiring managers: The number one challenge job seekers face is the lack of communication from employers. In fact, 86% say they never receive any feedback or follow up at all.

Tip for job seekers: Given your experience and needs, it’s even more important that you are searching for organizations that are a good fit. Be sure you’re searching for the right opportunities by asking yourself a few key questions.

What we know about today’s nonprofit hiring manager:

From Hiring Managers

• They wear many hats: 84% have responsibilities in at least one other area, most often program management, office/facilities management, and communications.
• They appreciate attention to detail: Because they have to juggle multiple responsibilities, hiring managers place emphasis on potential employees following instructions in order to move through the hiring process as quickly and efficiently as possible.
• They also prefer job seekers not call: Also because of their limited time and resources, 40% of hiring managers prefer that you not follow up about your job application status.
• They value passion: 86% say that understanding their organization’s mission is very important.

Tip for organizations: With many job seekers looking to leave their current organizations due to lack of advancement, you may need to get creative with how you support your employees. Over at Idealisthr.org – a community for nonprofit HR professionals  – a nonprofit recently shared a successful leadership pipeline program they created designed to retain and support top talent. You can also strengthen your organization by tapping into the Idealist community.

There is more information in the surveys. Download the Job Seeker Survey and the Organization Survey to learn more.