YNPN Conference Wrap-Up: Five Generational Leadership Trends Every Nonprofit Professional Should Know About
Originally published by the Community Resource Center
Sarah Fischler and Lauren Price, Community Resource Center. Sarah is the Director of Consulting and Special Projects at CRC and Board President of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network Denver , and Lauren is CRC’s Director of Rural Outreach. They can be found on Twitter: @sarahfischler, and @laurenelizab.
Late April was a busy time for Denver nonprofit professionals! Lauren and Sarah both had the opportunity to attend the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network National Leaders Conference, hosted by YNPN Denver. Sarah also attended parts of the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) and Council on Foundations annual conferences, while Lauren followed these conferences on Twitter and webTV.
Sessions on the practical aspects of leadership development and the implications for the sector were prominently featured at all three conferences. The transfer of leadership from the Silent Generation (b. 1928 –1945) and Boomers (b. 1946-1964) to Gen Xers (b. 1965 – 1980) and Millennials (b. after 1980) is well underway. This transition has implications for the ways we communicate, strategize, fundraise and implement our programs. All relating back to the generational leadership shift, these five trends were echoed across the three conferences: Read more
Getting Young Leaders on Nonprofit Boards with Power and Influence
It is “Unofficial Month of the Young Nonprofit Leader” on my blog as a lead-up to the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network Leaders Conference in Denver on April 23 and 24. This is the second post in my series on issues related to young nonprofit professionals and our influence on the nonprofit sector. Want to read about a specific topic? Tell me here.
One of my frustrations with research and commentary on the “nonprofit sector” is that authors make conclusions about the sector as a whole when finer slicing and dicing of data and information could result in a more accurate picture of the different experiences within different types of organizations. I think this is the case with some recent internet conversations about the lack of younger people on nonprofit boards. Based on my experience, the issue is not so much the lack of opportunity to serve on a “nonprofit board” but rather the near complete lack of age diversity on boards with substantial influence and power.
A Detailed Guide to Getting Started: Mentoring, Networking, and Young Nonprofit Professionals
Originally published by the Denver Young Nonprofit Professionals Network
I have had four jobs in the nonprofit sector. With the exception of my first job in which I was hired to be a “secretary” in a development office, my professional network helped me get the other three jobs. In each case, I had either a direct or a strong indirect relationship with the person making the hiring decision. More importantly, I do not think my resume would have made it into the “yes for an interview” pile without those connections. While people get good jobs every day without such connections, it is a fact of life in Denver’s nonprofit sector that connections can give you an important advantage in job seeking and career advancement. Based upon my personal experience and that of many of my peers, these types of connections are especially important for young professionals who have strong transferable skills, ambition, and leadership ability but do not necessarily have the on-paper experience necessary to get through a traditional job screening process. Read more