Nonprofit Transitions: From Volunteer to Staff

When I was in high school my mother went back to work. First, she took a glamorous (or so we thought) job selling cosmetics at John Wanamakers (sadly, it no longer exists). After a year or so she was offered a job working for the Girl Scouts. And she took it.

Despite our chagrin, my mother did exactly the right thing. She had started volunteering as my Brownie leader and gone on to become an active volunteer at our county council. Now she had the opportunity to begin a career with an organization she really cared about.

[Quick aside: my mother stayed there for several years and then went on to work at nonprofit hospitals, where she directed volunteer services, among other things. Her closest friends to this day are those she met through Girl Scouts.]

Since then, I have known several people who made the switch. Often they are, like my mom, women returning to work. Just recently our local Interfaith Hospitality Network (Family Promise) needed a new Director. The Board President, a woman whose youngest child is in high school, is now the Director. Another Family Promise Director started out as the volunteer van driver.

A museum I have worked with has a very dedicated volunteer, a retired man. Twice now he has filled in as acting director. Often school volunteers become teachers or other paid workers. As volunteers, my neighbor and her husband started an art gallery in a community building. Eventually, she became the paid Director of that and the other arts programs in the town.

Generally, this is a good thing, the nonprofit gets a ready-to-go employee and the volunteer gets paid for doing something she loves.

Another Director pointed out a downside to me. Before she became a paid director, she was an equal to the other board members. Once she became an employee, she worked for them. This didn't dissuade her but she was aware of the change in status. (She is an excellent director, so I doubt the board ever thought about it, they are just thrilled that she is able to devote her full attention to the organization now.)

I will cover other types of transitions later including going from the for-profit corporate world to nonprofits.

Send me your transitions story!