Hey, it's Joan Garry.
You know, I get asked quite a lot if there were things I wish I knew when I moved from corporate America to the nonprofit sector...and, indeed there are. Three of them come immediately to mind.
The first thing is I wish I knew more about managing in three-dimension. What I mean by that is, for 15 years in the entertainment business, I managed to goals, salaries, performance reviews, year-end bonuses, etc.
Some of those things are the same in nonprofits, but not all of them. Now, I am a fierce advocate for pay equity, make no mistake — but, that's not the primary driver.
There are other important drivers: a passion for the mission, the gift and privilege of service, and (here's the one that I wish I knew) that people come to the nonprofit sector expecting to have a voice.
Here's number two — there's a lot of crying in non-profits. I remember the first nonprofit retreat we did as a staff at GLAAD...people started crying.
I was like, What is going on here? I've been to many retreats...but there's no crying at corporate retreats. I say this with affection because it really means that people care at a very deep level.
The third thing I wish that I had known has to do with fundraising. I joined the nonprofit sector with zero fundraising experience (a nonprofit fundraising virgin). Julie, my development director [at the time], gave me the message I needed: It makes people feel good to give money to causes they care about.
It fills them with meaning and purpose, and who doesn't want a bite of that? We're just inviting them to the party.
One last thought, the for-profit sector, corporate America, they have much to learn from the nonprofit sector when it comes to managing in 3D, passion and emotion, and meaning and purpose.
Leading a nonprofit isn't easy. I'm here to help.
Visit www.JoanGarry.com for more nonprofit lessons.
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