Fulfilling Career in the Non-Profit Sector

Non-profit organizations demand marketing professionals more than ever. Marketing tactics help their organizations reach out, raise money and be successful in community outreach.

When graduates are job hunting in this massive market, they apply for a variety of marketing jobs starting with entry-level positions. Large firms are typically where graduates flock, because they have high hopes to climb the corporate ladder. However, one field that is not necessarily thought about is the non-profit sector.

Non-profit marketing is defined as ‘marketing that works to serve public interest, as opposed to marketing purely for financial gain.’ Marketing professionals are a valuable resource in several aspects including sales and marketing, volunteer recruiting, writing and research, management and consulting and IT capability.

Specific marketing jobs demanded in non-profit sectors include marketing director, assistant marketing director, director of development and fund-raising, event coordinator or a publication specialist. Starting from the top position as marketing director, your responsibilities would include overseeing all activities for the organization. The assistant plays a key role in organizing all activities within the organization, whether the organization is large or small. Development and fund-raising is the heartbeat of the non-profit world, and it takes a special individual to manage fund-raising campaigns. Typically, the event coordinator and the fund-raising departments work hand-in-hand as they support each other in event planning and execution of events. Last, but certainly not least is the publication specialist whom is responsible for the brand management of the organization by designing brochures, newsletters and web site material. This is also an important area for some IT expertise.

The Bridgespan Group, an organization that assists top executives in transitioning into non-profit careers, reported that the non-profit field will need upwards of 640,000 new senior managers by 2016. As much as the non-profit world is personally satisfying, it is not as financially satisfying. It is known that salaries are between 20 and 50 percent less. Marketing skills are a valuable resource that non-profits are now utilizing to their full advantage. As a result, more organizations are able to help their community by being more visible and marketing their services.