Resources

Many years ago when I was in elementary school, I completed several assignments which involved research of some sort: either we had to learn about a country, bats, or some other random topic. In my earliest elementary school years I didn't have access to the world wide web at home (hard to believe, I know). Thus, I limited my research to Grolier and Encarta encyclopedias (the software came with our computer- yet another relic of the past), and the good old-fashioned library. I got the information I needed, but who knows what I could have learned from online resources.

My point in this little anecdote is that although libraries and such are still useful resources for everything, there are a ton of great websites, blogs, and e-books available via the internet for anyone interested in the non-profit sector. Here are just a few of my favorites that I've recently discovered:

http://www.change.org/: has a variety of articles, videos, blogposts, etc dedicated to a variety of social issues, including human trafficking, women's rights, social entrepreneurship, global warming, and more. The site also includes job listings, which is also useful.

www.idealist.org: In the words of the people who run the site, "Idealist is a project of Action Without Borders, a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 with offices in the United States and Argentina. Idealist is an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporters, and take steps toward building a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives." On the site you can find links to different groups, volunteer/internship/job opportunities, learn more about the non-profit sector as a whole, and read more insightful blogs. This brings me to...

http://www.idealist.org/en/career/guide/firsttime/fullbook.html: this is a link to idealist.org's Guide to Non-profit Careers for First Time Job Seekers. If you are even remotely interested in going into the field (or heck, getting a job in any field) READ THIS BOOK. It contains advice about resumes, networking and interviews (here geared towards non-profits, but applicable to any field), and also helps you to pinpoint exactly what you want to do in the sector, how to increase your appeal to employers, and how to best go about searching for non-profit job opportunities. It even contains information about starting your own non-profit. It is available to download for free, or you can obtain a physical copy for the cost of binding.

http://rosettathurman.com/: Rosetta is a member of the Millenial generation who is passionate about promoting next generation leadership for social change. She shares nonprofit career advice for young professionals, is a contributer to Jobs for Change (see the first link I listed). Her blog topics range from how to use social media for networking purposes, to developing leadership skills, to issues facing women and minorities in the non-profit sector. This was one of the first sites I stumbled upon when I decided I wanted to go into non-profit work, and I found her posts to be interesting and very helpful.

www.ynpn.org: The Young Non-Profit Professional Group engages and supports future nonprofit leaders through professional development, networking, and social opportunities. Like other young professional groups, this is a great way to network and have the opportunity to pursue professional development events. This is a fairly young organization, so not all areas have a chapter. If you go to the "chapter" tab, you can see if there is one in your area. If there's not and you want to start one, there's an e-mail link for that. For those of you in the Grand Rapids area, good news: a chapter already exists! I haven't joined it yet, but I plan on doing so within the next year.

http://www.gryp.org/: Grand Rapids Young Professionals. While not tailored specifically to those in the non-profit sector, this particular chapter (and probably many others) has a wide variety of professional development programs, volunteer opportunities, and other resources. More general young professional groups are also more widespread than the non-profit groups. Thus, if you're not in GR, try searching for a young professionals organization in your city.

I think it's important to note that there are many more resources than what I've listed here. While I won't list every single blog or every non-profit organization's personal website, I would love to know if you have found any resources that are especially helpful, whether related specifically to non-profit organizations, or simply related to career development in general. If so, feel free to leave a comment.

By the way, I want to give a shout out to the people I know who have read this blog thus far. Thank you! It means a lot to me that you are taking the time to read it, and I definitely appreciate your support and input.