In this episode of 15 Minutes to Change the World, we're talking about working in nonprofits, how to get started if you're looking to make a shift in your career, industry trends, challenges, opportunities and more.
Our guest is Mary Barroll, VP Media Affairs & General Counsel at CharityVillage—the top source for Canadian nonprofit news, jobs, funding, training and more.
In this episode of 15 Minutes to Change the World, we're talking about working in nonprofits, how to get started if you're looking to make a shift in your career, industry trends, challenges, opportunities and more.
Our guest is Mary Barroll, VP Media Affairs & General Counsel at CharityVillage—the top source for Canadian nonprofit news, jobs, funding, training and more.
Hello, and welcome to 15 minutes to change the world. We're in 15 minutes or less, you'll learn a bit more about the world and how you can help change it for the better. My name is limo Southie and I'm host of this podcast. And this episode of 15 minutes to change the world. We're talking about working in nonprofits. How do you get started if you're looking to make a shift in your career? Some industry trends, challenges, opportunities, and much more. Our guest today is Mary barrel, who is the VP of media affairs and general counsel at charity village. The top Canadian source, median, nonprofit news jobs, funding training, and more welcome to the podcast. And thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us today.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you. It's my pleasure to be here.
Speaker 1:Mary, can you tell us a bit about charity village, its mission and the work that you do?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. So for about actually this year 25 years, charity village has supported the human resources and recruitment needs of nonprofit professionals working in the sector as well as charities and nonprofit organizations themselves. So over time we've become a critical sort of knowledge hub for all things related to human resources and labor market information for the sector, exclusively serving the non-profit and charitable sectors in Canada. In recent years, we've been evolving and adding to many of our services. So we're no longer just a job board. We provide many HR, digital resources contributing to a sort of digital Renaissance to support virtual operations, um, of nonprofits. So we really feel that we're very much part of a, an important and thriving sector in the non-profit and charitable world. And, uh, that's really, our whole mandate is to support the people and the organizations that function and serve our communities.
Speaker 1:Can you tell us a bit about career trends in Canada's nonprof profit sector? Um, how careers have changed over the years and how the sector has been impacted, um, in terms of employment and volunteering because of the pandemic?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. So over the years we saw the people within the sector staying input. I mean, uh, it typically attracts people who were extremely dedicated to having a career with impact. And, um, and so there was a consistent age gene and the over the years we've seen an uptick in the younger generation showing much more interest in working in roles that have social impact and meaning to them, you know, things that were beyond the bottom line and just working for a paycheck. So that's been a real trend that we've seen some increasing in the numbers of younger workers, of looking for opportunities within the sector. We've also seen in the volunteer side and increase in, you know, some people refer to it as micro volunteering or informal volunteering. So those might be a situation where smaller tops are, uh, or certain kinds of projects are being done by people, uh, to support organizations, uh, that they feel passionate about, but it may not be an ongoing volunteering relationship in, in the sort of traditional sense. We've also seen an increase in, I would call it, um, sort of people embracing a kind of community helping. So, you know, delivering meals and, uh, other sorts of support to the elderly, for example, or people who have mobility issues, especially during the pandemic. Uh, you know, there's been a lot of stories about that as well. Um, you know, overall workers generally have wanted more flexibility in both their schedules and where they work, the location in which they work. Um, you know, the nonprofit sector other than the front line kind of roles, delivering services seem to offer that, um, a bit more flexibility, especially in smaller organizations about where and how people work. You know, that has been a trend for a long time for, I would say the last five or more years where, uh, people wanting more flexible work hours and more, um, more flexible work generally, and really, um, with the pandemic foreseen, uh, more organizations to really embrace remote work where possible. Um, and then the other thing that we've seen traditionally is, uh, we can tell from our recent salary reports, uh, and historically comparing them to previous reports that this really is a sector that, uh, where it is a women majority sector. Um, but unfortunately it's still a sector where it's not a majority women led sector. So most of the workers are women, but not all of the, not the same proportion of leaders are women. Um, uh, we have seen an increase in the number of women led smaller organizations, so that may continue to evolve, uh, to see more women, I guess, taking leadership roles in much larger organizations in the years ahead. What would you say are some of the challenges
Speaker 1:Of working in nonprofits as well as some of the rewards?
Speaker 2:Sure. So I think the challenges are pretty well known. Um, you know, in, in large part, uh, non-profit organizations, especially the large number of small nonprofit organizations and charities have limited resources and funds. You know, it's always a challenge to maintain donor engagement and consistent revenues that support the delivery of the services that are part of their programming. Um, I think that comparatively to the for-profit sector, there is consistently being a lower pay. Um, and you know, there's a need for, uh, in many organizations, especially smaller ones, aware people are required to wear many hats. Um, and that could be a good thing, which is some of the rewards are that you can really gain from the additional sort of diverse experience professionally and, and learning multiple skillsets, which is fabulous for professional development that can, it can also cause, you know, a high burnout factor on for many people. So I think that's a challenge, uh, definitely as well. Um, I would say as well, due to the, um, lower resources in the nonprofit sector, there's also a significant lack of digital skills or there have been historically and, uh, digital infrastructure where, uh, as a consequence of just having less resources, the rewards, I would say, um, and we see this across the board that, you know, the idea that you can spend every day doing impactful, meaningful work, where, um, a person can see their own contribution in a cause that's personally gratifying and meaningful to them. Um, you know, I think is, is something that, uh, many people in the for-profit sector looked to as, uh, something that they, they too would like to experience. So that's definitely a reward. Um, sometimes, uh, as I mentioned earlier, uh, in the nonprofit sector, there is more informal or flexible work environments in many cases, especially in smaller organizations, for many people, the lifestyle may well be, uh, something that is, uh, is a trade-off along with the emotional sort of, um, feelings of, uh, being purposeful that they gained from working in the nonprofit sector.
Speaker 1:I've been talking a lot about diversity and inclusion in the nonprofit space. It's been, it's been an issue that's top of mind. Um, and though there's, there's still a lot of work to be done in this area. We've seen an encouraging shift happening where many non-profits and for-profit industries as well are becoming more aware of the need to acknowledge, you know, past shortcomings and build more diverse and inclusive teams, um, within their organizations. So why is this important? And are there any particular examples that you've seen recently that stand out to you of things that organizations are doing well in this area?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it's important to organizations and I think this was across the board from for-profit to nonprofit as well, but we reflect the true nature of society in the makeup of our organizations and, and we, and how important that is in terms of being targeted and, uh, reflective in terms of the capacity to be able to give what, um, many of the, uh, communities that we're trying to support need. And there's a, there's an empathy, not understanding that's inherent in having a diverse workplace and workforce who understand the dynamics and the changing nature of the society that we serve. So I think there's inherent benefits. That's good for everyone to have a more diverse work environment. There is a greater interest, I think in Canada that has been heightened recently in decolonization and issues around reconciliation with indigenous peoples greater attention to the unique challenges of, uh, black led or black indigenous, or people of color, uh, workers being heard and also, uh, reflected in, in the nonprofit sector and attracted to the sector as a place that's, uh, would be a meaningful, important place for them to spend their careers. So, um, the other aspect, which I think goes more on notice, especially recently has been the importance of, uh, attracting and accommodating, um, people with disabilities into the sector. Um, you know, I think that there's a heightened awareness in the nonprofit sector versus the for-profit because of the nature of the kind of work that the nonprofits do. But, um, the, the recent events that we've seen globally, but certainly in, uh, in North America have been, uh, encouraging in the sense that we've seen a greater awareness. Um, but of course there's continuing problems with, we have the hope that with the greater attention to these issues, um, that were especially evident during the epidemic, um, that we can sort of really transform it into meaningful action that can have ongoing, uh, change, uh, to support these mandates and, and this desire to continue to evolve, um, the way that we work and the organizations that, um, that make up the nonprofit sector in Canada.
Speaker 1:Does charity village have any resources for organizations who are looking to take action to improve or bolster their diversity and inclusion efforts within their organizations?
Speaker 2:Yeah, actually we had just published or started publishing a five-part article series and village vibes with a company webinar that we had on diversity equity inclusion. It started in late 2019 and continued into 2020. Um, so that's still available, um, on our website, it can be searched and you can find those materials, um, in our database, uh, we've done lots of articles and a book review about a book that was recently released, called collecting courage, which, uh, features 14 black Canadian fundraisers and leaders of nonprofit organizations across Canada. Um, so that's really, um, some very inspiring stories and great resources as well. We've also been really busy, uh, in production of adding to an enriching, the e-learning courses that we offer on charity village, um, including one that we're hard at work on, on diversity equity inclusion that's to launch in 2021. And, um, you know, we're often featuring thought podcasts, uh, that focus on these issues quite a bit, especially in the last few years. And certainly in 2020, as this had such heightened awareness that occurred, um, over the past year, uh, especially with the kinds of issues and problems in our society that were, um, revealed really by the impact of the pandemic. I think that these, this is a heightened period, and we're hoping that these kinds of resources can support people who want to make a change going forward into the future.
Speaker 1:And finally, what can our listeners who are interested in working in the nonprofit sector do to get started, whether they're just starting out in the workforce or making a career shift, what's your best advice for them? Well, first of all,
Speaker 2:I think the easiest thing to do would be just to subscribe to our newsletter called village vibes, uh, on our website. And, uh, you know, there's a lot of, a lot of resources that in our database, uh, that talk a lot about the various opportunities and the kind of trends that are going on in working in the nonprofit sector, they could consider, uh, you know, enrolling in one of our e-learning courses. We've got lots on fundraising and grant seeking, running a board, how to manage and operate a nonprofit organizations, um, how to manage volunteering, follow us on social media. Um, but really, I think for a lot of people, the best way to get started might be just simply to volunteer and get some firsthand experience, you know, get their feet wet, um, to try and work with organizations that they feel passionate about. Uh, it's important to have that sort of work experience on your resume because that experience for, um, you know, hiring managers or recruiters in the nonprofit sector really is very meaningful. Uh, you know, and, and I think that there's so many ways to have an impact that, you know, starting with volunteering is an awesome way to really, um, really get your feet wet and understand the nature of how nonprofits work and the wonderful people that are in it, and to see whether you fit in the non-profit sector and how your career might develop over time.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for me. That's really great advice. And I want to thank you for your time today, and thanks for coming on and talking about, uh, an area with so many of our listeners are interested in,
Speaker 2:Well, it's been my absolute pleasure and I, and I hope to connect with you again.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Mary. I thank you to all of our listeners for tuning in as always, you can stay up to date on our latest episodes of 15 minutes to change the world on Spotify iTunes, and by visiting care.ca/podcast.
Speaker 3:[inaudible].