For the past 12 years, I’ve held a non-profit finance position with the California Department of Finance. Whether assisting with auditing, business planning, or writing financial reports, I enjoy helping people find their path.
A lot of people assume that nonprofit finance jobs are boring and that you should only ever pitch in your 40 hours of work a week. That’s not necessarily the case. In fact, many positions in finance are just about raising money for a cause you care about. A lot of the nonprofits that I’ve worked with, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, were run by passionate volunteers who worked tirelessly to get things done.
One of the most important things Ive learned in my job as a nonprofit manager is that you need to really believe you can make a difference. That doesn’t mean your work is boring, or that you need to work 40 hours a week, or even that you need to work in a cube-factory. Rather, you need to be passionate about what you are doing, and you need to have an ambitious vision for making a difference.
The nonprofit sector is filled with folks who want to do good, but lack the passion and ambition to actually do good. I’ve found that when I’m working in a nonprofit and I hear about a great cause, I have to make sure it matters to me.
It is not a good idea to give up anything because, frankly, it’s the most important thing. If you give up anything you can’t do, you’re probably just going to lose it.
I’m sure your vision doesn’t match mine, but I want you to know, if you’re going to make something, then you have to do it alone. The reality is that the other people in your organization have an ability to make you better and better. If you can’t make it, then you can’t make it. A lot of people don’t have the power to make those decisions.
The problem is that you cant put up these kinds of obstacles. You cant make me better. You cant make me better. Im a programmer and I cant make a better job.
I’m a business owner and I can put up a roadblock with my money. I can put up a roadblock with my time.
Most of life is about making choices. If you are not making choices, then you cant make choices. If you have the power to make decisions, but dont, then you dont have the power to make that choice. Even when you think you are making choices, you are just making decisions at the wrong time.
If you are not making decisions, you are just making decisions at the wrong time. If you have the power to make decisions, but dont, then you dont have the power to make that choice. Even when you think you are making decisions, you are just making decisions at the wrong time.
