By Daniel Livingston
Last month, we had the opportunity to learn from Laura Solomon, one of the nation's few attorneys who works exclusively with non-profit organizations, with a particular emphasis on organizations which raise money in the United States on behalf of Israeli organizations. What struck me most from her presentation was how the multidisciplinary work she does was representative of the multiple career paths available within non-profits: you can be in the field, be a manager, work in policy and advocacy, manage an organization's development portfolio, or even serve on an organization's board or be a benefactor. Without all of these cogs functioning and working together, the overall machine will break down.
As someone whose mother has worked in management for a massive non-profit which essentially serves to fund and advise the efforts of smaller organizations, I know I was particularly interested in the scale of different non-profits, and beginning to think how I can best match my skill set with a position in the Jewish non-profit world which will enable me to be most effective. An overarching message at the core of Laura's presentation, however, was that it fundamentally comes down to passion: unlike a for-profit where the mission is singularly financial in nature, if one wishes to work in the non-profit world, one really has to find an avenue where they'll be inspired to work, no matter the specific organization or role.
