Nonprofit Organizations (repost)

If you have picked up a copy of Career Launcher: Nonprofi t Organizations, you have probably already started working in, or are contemplating a career in, what is often referred to as the “third sector.”

The third sector, defi ned in reference to the “profi t” and “governmental” sectors, is also referred to as the civic, voluntary, nonprofi t, or nongovernmental sector. As this book will reveal, the not-for-profi t sector encompasses a broad array of jobs in fi elds as varied as health, education, humanitarian relief, homeless services, and medical research. Voluntary agencies employ people as social workers, executive directors, accountants, relief workers, administrators, and doctors.

Engineers, water and sanitation specialists, receptionists, executive assistants, marketers, and fi nance controllers can also be employed in this sphere. Institutions such as hospitals, schools, assisted living centers, and homeless shelters are included under the broadly defi ned nonprofi t heading. Agencies in this sector are also involved in advocacy for human rights and
research for vaccinations and the cures for diseases such as cancer, ALS, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS. As you will read in this book, many of the jobs in the nonprofi t sector have similar, if not identical, counterparts to positions in the private and government sectors. So what sets the nonprofi t sector apart? Why launch a career in not-for-profi t as opposed to the public or private sectors?…