I have been fortunate to practice a professional craft in many careers, ever since junior high school when my first job was selling comic books and trading cards. After I graduated from college, I served as a sales rep for a veterinary pharmaceutical company, before transitioning into a 10-year career in the nonprofit sector. My most recent career is as a full-time stay-at-home dad (or chief life-quality officer, as my wife likes to say!).

While my list of professions is quite varied, in each one I have made it a point to seek out and participate in professional development and networking to help improve my practice. Early in my career it was pretty informal. Working in the comic book store, I would make sure to talk to the sales reps who sold us products, along with visiting trade shows where I would talk to as many vendors and other shop workers as I could. Working in pharmaceutical sales, I was fortunate to receive extensive in-company training, yet I continued to seek out external workshops, along with networking with both in-company and out-of-company peers. And, while at Valley of the Sun United Way, where I also received excellent in-house training, I was able to successfully self-advocate to attend two different national conferences and several local conferences.

Through my participation in these activities, I have been a better resource to customers and clients, a stronger partner with those whom I am collaborating, and a more…

Welcome to Research Friday! As part of a continuing series, we invite a nonprofit scholar, student, or professional to highlight current research reports or studies and discuss how they can inform and improve day-to-day nonprofit practice.

Brands like Coca-Cola and Nike have one thing in common: they are known and recognized worldwide. These corporate-born brands have become some of the most iconic images in the world.1 But brand value is just as important in the nonprofit sector as it is in the for-profit sector.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Business Research, a brand is defined as “a name, term, sign, drawing, or any combinations of these, that serve to identify a firm’s goods and services and differentiate them from those of competitors.”2 Nonprofits usually offer intangible services to their communities, in contrast to the tangible products and services usually offered by for-profit companies. This can make branding more difficult for nonprofits.3

I want to outline…

So many people are searching for meaning and happiness. They want soul-soaking peace that grounds them, the deep satisfaction of knowing they made a difference and, oh by the way, a way to support their family would be nice! That search combined with the tremendous shifts and losses of money, possessions, and position that has occurred during the Great Recession makes it no surprise that many people are considering switching careers into a nonprofit environment.

Before you make the big leap, there are small steps you can take that will make an impact and determine whether or not the nonprofit world is for you. You can find depth and meaning by focusing on learning, compassion and contribution to expand your impact in the world, experience the nonprofit sector and make yourself happier along the way.

Learn

Regardless of the economy, your resources, or the political climate, there is always the opportunity to learn more. By learning and reading, you grow your world, your self, your compassion and tolerance for the differences that are all around us. Educational institutions like ASU and others are actively promoting online courses, as well as other resources available on the Internet and at local libraries. Find a subject and immerse yourself. Read about it. Talk about it. Think about it. Saturate…

How would you describe the collective culture of your nonprofit organization? Is it fun, authoritarian, in high spirits, or riddled with low morale? Do people work cohesively, or not? With so many areas to focus on - marketing, fundraising, services and more - it is easy to overlook what is right in front of us: culture. Organizational culture can have a very positive or negative effect depending upon what values are being encouraged by your leadership and staff.

If you are thinking, “who cares about culture” or “how is this relevant to my bottom line,” I’ll tell you how... staff buy-in.

It is simple yet profound. When the stakeholders of your organization do not buy-in to the mission, they will not buy-in to their work or projects being executed with their peers. There are exceptions to every rule, but for the majority, this is a reality to give thoughtful consideration. A commitment to work, and an appreciation for the relevance of the work, is crucial at all levels of an organization. The most successful nonprofit organizations have staff buy-in at every rank, from volunteers, to administrative professionals, executives and all the way up to the board members.

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Welcome to Research Friday! As part of a continuing series, we invite a nonprofit scholar, student, or professional to highlight current research reports or studies and discuss how they can inform and improve day-to-day nonprofit practice.

Note: This article will focus on international development from my perspective working in an African country, although the questions raised are pertinent to any “developed” country or continent’s relationship to a “developing” region.

It began with a bench, and how I came to be standing before that particular bench. In 2010, I was a fresh young Ally in ASU’s Lodestar Center Public Allies program. Working with an intelligent and experienced staff of a Phoenix-based nonprofit involved focused on global issues, I was encouraged to ask questions of development organizations and to think through a lens of international aid. I was taught that proper research and first-hand experience were paramount to any sort of doctrine. It wasn’t simply about throwing money at an…