I was asked recently about how the non-profit and community sector was viewed. It got me thinking about whether the historical, possibly Victorian, notion of being "in-service" was related to our perceptions of the value we ascribe to people who choose to spend their lives serving others. Is compasson underpriced and undervalued by a material world?
The non-profit sector is an eclectic mix of organisations serving communities locally, nationally or globally. It is a sector that is values-driven and people working in the oft-called “Third Sector” generally do not achieve pay rates matching those earned in private or public enterprise. However, internationally, the Sector is being taken more seriously. Pay rates are improving, particularly in the USA, UK, and Canada and, to a lesser extent Australia, where salaries at the high echelons are very competitive; some CEO’s and senior managers of large organisations command corporate equivalent packages.
In New Zealand, the sector is still experiencing growing pains, in part due to the small population, but also due to the continuing perception that people contributing to "charities" (whether it be helping at the local rugby club as a volunteer or working professionally as a senior communications manager for an international development agency) are doing so as something auxiliary to their real job (in the case of a volunteer) or doing something analogous to what they should really be doing (in the case of a paid non-profit employee).
I believe that much of the Third Sector’s undervaluation is due to perception rather than reality. Herein is the juxtaposition – most of us place higher value on the money we earn than the contribution (in time and money) we can make when the reverse mentality would probably lead to greater personal fulfilment and profit. In other words, by deciding to make the best contribution to society that we can; by being values-driven we become social entrepreneurs applying business principles to philanthrophy and creating the conditions for sustainable partnerships with the Private Sector.
The challenge to New Zealand is to recognize that its Third Sector – particularly the services provided by health and disability organisations – is vital to building and sustaining strong communities. Without non-profits society will fail. There are a few very positive indicators for those of us who have chosen a career in non-profits: you can now train in non-profit fundraising, advocacy, management and governance; generally the calibre of boards and trustees and their decision-making is improving and more young people are choosing to work for humanitarian and social justice issues.
However, the challenge still lies within people’s mindsets: rather than see community service as something you do with your spare time, think about it as a real job with a purpose; think of it as possibly the most important part of what it is to be a person.
The philosophy behind Goodworks is to create a virtual space for people to find jobs with purpose and have a career or make a life-long contribution to “giving back” to those less fortunate.
Adam Laidlaw
17 March 2006
