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| Re: NPO Work - time to give up?
Posted by Rose  on 12/18/2007, 12:56 am, in reply to "Re: NPO Work - time to give up?"
Aurelia, you make good points. I have only presented myself (for want of a better term) to NPOs as a volunteer willing to work on the grant writing process. In turn, I am asking for experience/lessons.
Only though my experiences in the 3 NPO's I've volunteered for have I learned so MUCH more about various tasks I am capable of doing. Because I have had such difficulty convincing an NPO to take me on simply in the capacity of grant writing and research, I thought it might be better to widen my scope in the area of fundraising.
Yet, the primary reason I have pursued the writing and research aspect of grant writing is because I am EXCELLENT when it comes to these two skills. I LOVE to research, and I love to write. I love figuring things out. I don't care how long it takes. I'm like a dog digging for a bone. I won't stop until I get the answers. I pride myself in this.
I would say I wasn't a threat to the person (DD who left for another job) regarding fundraising. But maybe I was. The thing is, when she took me on, they had a contracted grant writer doing that work. The DD really didn't know how to do much of that work. I knew more. Then again, maybe I was a threat because the intent (with that contracted grant writer) was a transitional thing until the DD mastered that aspect of raising money. It didn't happen.
I continue to search for an NPO where I have a decent mentor as an apprentice. It's just that I'm feeling a lot less trust in the volunteer/apprentice process.
I was VERY up-front with the second place I volunteered for. They interviewed me. I told them I wanted to LEARN in exchange for my free labor. I said I am willing to be patient. I said the focus was on grant writing. The DD was there AS WELL AS THE contract grantwriter. HE was the one who told me I should stay on for six months before I consider getting paid work. I was fine with it.
DD quit several months later. The NPO from that program INCREASED the contract grantwriter's hours (oh, he was the former DD of that NPO) to cover the vacancy -- at double the hourly rate of the DD as an employee. It doesn't make sense!
But thanks for the feedback.
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