Are you pulled toward human services? Health? Art, culture, and humanities? Environmental or animal protection? Know what aligns most with your values.
Make sure a charitable sector’s focus motivates and inspires you.
Here are three examples of inspiring visions: “A world without Alzheimer’s disease.” “Create a world where no child goes to bed hungry.” “A world where everyone has a decent place to live.” How do you like to make a difference? Three nonprofits might have the vision to fight world hunger, but the three might also have different missions – the way they go about fulfilling their vision.
Many are the well-meaning nonprofits led by devoted staff that do not truly make an impact. Make sure your decision-making considers this.In 2018, a well-known museum for contemporary art hosted an exhibit on African Art but reflected dissonance in its values and actions when it hired two white curators to manage and showcase the exhibit. The lesson here? Get acquainted with your nonprofit’s values and how it lives these out through the way it operates internally.