Changes in Labor Market Create Opportunities for Charities

To the Editor:

In response to “Charities and Foundations Must Confront Shrinking Labor Pool, Researcher Says” (October 17): While the threat of a shrinking labor pool and a maturing work force soon to be coming into retirement age appears to be a problem, it also presents an opportunity. Since the economic downturn of the last year, the for-profit job availability has taken a turn for the worse. Graduates of business schools and other related fields are struggling to find work; even the engineering field has become highly competitive.

On the other hand, the job availability in the nonprofit sector provides a huge recruitment message to the hundreds of individuals seeking education in nonprofit management. Some may recommend recruiting students entering the political field, others those seeking a business education, but there exists a growing group of individuals seeking education specifically in nonprofit management that, with the help of the nonprofit sector, will grow tremendously in the coming years.

The problem may be that many of the organizations most in need of educated employees are unaware of these mission-driven individuals seeking careers in the nonprofit field. It would be most beneficial of these organizations to get in contact with the universities in their areas that house these undergraduate programs specifically aimed at preparing nonprofit professionals.

The particular program that I speak of is American Humanics Inc., a national nonprofit organization that seeks to prepare and certify future nonprofit professionals to work with America’s youths and families. American Humanics has over 85 local programs in colleges and universities, providing quality nonprofit education and training to hundreds of mission-driven individuals every year. In many of these programs there are opportunities available for nonprofit organizations to make presentations to groups of students, or attend career fairs, aimed specifically at the nonprofit field.

While political science and public administration programs may contain individuals dedicated to service, and business programs provide much-needed education in management and finance, programs aimed at nonprofit education train students in the art of fund raising, volunteer management, and board governance, and provide hands-on experience while allowing students to pursue an education in their own specialized field of interest.

Dianna May
Student
American Humanics
Arizona State University
Tempe