Moving into charity sector

[Fairyhighlights]

Hi

Will post in employment too but keen for traffic here.

Am in banking and fed up. I really want to move into charity sector where I can know the work I do is for a good social impact not just pocket lining. I can't move into this internally. Not an accountant, which seems to be be easiest transfer route but am good with numbers...

Does anyone have any advice about how to do this/advice from having done themselves. My role isn't transferrable but am sure skillset would be.

thanks very much - hoping for this to be a New Year Resolution!

what about looking at fundraising as in applying for grants etc for a charity i know the cat charity i work for has a lady who does this

What is your skillset?

Is there any particular type of charity you're interested in?

Have you looked at jobs which actually exist in charities?

The sector can be surprisingly competitive considering the low rates of pay. I've been working in and charity for years and have also recruited for several big charities.

I'd suggest a staggered approach. Find a job or contract which bridges your skills with the experience you would need.

What sort of charity?? I manage two- both of which support differing vulnerable groups. Need to have some back ground in understanding the needs of said groups and how to provide supervision. To work directly with vulnerable groups you need practical experience and possibly qualification in something like level 3 social care

If good written skills fundraising can be good way in. Start with volunteering to build up experience/ networks. Volunteer Co-ordinator can be a nice job

I've worked in the Third Sector (which is what most of the sector refer to it as) for about 14 years now. Making a difference seems to be the motivator for most people, as, well, the pay isn't great. I've worked for big charities, small ones, grassroots ones and national ones. That making a difference feeling isn't always tangible - doing a finance/HR/whatever role feels the same as it does anywhere to be honest. Also be aware that contracts are often 2 or 3 years long, and even if it's a permanent role, it can depend on funding being there.
Just be aware it's not all warm fuzzy feelings!

thanks all

I take the point about the fuzzy feelings but have to be more fuzzy than the ones I get now!

off to look at volunteer coordinators!

thanks for tips on bridging skillsets, thats a helpful approach, work backwards to where I am now!

I did a similar move a decade ago. Fundraising is similar to sales, so depends what your skills are.

Depending on the charity it can still feel corporate, I've worked at many of the big name ones and it's high pressure with financial targets, and staff turnover is high. I've also become jaded because as much as I want to make a difference, some charities are so inefficiently managed it's very demotivating.

I’ve worked in the third sector for well let’s just say quite a few years now and would second what others are saying. My current employer has a number of people who have worked in the private sector- a lot of orgs look to bring in diverse experience and consider transferable skills. There’s huge variation in the types of role out there - from fundraising (from the public, companies, foundations, government etc) to comms/advocacy/campaigning to support (HR, finance etc) to direct service provision (project management, delivering training, whatever). You could have a look at the charityjob website, search charity jobs on the guardian website or similar to get an idea of what’s out there and might suit you. I know some firms offer time off for charity work so you could look at something voluntary eg trustee.

I'd look at Glass door and talk to people in the organisations you are considering first.

There are of course good jobs in the charity sector but the values don't always equate to well run organisations, which as accountant you might struggle with.

On the positive side I worked with some amazingly dedicated people and the services delivered were very well thought of.

Less attractively, the charity I worked for made the NHS look like a beacon of efficiency and decisions were taken centrally by people who didn't understand how the organisation operated on the front line.

Crap planning was a joke throughout the organisation but people just shrugged and said it's just the "name of charity" way.

I was also shocked by the fundraising model. The money raised by the main annual fundraising campaign was reduced by 80% which was the cost of running the fundraising.

What is your skill set and your current level of experience?

Look very closely at the charity. I've worked for one in the past. The senior management team were, putting it politely, verging on incompetent. It was terribly head office focused & lost sight of its mission.

Austerity has impacted fundraising & targets/key performance indicators are the norm as much as in the corporate world. Also check out carefully the package on offer. We were expected to use personal laptops and the mileage rate was way below HMRC rate.

I'd echo what others say; third sector is demanding - the models of funding delivery are changing at least with the ones I work with, very short term projects (2yrs max) with extensive evaluation frameworks and very little scope for onward funding.

Ive worked with some incredibly talented and dedicated people, and some utter utter horrors who i wouldnt leave my hamster with - these too states are not mutually exclusive! Bullying and blame cultures are unfortunately quite prominent, but there are also gems too!

Try to think lateraly about who you want to help and what you could bring with your expertise, and there are lots of ways to live more mindfully than simply your occupation.

The Guardian print loads of charity sector jobs on a wednesday

I moved from Insurance to a charity , nut i was an accounts admin

Like what others say, there are charities and charities. The 'Premier League' organisations will feel almost like a corporate environment, and (especially in housing, social care, health) increasingly it's a lot about bid writing and winning contracts. Corporate sector experience might be attractive, depending on role, the culture of the organisation, and who its donors and beneficiaries are.

Where I am, down in the bottom end of the Vauxhall Conference of the third sector, I do get a nice warm feeling and the ability to have an impact. But that's at the expense of boring things like job security (my role is funded by a patchwork of short term grants, my current contract only runs until next September), HR or IT support at the end of a phone, and an office that isn't my spare bedroom. I don't think I'd go back to my previous role, but it's not a move that would suit everyone.

I used to work for a charity and got frustrated with seeing how the senior managers pissed the money up against the wall with overinflated salaries (I had access to the salary database), corporate away days, expensive travel and just general mismanagement of money. It was worse than any private company I've ever worked in.

I ran a county branch of a national charity a few years ago. Never again. Badly run, badly paid and my team had already bullied one manager out of the job before they turned on me. Nobody from the national management helped. I got signed off and left without another job to go to because of those evil women.

Fortunately I flourished in the years since after I ran back to the public sector but it was a horrible experience and I won't even donate to that charity now.

Obviously people can be happy in the third sector but it's not all fluffy clouds and cups of tea.

I’ve worked in the third sector of many years and am now senior management. I’ve realised exactly what kind of charities I like working in

• Medium sized with about 50-100 employees so income of about £2-5 million a year. They’re small enough to really get into the cause but big enough to have a decent infrastructure such as ops, HR and finance

• financially secure with a good history of income and decent reserves

• Trustees with a range of backgrounds including a service user, someone from a financial background and people who have senior voluntary sector experience

• I won’t work for a founder of a charity who is also the CEO it’s always an issue as they are too close to the cause

• they have a good revenue stream and a combination of unrestricted and restricted income

• they pay their staff fairly and a fair salary for the role based on salary surveys from reputable sources

A good charity is run with a clear strategy, a close eye on finances, a focus on their outcomes and acts professionally at all times.

I absolutely love working in the voluntary sector, I would never go back to the corporate world but pick your charity carefully. And don’t be too hung up on the cause, you will need a vague interest in it but you’re working and you’ll move on etc and you’ll need to champion another cause. I have no interest in animal, nature or international charities so that immediately narrows down where I look.