Advice on working for a charity

[bornninthe80s]

Hi all

Name changed for this post.

I've left my job as an Exec Assistant in the city and we (me, DH & DC - we only have one) are looking to move out of London. I've been volunteering for a mental health charity only very recently, supporting people online (web chats). The charity means a lot to me, a cause very close to my heart.

I'm now deciding what I want to do (age 40!) and have been thinking how much I would love to work for this charity (as well as keep volunteering). I've never worked in the voluntary sector before and currently most of my skills are typical exec assistant so I'm not sure how transferable?? I'm not money driven, but it would be good to be able to financially contribute to the household and I love this charity so much I've got my sights set on getting more involved.

My questions are - what's it like working for a charity? And what is the best way in?

Thanks!

@Tappering

Check out glass door reviews for your charity.

Third sector jobs are notorious for being badly paid, with long hours and a lot of pressure. You have the double whammy of job insecurity because funding can be very volatile.

I'd echo the comments about the difference in treatment between volunteers and paid staff. If you chose carefully, then it can be a really rewarding job.

The one I work for has absolutely abysmal Glass doors reviews ! Wish I had read them before I went to work for them ! Good advice.

I have worked in charities for about 15 years. I had one bad experience in a medium sized cancer charity who, despite talking the talk were the most appalling charity to work for. However, the rest of my experience has been positive. A real focus on staff welfare and delivering our mission but like others have said there’s always uncertainty of finding is fixed term and comes to an end but overall, I love the sector

i'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with @DevilsSpawn @ViviennemaryViviennemary in many ways!

I've worked as a consultant to a non-profit for nearly five years and although my colleagues are lovely people and passionate about the cause, it's a thankless task. My immediate boss is a "spur of the moment" person (disorganized) and I'm frequently asked to drop everything and work ridiculous hours. This past weekend was a prime example and I'm really PO'ed.

I'm only supposed to work a certain number of hours so can't always bill for everything I work because I literally know they can't afford it...I'm part-consultant/ part-volunteer! It's getting worse in the current climate and my DH wants me to drop them as a client - I'm seriously considering it.

Sorry to be negative, they are truly lovely people, but ask too much "for the cause" (of course, that's true of many professions, but I think it's rife in non-profits).

Thanks everyone. Very interesting reading, I keep checking in :)

I have worked in the charity sector for almost 20 years now and to be honest I have grown to hate it...and now want to leave it all behind.

There are some good charities that treat their staff well.

But in many place the pay is low and the stress is high because charities usually lack capacity and funding so you are given high targets but expected to do everything yourself and with no or little budget. Expectations are often totally unrealistic.

Also, I saw so many instance of bullying by senior management, including staff with disability/long term health condition at a disability charity...

The people on the frontline/at lower levels are usually great and very dedicated but senior management and trustees in my experience have not been up to the task.

There is a lot of fundraised and grant money being wasted too....

There was a lot of turn over in the charities I have worked for because people moved after a year or two for better pay, promotion or simply ending up burning out.

I think as a volunteer you have an insight into the organisation which is good so you can find out whether they make a good employer and really help their beneficiaries. I would just chat to staff to get some inside knowledge.

I personally would not go into the sector now, because Covid will impact charity fundraising and finances for a while and that will have a negative impact on staff.

@DevilsSpawn

Work in charity is very pressured, poorly paid, unstable as contracts and fundings can be withdrawn or unrenewed. You often have to do other roles than the job you were hired to do. There is a fake air of we are doing good but terrible hierarchy and back stabbings going on. It's really not as noble or positive as they put on. Dont be surprised if in reality as an employee of a mental health charity there is actually stigma around employees mental health. I once worked for an employments rights charity and the treatment of employees was such might as well be a zero hour agency staff. They used their knpwledge to ensure you get the minimum. Im talking minimal holiday, letting you go before 2 years mark, bullying. Charity jobs will squeaze every drop you have of energy, funding money mysteriously vanishing and trustees in it for themselves as a prestige, networking thing. It's very soul destroying. I worked and volunteered in 7 different charities in England. Look at glass door reviews of your charity.

I agree with every word of this.

I am ending 10 years of working in the charity sector as I've been made redundant for the second time in four years.

I've worked for 3 of the major household name charities and you would be shocked at how shambolic they are behind the scenes. Many people start out by wanting to do something for the greater good because they are driven by doing something for the greater good or supporting something that they care about.

The reality is that your enthusiasm will be ripped from you by egotistical people who are out for themselves. The genuine kind people get shat on from a great height.

Poorly run, poorly paid and the staff feel poorly by the end.

Hi OP, I know this is an oldish thread but I just wondered how you got on re-your job search? I am pretty much in the exact same position as you (except I don't have a kid), but I work as an EA in London, I don't find it fulfilling at all but I do volunteer for a mental health online web chat charity too! (Does the one you volunteer for begin with an S???) I find this really fulfilling and I am on the hunt for a more fulfilling career! Currently considering the civil service or a charity, I would be particularly interested in something communications related within a charity, but I have zero experience so 🤷🏼‍♀️

I’m director level in a charity, I love it. Best colleagues, fulfilling, fun, stressful at times but balanced and flexible. DM me if you’d like a chat about a day in the life of …

Such low pay- for roles with responsibility it's not unusual to see jobs advertised at 18k in many charities. The bigger ones tend the be some of the worst paid e.g. British Red Cross. I think it's almost immoral as they're essentially keeping people in poverty who work for them by relying on people's good will to want to work for a good cause. However the CEOs are generally on a fair whack.

As projects are funded, many roles are fixed term. Not good for long term security if that's a factor.

My daughter works for a medium sized charity. she started off in the movie business and then a technology company doing marketing and communications . these were eminently transferable skills. she loves working in the charity sector - the people are friendly and caring and want to be there. No one moans. The downside is the salary. Beware the fundraising side of things - large charities set their staff monthly goals and if you don’t reach your target three months in a row, you can be dismissed. Nothing charitable there.

I would suggest looking into the concept of effective altruism. Sometimes the thing which seems to be the best way to help isn’t. For example, a banker is better off staying a banker and donating lots of money rather than leaving banking and working for the charity she wants to help. She’ll actually do more good as a banker.

Just a thought. Working for a charity is not necessarily the best way to help.

I worked in one for 15 years and loved it. I only left because I couldn't get a pay rise and could earn more in self employment.

I work for a large charity and @DevilsSpawn is spot on. Pious in theory but then in practice treat staff very badly. Impossible to raise issues with as managers believe they are saints.
Woke to the extreme, yet unwilling to listen to staff lived experience if it doesn't fit with the current woke outlook.

I'd love to get out .

I work in a charity. It's a well-known one. I've been off on leave for a couple of days and dreading going back. I have regular sleepless nights worrying that I'm not meeting customer needs and my health is suffering. I'm at the end of my rope with nothing left to give.

I think the problem with (some) charities is that because the work is "a cause" the employer thinks it's fine to work its employees into the ground.Employees don't object out of guilt.So nothing is said and everyone carries on smiling benignly whilst feeling desperate and drained.

On the subject of volunteering - I think that's fine as long as the volunteer gets something out of it. In many cases though, charities use free labour to plug gaps in organisational capacity. That's not on, IMHO.

And they pay is generally crap too.

@DevilsSpawn

Work in charity is very pressured, poorly paid, unstable as contracts and fundings can be withdrawn or unrenewed. You often have to do other roles than the job you were hired to do. There is a fake air of we are doing good but terrible hierarchy and back stabbings going on. It's really not as noble or positive as they put on. Dont be surprised if in reality as an employee of a mental health charity there is actually stigma around employees mental health. I once worked for an employments rights charity and the treatment of employees was such might as well be a zero hour agency staff. They used their knpwledge to ensure you get the minimum. Im talking minimal holiday, letting you go before 2 years mark, bullying. Charity jobs will squeaze every drop you have of energy, funding money mysteriously vanishing and trustees in it for themselves as a prestige, networking thing. It's very soul destroying. I worked and volunteered in 7 different charities in England. Look at glass door reviews of your charity.

This isn’t my experience at all and I’ve worked in three charities. OP most charities offer better than minimum benefits e.g more days holiday because they can’t afford high pay. I definitely worked hard but my employers always encouraged me to be boundaried, supported me and treated me as if they cared about me.