It surprises me how many people I meet when I’m speaking who want to work with non profit organizations if they had a choice of any occupation.
First, non profits believe they can’t make money; therefore, they have barely enough money to pay their bills and often not even enough for that. So when people work at the non profit agency, they rarely make more than enough income to live a comfortable lifestyle.
Also, many non profits have to have fund raising events which are held in the evenings or on the weekends. That requires extra hours and rarely provides any additional compensation for the extra time.
Most people who work for the non profit in any capacity for any length of time become numb to the job. They loose their enthusiasm and might even become bored with their job because of the lack of challenge their position requires.
The other difficult circumstance of working at a non profit is the other people working at the non profit have very few goals for their life. They are less likely to be over achievers or to have any direction other than their basic survival.
All in all, non profits do need good help, but don’t think you’re going to work for one and make the kind of living which will enable you to live comfortably.