#12 Non-Profit Organizations
January 21, 2008 by clander
It is a known fact that white people make up 95% of non-profit organizations. They can’t get enough of them.
They like working there for a number of reasons, the most important of which is that it gives them a sense of self importance. This is important so that they can tell their friends and parents that they are “helping” society, and not just working to make money.
But the sweet side of non profits is that you are paid a competitive salary for your field. So you can be working at a non-profit and still make six figures, and you don’t have accountability or pressure. Again, like most things with white people - you can’t lose!
See, there you go again! I appreciate the sarcasm, but it’s so counterproductive - we should be working against the idea that non-profits are a “white” thing, not solidifying it through wit and humor. Many non-profits do “help” society, from advocating prisoners’ rights to supplementing public education. Non-profits are valuable community resources, but if they’re always only staffed by white people, then only white people will have control over their resources. Which means not only are we stuck with an bunch of do-gooder white folk with Savior complexes (never a good thing), we’re barring nonwhitefolk from really good jobs with the potential to have real positive social impact.
I pooped my pants
knit your anus up!!
marry me mohammed.
It’s a joke!
These people obviously have never heard of Rainbow/PUSH coalition or the NAACP.
Uh, that would account for the other 5%….
There is a need for formats such as this in such a tense and turbulent world. I appreciate and see as essential stuffwhitepeoplelike. It would be inappropriate and deserve repute if The Times were to run a piece such as Non-Profits, yet, for stuffwhitepeoplelike to make fun of the disproportionate majority of white non-profit employees is par. I have seen an abundance of “crunchy for crunchy-sake” whities, with their New Balance, Target, Whole Foods Immanual Kantian routines that buy into the Non-Profit brand the same as Target. To take at jab at these crunchies, and in doing so support the diversification of the non-profit field, is precisely what you were falsely criticizing about stuffwhitepeoplelike. Good day, my latte awaits.
Can you support your assertion that non-profits pay competitive salaries? In my experience, that’s just not true. Some people might earn 6 figures, but these people are usually C*Os. As for pressure and accountability, talk to a non-profit employee at grant time. But we do like that feeling that we’re “helping.” Silly us.
I have to agree with this. I’ve worked in the for-profit, non-profit and government sectors, and the non-profits pay the least.
I also have no idea where the “no accountability or pressure” part comes in. Non-profits jobs have easily as much pressure and responsibility.
the C*O’s do make good dough, but the others don’t make a ton unless they are real good at “fundraising”. Never try to point out how their non-profit is actually doing more harm than good. They will not like that…my friend works at a non-profit/lawyers group(ties in with your lawyers article)…they beg for money from rich lawyers and then feel superior as they dole it out to folks…have them write essays and crap…Of course they get to keep some of the money to buy waterfront homes/ ipods and nice kitchen appliances.
yeah i wish nonprofits in washington dc paid people 6 figures…the nice thing about nonprofits tho is that it allows people with Arts degrees to get a job they wouldn’t otherwise be qualified for, without having to go to more school.
I finna go to church!
yeah, none of the (white) people i know who’ve worked for non-profits made anything like a competitive salary, especially considering all the work they’d do.
Yeah, you’ve hit the class angle but are going at it from the wrong way. These things pay poorly so only rich white people (which is what I assume you mean with your blog, since it does not describe the average redneck) can do them.
Dude – non-profits have bad pay for the level of skill and education. And, as a white guy, I should know. My girlfriend and my mom work for non-profits.
That’s the truth. BBA in computer information systems, 30k.
As a white nonprofit worker, I have one question:
What nonprofit pays a 6 figure salary????
I’m not going to quit my job and go find one, I just want to know. Where are these nonprofits?
stuffblackpeoplelike - eating watermelon! hahaha!!!
stuffarabpeoplelike - pumping oil! hahaha!!!
stuffblackpeoplelike - gang warfare! hahaha!!!
stuffmexicanpeoplelike - eating beans! hahaha!!!
stuffchinesepeoplelike - shooting heroin! hahaha!!!
stuffblackpeoplelike - welfare! hahaha!!!
stuffjewishpeoplelike - keeping money! hahaha!!!
stuffmexicanpeoplelike - wearing sombreros! hahaha!!!
stuffchinesepeoplelike - eating rice! hahaha!!!
stuffarabpeoplelike - kissing goats! hahaha!!!
stuffmexicanpeoplelike - wearing sombreros! hahaha!!!
stuffblackpeoplelike - sniffing glue! hahaha!!!
aren’t i funny and clever!!!
don’t you dare call me a racist!!!
How racist.
And what do you like? Talk about the ridiculous stuff that white people like! I can think of a few, but I’ll keep them to myself. Some things are better left unsaid, ya feel me? Oh, maybe you don’t.
annonymous you are funny…..waiting for your blog - really…..
anyway gotta go now, have to purchase my expensive sandwich, dry my hubby’s rugby shirt, go the health food store, pray that universal health care is passed, go to the anti -gun rally, squeeze in time for my non- profit work because i have a saviour complex, purchase my lancome products (as close to european as one can get) and make sure I don’t offend any other ethnic group during my day and “often feel guilty” thru out the day regarding how the other ethnic groups are treated - and all you other non- ethic people remember that be the plans - don’t aks me whys
hahaha
You are sooo silly! Yeah, we need to laugh at ourselves because if we don’t… we’ll go crazy! I’m an African American and I know all about stereo-typing. Keep up the dry sense of humor!
I’m white and I hate conservative reactionary politics. Sorry for being so lame but I’m starting to understand what this page is all about.
Six figures and no accountability or pressure!?! I’ve spent my life picking the wrong non-profits . . .
[...] #40. More important, was the fact that the download was free, because Public Radio is non profit Post #12. After Craig listens to people like Amy Goodman and David Sedaris Post#25, he feels like he is an [...]
I wish white people liked some of the stuff you write about. Wish more black people did, too. We’d be a lot better off . . . as it is, most people in this country don’t actually give a fuck about non-profits, or “awareness,” etc. etc.
I agree with Liz. The majority of white people in this country don’t really like non-profits. They like Wal-mart. Wal-mart turns a decent profit. so like, u r dumb. get smart.
ah, no one I know who works for a nonprofit makes over $50k.
Naaah…you’re wrong about the pay and pressure at non-profits. A handful pay well and a handful of people who work at nonprofits have family money to tide them over bad pay, but for the most part you’re competing with people with Ivy League master’s degrees for a salary that’s half what a plumber makes. This is actually why most people who work for nonprofits marry someone who works in the private sector. Someone’s gotta pay for that Moroccan vacation and the pot.
@ 17 Master’s degrees in sociology hahaha
Seriously though I am white and this is spot on. Alot of white people work at non-profs because they are self important. These are the same people who try to make you go outdoors.
Isn’t living in an NPO more relevant that working at one?
This entry is weak. The non-profit you’re describing is rare. The mega non-profits like United Way or Red Cross will have a few lucrative positions at each site. A better angle would attack the types that are coupled with mates in higher paying jobs.
The jab at lax accountability in the non-profit field is also off base. Donors of all sorts watch that shit like owls.
You’d be amazed how fucking uptight people get over a $50 or $100 dollar donation. Sure, I threw down 50$ at the bar last weekend, got drunk and purchased two rounds of $4 shots for my table, but now that I’m sober and I’m dangling this $50 in front of you, I value it a whole lot more. I wanna know where every fucking last cent is going. What’s that you say, your administrative costs are 24%, well by god, that’s more than I would expect, even though I don’t know shit about what I’m talking about. What’s that? Some of that 24% includes direct service costs that are labeled “administrative” in accordance with your bylaws? Well, I’m not sure what that means, but I already pay taxes to help lazy scumbags like we live in a Communist state. I’ll take my hard earned money somewhere else, to a harder-working organization. I’m giving it to my mega church instead, where the pastor makes $12 million a year. That way, at least, I know it’s going to a good cause and not being pocketed by some crooked, slick-haired bastard.
End Scene.
“But the sweet side of non profits is that you are paid a competitive salary for your field”
HAHAHA. Wow. Obviously you have no idea what you are talking about. Competitive? Try half what you would make doing less work at a private sector job.
Hilarious.
6 figures? Maybe if you have 3 ivy league degrees. Maybe.
working at a nonprofit keeps the existential crisis down at LEAST enough to keep me away from church. I dig it. The possibility of a sense of purpose is so freakin’ tempting. It’s better than money, man. It’s … it’s…I mean, it’s almost like CRACK.
LMAO!!! Omg, this is funny. I work at a nonprofit in the Bronx, NY.. The Executive Director and Asst Exec are both WHITE and are always going into the neighborhood talking to the staff about the of an education and how everyone needs to work hard etc and how we should instill those values into our clients and the community (who are all referred to us b/c they are low income families) .. Then after work the ED gets into his BMW (which he keeps locked up in a garage since he wont park it in from of the non profit) and drives to New Jersey or his weekend home Upstate and the AED takes a cab to her brownstone on Central Park West. But Im sure they both get a good nights sleep because theyre “making a difference”
correction: ^^about the *value* of an education^^
so i’m a first-year attorney at a nonprofit making $42k/year…my friends at firms start at around $160k plus bonuses in the tens of thousands. and they get substantial raises every year. sure, there are lots of people in my field who could be considered “white do-gooders,” but most people in non-profits are doing amazing work for very little pay. these jobs have so many benefits- sane hours, getting to help people and give back to the community- but money is NOT one of them, unless you are at the highest levels of management.
not to say that this blog isn’t freaking AWESOME and scary in its portrayal of my life as apparently the whitest person ever…but i thought this point was important to clarify. i’m off to eat some bagels and read my sunday times now.
I’d like to meet someone in a non-profit who is not the CEO who makes above 50K. My salary at a non-profit is no where near competitive to my for-profit counterparts. I think you need a new #12.
Actually, it’s just that whites like contributing to society in positive way. After all, although blacks only make up 13.5% of the US population, they contribute in other ways, like being 33% of all rapists and 52% of all murderers! Now that is Culture.
On a pretty funny blog this is a really weak entry. It’s too much the exception if true at all.
Man, I have done/liked almost all these things! Except for Asian girls, as I fall in to the white woman catagory.
You are sooooo nieve! The reason we love non-profits is for the tax avoidance, money laundering aspect of them. We are looking for every way to keep our hard earned money out of your hands.
It is not your money. The government prints it; ergo, it is the government’s money. At the end of each year, the government decides how much of its money it will let you keep.
i work for a non profit through americorps and i’m making a hefty 200 dollars a month. that’s definitely 6 figures, no?
Almost every charity/community service group at my college was run by a young white woman or gay man. I think this entry should be retitled:
“Stuff non-whites and heterosexal males don’t like”: Volunteering their time!
I wish you were right about this one.
Yeah, I make 6 figures at my non-profit job. That”s why I’m 44 and my very first brand new car is a YARIS. And don’t ask me about my pension and my golden parachute…I get embarrassed when I am forced to talk about all the benefits of working for a non profit agency. But, hey, at least it’s rewarding: I get to work for an agency who couldn’t give two shits about the kids and the families we serve, and I get to watch as all of my clients can’t afford heat, can’t afford health insurance, and try to find jobs they can’t live on. I’d tell them to work for my agency, but it would set them back financially. I was good with your site, but as far as this issue goes, you are CLUELESS. I’m all set now. Thanks.
The funniest thing about these blog posts are the offended white people who will spend their entire lunch hour posting defensive comments and trying to defend/reason their positions. It fucking satire, go get yourself an expensive sandwich (see future post).
I’m “working” right now at a non-profit, and I make $11,000 a year in San Francisco (try it sometime, you can talk to all your white friends about “living simply”). Maybe next year I can get one of those competitive non-profit salaries while I save the world. I love this blog.
I’m white and I LOVE this site. It’s hilarious and allows me to laugh at myself and my white friends. However, I have to say that this post is ill-researched.
I work at a non-profit medical clinic with a Master’s degree. Everyone else I know in the private sector with my degree makes AT LEAST double what I do. And that goes for the receptionists, medical records clerks, medical assistants, directors AND the doctors at my clinic. Also, the staff at our clinic is VERY diverse — I am only one of a few white women here and proud to be a part of this organization.
While I agree that I work here to assauge my “white guilt” and to give back to a society that has given me so much privilege, I also work here because I love my city, love my patients and wouldn’t want to work anywhere else for any other amount of money.
I’ll note that this also ties into another thing white people like: graduate degrees. Seriously, try to get a job a non-profit. They all require a masters or a PhD.
Hmmm… I worked for a non-profit for over 5 years and volunteer at another. During my career, I have worked with survivors of domestic violence, rape, child abuse, etc. I wish I could have made anywhere near a 6 figure salary, because then at least I could have paid off my college loans and not have had to work evenings to be able to afford paying rent and groceries. Most importantly, I would have been able to afford to stay working in the non-profit sector, doing work I enjoyed.
Aside from the fictional set-up of this post, I am just wondering: what is wrong with feeling good about making the world a better place? Is the opposite better: people who feel good about damaging the world? Why does that have to be a “white people” thing? At least a third of my co-workers were black, African, or latinos. They felt good about what they did too. What is wrong with watching out for your own economic self-interest if you marry someone who has a private-sector job? If you work in a non-profit, making less than school teachers make, then eventually you will have two options: leave the field in order to be able to afford to have a family or have a partner that makes more money than you. Even if the fictional 6 figure salary were mostly true, why is it bad for people to actually make money while making the world a better place? Are our values so messed up that we prefer our non-profit workers poor? Aren’t we always talking about how teachers should make more money? Should people like Paris Hilton make more money than a case manager who works with children in foster care or lawyers who go to court on behalf of prisoners who have been abused?
I am not white, but I am disappointed with the posting. It sets people up to fail either way. Accoridng to this post, their only choices are to be “do-gooders” with selfish motives or “evil-doers” also with selfish motives. The posting also denies the amazing amount of contribution that people of all races give to social justice and human rights issues and cheapens what many non-profits do. The non-profit system is far from perfect, but this posting parodies the wrong issues. Please examine your own incorrect assumptions instead.
Hahahaha - again, see Portland, OR - guilty post-collegiate white people mecca. It’s like 3:1 people to non-profit ratio in this city. That and people are always applying for grants. Same reason behind it.
Maybe you should just rewrite the article to incorporate the suggestion made by SFG? They were completely correct when they said:
Yeah, you’ve hit the class angle but are going at it from the wrong way. These things pay poorly so only rich white people (which is what I assume you mean with your blog, since it does not describe the average redneck) can do them.
I know a large number of aid workers, the plurality of whom are upper class, over-educated white people with huge guilt complexes who can afford to work at lower income helpy jobs because they either come from money or have the degrees/skillsets to jump ship to the private sector should the need arise.
It’s a joke. There are no facts with this statement, just pure laughs. Sheesh
Does no one understand that this web-site is just to give everyone a good laugh? It’s probably not entirely true, but it’s funny as hell. If the joke offends you, don’t read it. Pretty simple.
Speaking of which:
I am absolutely thrilled to share with you an amazing experience I am training for:. The AIDS/LifeCycle, a 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. It will take me 7 days, June 1st to June 7th, to complete the ride, almost 85 miles a day, so this is a huge personal challenge for me. Why am I undertaking such an enormous challenge? The first reason is a personal one. To get back into shape. If getting fit was a personal goal of mine, I would have done it already, but I haven’t. So now I am making it a goal and training for and completing a 545-mile bike ride is a great way for me to ultimately be more fit and strong.
The second reason is just as important to me and that is to raise money to benefit people living with HIV/AIDS. The average annual cost of care for a person living with HIV in the United States exceeds $25,000. AIDS is not over. I love that an event like this can help me in my personal goal and at the same time, help support other people. I have never had the urge to do a marathon or a triathlon before but the fact that a major part of this is about raising money to help the HIV/AIDS services of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center is a huge motivating factor for me.
Another motivation is the experience. I cannot wait to ride my bike down gorgeous Highway 1. I cannot wait to meet other bikers from around the country and to belong to a community of other people who share in my passion to fight against HIV/AIDS. It’s incredible that a disease will bring us together but during this remarkable, challenging week, we will celebrate our health.
So with all of this, I am asking you to be a part of my team of people who care about this disease. I need to raise a minimum of $2,500 and with your financial help, I am confident that I can reach that goal. As I am climbing a difficult hill or struggling to complete an 85-mile day, I will think about your support, how you wanted me to succeed and how you gave money to help fight AIDS. I will be doing the ride, sweating through each mile and you can be with me in spirit every mile of the way.
I’d like to urge you to give any amount that is right for you but would you consider $25, $50, $100, $136 (25 cents a mile), $272 (50 cents a mile) or a dollar a mile at $545?
I cannot thank you enough for your emotional and financial support, and for being on my team. This event is going to take hours and hours of my life but I know it is worth it. I hope you think it is worth it as well.
PLEASE DONATE!!! I’m having a hell of a time raising money here.
Oh god, what I wouldn’t give to be making six figures working at my nonprofit…
White people — especially white women — are disproportionately represented in non-profit work.
But dude, it’s not about the money. The ‘non-profit discount’ is around 25-50% - so if you’d make $100,000 as a manager at a for-profit, you can expect to clock, say, $60,000 as an executive director at a NP organization, with poor job security to boot.
While most EDs are women, this is not true for really big non-profits, where most execs are men. this suggests that the reason women do so well in non-profit work is that no one else wants these jobs. Once an organization gets sufficiently prestigious, sorry ladies, the old boys club takes over again.
Source for my statistics: http://meyerfoundation.org/newsroom/meyer_publications/ready_to_lead
Most of the people that work at my non-profit are Hispanic (except for highest management). It partially has to do with the need for bilingual employees because so much of the population we serve is Spanish-speaking only. I also think it’s kind of the same mentality that is seen in, say, migrant workers: no one else will do those jobs for such little pay.
#1 mohammad, just shut up. seriously.
That’s funny. More than half of the people who work at my non-profit are African-American.
yeah, i don’t know about this one. point me to the non-profit offering six figures for a social worker- i’m there.
No, no, it’s good to use wit and humor to comment on the things we are hostile about. This is my favorite website I’ve seen in a while, because it is so true and written in such a sneaky way, how can one honestly be offended?
Offended? Of course not.
This website is just the equivalent of every “ever notice how white people are all like….” joke by every black/non-white comedian in history.
The reason it stings for some of us that have put our heart and souls into NFPs is because this site acts as thought it is cutting out the BS and telling (yuppie/liberal) white people what their lives really amount to.
Of course it is all done through jokes, but every joke has to be based in truth and this blog tries to insert a made up distortion - like “competitive salary for your field” as a truth and the basis for the joke.
So if people were to take that distortion as truth, of course it would sting for a lot of people to see their hard work and selflessness degraded by some blogger with a platform and the ability to shape a lot of people’s views.
Thankfully just about anyone who has even a basic knowledge of employment, job markets, real life, etc. would see this post is an absurdity and pay it no mind.
Great point #39
Some people are just bitter when they see other people that are happy and have some sense of moral obligation.
A lot of people just don’t see how that anyone could possibly be that way, and it makes them mad when they see it, so they try and bring that person down.
Non profits pay competitive salaries? That’s a hoot!
1) F.U. Jordan! #27. I’m a black individual who not only works in a non-profit but understands the actual term of culture.
2) I work at a very small non-profit and my former boss was paid well over 50k and barely even knew how to use Microsoft Word. So, I can kind of see where he’s coming from but a lot of my friends in the non-profit sector are paid crap. I guess it just depends where you work.
3) F.U. Jordan! #27.
Based on all of these posts, I think “disputing sarcastic comments they don’t like while linking friends to ones they do” could make the list. I’m a teacher and I find the jokes at our expense hillarious (even if they are untrue). Lighten up people, you are proving the writers point.
Umm… Everything about that is right except for the money thing. I’m white i work for a non-profit and no ones pay is competitive. I make %50 less than others in my field with the same experience.