Post 1: Introduction

Hello all, and welcome to Trafton’s Non-Profit Blog. No, this isn’t a blog about a non-profit that I started. I’m not so vain that I would start an organization and name it after myself, and I’d like to think that I’d think of a more creative and purpose-appropriate name if I were ever to start a non-profit. Instead, this online weblog is meant to document my reactions and ideas about America’s third sector as I learn about it in Professor Bob Choquette’s course – PPPM 280: Intro to the Non-Profit Sector.

To my knowledge I’ve only worked for one non-profit organization, and the reason I say ‘to my knowledge’ is because it’s very likely I’ve worked, or at least been associated, with organizations that I just didn’t realize were non-profits.

For the past two summers I’ve taught at Aim High, a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides education experiences to underprivileged middle school students during the summer. The five week long summer program starts in the middle of June, tuition is completely free for students accepted to the program, and it’s goal is to boost student’s academic performance during a time when students would otherwise lack any formal educational experiences. I personally taught science in Redwood City, California, however Aim High has over a dozen campuses throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

In my experience I both loved and loathed working in the non-profit sector. I have a great deal of respect for my co-workers at Aim High because they’re dedication to teaching and improving the quality of life for their students is something I’ve never experienced. Also, their compassion and enthusiasm made every day a new and exciting experience for me. I genuinely looked forward to each and every day at Aim High.

On the other hand, I found that working for a non-profit also had its down falls. The most common issue I encountered was that I occasionally lacked the necessary support to do my job properly. I realize that I can’t hold Aim High completely accountable for my own personal success and failure, especially considering that this was literally my first time ever teaching in a classroom, but there were certainly times where I thought to myself, “this situation might be different if I were working for an organization with a little more money.” It was usually a resources issue.

I would say to my supervisor, “I want each student in my class to have a notebook for notes, homework assignments, and daily journal entries,” and she would respond, “Well, we can’t afford that. Figure out another way.” My supervisor would need to troubleshoot another teacher’s problem, and I’d be left to brainstorm a new solution with my co-teacher who has less experience with teaching than I do. Like I said, each day was a new experience, but some were more exciting than others.

Anyways, I should start transitioning into my reactions to this week’s reading requirements. My subsequent posts, as the course requirements, will be responses and reflections on our class’s assigned reading, although I expect that my personal experiences with Aim High and other miscellaneous volunteer activities will regularly pop up throughout the term.

The first thing that popped out at me was the first line of Chapter 1. “The United States is a nation of 281 million individuals” (1). WRONG! Bob told us that this books is a little dated, and know I realize that it’s precisely nine years and thirty million individual out of date. It probably doesn’t matter too much, but I really hope that I’m not reading completely worthless information.

Semantics aside, however, I was stunned to discover how large the non-profit sector is. According to the text, the entire sector accounts for 5-10% of the nation’s economy, and I’ll assume the currently number is at the higher end of that range. According to Bob, non-profits employ 10% of the American population, and those numbers likely only account for the organizations that are nationally recognized as non-profits. There are still myriad volunteer organizations and charity organizations that provide services to the community that don’t have 501 (c)(3) under their title.

Finances are a topic that I’d like to focus on this quarter for two reasons. The first is because I have little to no experience with finances regardless of what sector we’re talking about. I particularly would like to know how funds are raised for non-profits organizations. Second, I imagine finances in the non-profit sector are fairly simple so it’s a good time to start learning here. So far they're exactly what I would expect. The vast majority of spending goes towards program services and the remaining percentages are put towards management expenses or reinvested into fundraising.

The last topic I’ll bring up is the growth of the non-profit sector. The IRS claims that total assets within non-profits tripled between 1975 and 1995. Now it’s $1.25 trillion sector. These are the numbers that make me still believe in the morals and ethics of modern America. I’m always a little skeptical of statistics, but I interpret these numbers to mean that not everyone has been blinded by wealth and greed.