Pull Focus Open House
April 26, 2011 | 7pm

In the spirit of grassroots social change, Pull Focus Film School brings together emerging filmmakers, activists, non-profit practitioners, and media innovators in an environment that encourages conversation, collaboration and creative engagement in social change.

The goal of Pull Focus is to empower students to tell stories they care about while raising awareness about many of the amazing and ambitious efforts that are currently being undertaken within the non-profit community.

Pull Focus celebrates its spring program with an Open House on April 26th at 306 Abbott Street in Gastown. Come experience the ‘social change’ spirit, in tandem with the exciting evolution of the local mediascape.

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Change Through Food Systems
May 3, 2011 | 6pm

From producer to intermediaries to consumers, how can positive change happen through our food systems? We all play a part – let’s talk it out!

Join us as three unique individuals spark a conversation about food systems and have your turn to make connections to new ideas, people, and passions.

Moderator: Anthony Nicalo @tonynicolo – chef; entrepreneur; building first global map of local food @foodtree

Speakers:

• Arzeena Hamir @arzeena – agrologist; coordinator for the Richmond Food Security Society; engaging diverse communities in the food security conversation
• Herb Barbolet – food activist; researcher; author
• Mijune Pak @followmefoodie – food blogger at Follow Me Foodie; facilitating producers and consumers in conscious engagement with food

My old high school

Young-ish folk! I want to hear from you!

If you are in a nonprofit career now, what did you think you’d be doing when you left high school?

When I graduated from high school, I was on my way to becoming a forensic pathologist. This was before the days of CSI. I loved dissecting and solving problems. And now, I do project management and strategy for nonprofit and educational organizations. So basically I still love dissecting and solving problems.

I’ve been invited to speak to a high school about careers in the nonprofit sector. I’ve done this sort of talk many times before with university students, but wanted to capture glimpses of other young people in the sector.

I’m compiling stories /audio /video that answer any or all of the following:

1. What is your job title? With what organization?
2. What sort of stuff do you do in your job?
3. What did  you think you’d be doing when you graduated from high school?
4. What experiences have you had that led you to where you are now?
5. What influence did your parents have as you navigated education and career options?
6. If you could go back and give your high school self some advice, what would you say?

Share below, or email to trina@trinaisakson.com.

NLN Curriculum Development: Part 2
Hosted by Vantage Point
Monday, January 10th, 2011
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
FREE

Part two of a participatory meeting that will guide the Next Leaders Network future curriculum.  You will also have the chance to meet and network with others in the not-for-profit sector through collaborative activities. (If you’re not a member, look into it!)

Hosted by Ashoka Canada, SIG, Plan Institute, and Causeway
Monday, January 10th, 2011
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Pay What You Can

Learn more about the world of social innovation and social finance from 4 distinguished leaders in the social innovation arena. Meet and network with other passionate and driven individuals involved in the social innovation space.

How to Get the Media’s Attention
Hosted by SFU Continuing Studies
Saturday, February 5, 2011
1:00pm – 2:30pm, 2011
FREE

Even the smallest amount of media coverage can be a huge advantage. But getting the attention of busy journalists and editors isn’t easy. Discover what it really takes to get mentioned in print, broadcast, or online.

Industry collapses? Reeducate workers.

Want democracy? Let girls learn.

Want to ward off terrorism? Keep young men in school.

etc. etc. etc.

=========

Lack of knowing creates fear, intolerance, ignorance, bad decision making, oppression.

More known = more good.

Discuss.

The Incomplete Thought Series is, well, a series of incomplete thoughts. These are thoughts I have not researched, but which have popped into my head and am interested in discussing. Your incomplete or complete thoughts are encouraged.

Executive Director, Take a Hike Youth at Risk Foundation

Deadline: June 30

My friend Michelle is becoming a mother, and her position is open. I have a variety of experiences with Take a Hike as a donor, volunteer and event attendee, and they’ve all been fantastic!

This would be a great opportunity for a younger (in age or career) nonprofit professional looking for challenging but well-supported leadership position.

Read the posting on Charity Village here. They are hoping to hire by mid-July for a mid-August start.

SFU Certificate in Dialogue in Civic Engagement

Deadline: July 10

I completed this certificate in April this year, and also developed online curriculum for the first course in the program. I think this program is highly appropriate for activist and advocates, government employees involved in public engagement, citizen organizers, and private sector employees that have a public role in their work – anyone really with an interest in “strategically addressing issues of public concern.”

The people – faculty, staff, and fellow learners – were diverse, experienced, and encouraging, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the program. I was able to use the techniques and principles immediate in my work and was able to explore possible further career interests in dialogue and civic engagement.

Scholarships are available for selected applicants from nonprofit sectors – don’t let the costs stop you from applying.

Read more here.

The top tip I enjoy sharing with students is how a degree does not define you. You do. I demonstrate this by sharing my main post-university jobs (high school teacher, nonprofit gala event manager, and promoter of student engaged citizenship and community-university engagement) and asking what they think my undergrad degree was in. Chemistry and Biology are generally not the first guesses.

The workshop participants brainstormed different tips and resources related to finding employment in the nonprofit sector. They came up with a pile of suggestions in a really tight period of time – many that were new to me. Learning happens in every direction.

Looking for Jobs and Volunteer Roles

• govolunteer.ca (volunteer roles)
• nonprofit and volunteer sections on Craigslist
• charityvillage.com (Canada-wide jobs and volunteering)
• Career & Counselling Services at universities
• The Red Book Online (organizations based in Metro Vancouver)
• careers.ubc.ca
• workcabin.ca (environmental jobs)
• goodworkcanada.ca (green jobs and volunteering)
• Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF)
• Volunteer Vancouver (Vantage Point)
• Idealist.org
• City websites (e.g. City of Vancouver, City of Richmond, City of Burnaby)
• volweb.ca
• Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
• getinvolved.ca (via Andrea)
• Keep your eyes and ears open for odd opportunities. Have a passion for the area in which you work and play around with stuff outside your job description, it goes far. (via mjfrombuffalo)

Networking and Mentorship

• Arts Tri-Mentoring/Engineering Tri-Mentoring
• Joining Clubs/Student Associations (e.g Emerging Leaders Group)
• Sharing experience with other volunteers
• Me Inc. – Commerce Conference (external networking)
• Parents and family friends
• Volunteer in residence
• Professors
• Friends of friends
• Mailing Lists/talking to people at fairs
• Make use of relevant LinkedIn groups (Non Profit & Philanthropic Job Board) and Twitter contacts (via Andrea)
• Research ideal potential employers and conduct an informational interview (check out a WLU informational interviewing booklet) (via Andrea)

Resumes, Cover Letter and Interviews

• Research company before interview
• Career services (for help)
• Hook for cover letter – be interesting
• Be specific to job description
• Be unique, passionate (to certain extent)
• Interviews –
• be down to earth
• practice potential q’s
• confidence
• Don’t’ answer questions in conventional way
• Situation, task, action, result, transfer (technique for answering interview q’s)
• Reveal your transferable skills
• Be honest

Learning and Workshops

• Mentoring Programs
• Involvement Showcase (CSI)
• Green Book
• SLC 2010
• Google
• Events UBC Site
• Career Days
• Community workshops
• Company workshops
• Clubs
• Go Global (Exchange)
• Read
• Community centers/resources
• Research seminars
• Research the rules are for the part of the sector in which you’re looking (do you need a specific degree?) (via mjfrombuffalo)

Things NOT to Do

• Don’t pick something you don’t find interesting
• Don’t lie about your passion
• Don’t be inconsistent in your approach (e.g. volunteer work can be just as important as paid work)
• Don’t have ANY visible content online that’s questionable. Always manage your online personal/professional brand. (via Andrea)
• Bashing – don’t criticize another organization
• Don’t name drop
• No assumptions
• Don’t ask about wages (to begin with, anyway)
• Don’t be in it for the money
• Don’t burn bridges
• Don’t do it just for the sake of your resume

What a fantastic list! You can find more ideas for young nonprofit professionals in Metro Vancouver here, including common mistakes made by new-to-nonprofit job seekers.

Image Credit: Paul Caputo

New to the Vancouver nonprofit scene?
Young in age or young in career?
Here are some places for you to get yourself started.

1. Careers
2. Volunteering
3. Networking
4. Professional Development
5. Learn More About the Sector
6. Social Media
7. Mentorship Programs

Got more ideas to add? Great – we’re just getting started! Comment and I’ll plug them into the post.

Careers

• CharityVillage.com
• Association of Fundraising Professionals Vancouver chapter (fundraising jobs)
• Alliance for Arts & Culture (arts organization jobs)
• Craigslist.org
• Individual organizations’ websites – time consuming but true. To find organizations that are connected to causes that interest you, visit the Red Book Online and browse by organization subject area and sub-subjects. The site is archaic, but useful if you have time to browse.
• University sites (for current students/alumni):
  • Capilano University Student Employment Services
  • SFU Career Services
  • UBC Career Services
• Networking using the topics below.

Volunteering

• GoVolunteer.ca -1000s of volunteer opportunities, searchable by location, activity, organization type, etc.
• VolWeb.ca – event volunteer opportunities – create an account and get notified of positions that match your interests
• CharityVillage.com – volunteer opportunities around Vancouver and across Canada
• Craigslist.org – user-posted volunteer opportunities
• Urbantastic – a focus on microvolunteering
• University sites (for current students/alumni):
  • Capilano University Student Employment Services
  • SFU Volunteer Services

Networking

• Net Tuesdays – a place to meet those interested in social media for social good and learn about current initiatives of local peeps
• Next Leaders Network – inspired by YNPN in the US, this network includes discounted workshops, newsletters, a private LinkedIn group and social events for the nonprofit sector’s next leaders

Professional Development

• Cheap(ish)
  • CharityVillage.com
  • Volunteer Vancouver
  • HR Council for the Voluntary & Non-profit Sector – a database of nonprofit training offered by the HR Council and other organizations
  • Enterprising Non-Profits – for nonprofits considering social enterprises
  • Volunteer BC’s training calendar – a list of nonprofit training events around BC
  • The Centre for Non Profit Management
• Not-as-cheap
  • BCIT Associate Certificate in Nonprofit Management
  • SFU Certificate in Dialogue and Civic Engagement

Learn More About the Sector (by browsing for free!)

• CharityVillage.com
• HR Council for the Voluntary & Non-profit Sector
• Imagine Canada
• Volunteer BC
• Volunteer Canada
• Voluntary Sector Knowledge Network
• Blogs
  • ABCD Network by Joey Rudichuk (asset based community development in BC)
  • Miss 604 (specifically her nonprofit tagged entries)
  • Trina’s Nonprofit Blog (disclosure – that’s me!)
  • Volunteer Vancouver Vantage Point

Social Media

• Take advantage of LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook to increase your online profile
• Connect with Vancouver nonprofit organizations and professionals on Twitter (are you one? @ me or email me to be added)

Mentorship Programs

• Association of Fundraising Professionals Vancouver chapter (fundraisers)

Credit: This resource was inspired by Rosetta Thurman’s slideshare about nonprofit professionals in Washington, DC.

I had a revealing week last week.  I had travelled to Carleton University in Ottawa for the 2nd annual conference of the Association for Nonprofit and Social Economy Research as part of my job at SFU.  I went to learn about issues facing the nonprofit sector and about trends in community-university engagement and community-based learning. Sure, this happened too, but the most important piece of information was about myself.

I love being a part of the nonprofit community of learning and practice.

I am a bit of an introvert and generally find myself uncomfortable at conferences and large gatherings–drink in hand, eyes scanning the crowd as if I’m just waiting for someone to meet me. They’re late. I look at my watch. I take a sip. I scan the crowd.

But this time I met a great group of people that have done and are continuing to do great things for a diverse society. I engaged in dialogue with them, contributed my experience and opinions and soaked up those of others. Learned from academics and practitioners doing research – wait for it – with PRACTICAL implications for the nonprofit sector (warning: sometime cynical university staff member). I learned about the Centre for Voluntary Sector Research and Development at Carleton, whose research associates are almost all practitioners with on the ground experience, and whose research focuses on information that can help nonprofits fulfill their missions through practical information, tools and resources. I met interesting people like Ted Jackson, Keith Seel, Martha Parker, Naheed Nenshi, Wendy MacDonald, Paula Speevak Sladowski. I felt invigorated and was sad for it to be over.

So time for me to get started, living it up with this confirmed love of nonprofit. This blog had been floating around in my head for a while. I follow a large number of nonprofit blogs (see my blog roll) but find a gap in what’s offered to local Canadian nonprofits (context is important). Sometimes it’s nice to work within a community that is virtual AND local.

Next step: share the learning I gleam from my colleagues in their blogs and Twitter updates, from my work and research, from my academic studies, from my involvement with the nonprofit sector.

Future plans: further my studies in nonprofit, help mobilize knowledge and improve practice. Obviously not concrete goals yet – perhaps just musings…