News Release

August 28, 2012

Contacts: Doug Robinson, drobinson@nw.org, 202-220-2360, twitter: @neighborworkspr

NeighborWorks America Symposium Outlines Six Strategies to Propel a Nonprofit Career

Identifying Mentors and Seeking Volunteer Board Work Lead the List of Career Steps

CINCINNATI, Ohio — More than 250 people working in nonprofit community development, many of them younger than 30 years old, attended the latest NeighborWorks Training Institute symposium here in Cincinnati recently and heard career and management tips and strategies that would help them excel in the competitive and fast-changing field of community development. The NeighborWorks Training Institute (NTI) is a major program initiative from NeighborWorks America, a community development nonprofit corporation which creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities, trains more community development professionals than any other corporation.

Attendees at the kick-off panel for the symposium: Young Professionals, The Future of Community Development, heard from leaders from National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, Neighborhood Housing Services of Silicon Valley and NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The leaders from these organizations zeroed in on the importance of identifying mentors early in the careers of young nonprofit professionals. In addition to mentors, the panel agreed on six strategies for young professional to create a successful nonprofit community development career.

1. Be bold, strategic and intentional about a career.
2. Seek mentors, not just one mentor, but several.
3. Seek opportunities to sit on boards of directors for additional management experience
4. Remember that no one cares what you do unless what you do makes enduring and lasting impact.
5. Don’t just show up; be a problem solver.
6. Take the effort to develop “mastery” of something important rather than just develop your skills generally.

Throughout the day, young nonprofit professionals were also given straight-talk about the practical realities of being young in an industry largely led by "grizzled" baby-boomer veterans. To manage this inter-generational reality, young leaders, including a senior manager from the National Urban League Young Professionals program, offered the following tips for success.

1. Take on challenges when others won’t.
2. Clearly ask management about growth and professional development opportunities.
3. Recognize that some leaders may not relinquish much power and that it is OK to move on to where greater career growth is possible.
4. Realize that critiques are given to build competency and ability of those staff who managers value.
5. Remember that first impressions last a long time.

NeighborWorks America has an ongoing effort to support young leaders in community development through its courses offered at its training institutes held four times each year, and through its websites, www.nw.org, and www.leadersforcommunities.org. Leaders for Communities is a social network platform that allows members to connect with current and future leaders in community development.

About NeighborWorks America
NeighborWorks America creates opportunities for people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing. In the last five years, NeighborWorks organizations have generated more than $19.5 billion in reinvestment in these communities. NeighborWorks America is the nation’s leading trainer of community development and affordable housing professionals.

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