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There are sites that focus on both, for instance... https://www.nten.org/jobs/ https://www.nten.org/jobs/

by taprun 10y ago

cauterized 10y ago
Nten is great. One thing to understand about nonprofits is that although most now recognize that they now need tech, they (rightly) do not generally consider it part of their core mission. Thus instead of keeping someone on staff, they outsource technical work to agencies. (Just as they outsource other important but non-core functions, such as developing, printing, and sending all that snail mail spam they send every winter.) There are even a few agencies that specialize in tech work for nonprofits. Other organizations use services that offer a hosted CMS and fundraising database and other tools in a single package along with high-touch customer service. Small nonprofits may hire freelancers to manage their website for a few hours per month, and try to run their own email campaigns. Larger organizations will often have someone in house whose job is to plan and manage their digital presence and campaigns. That person is generally a tech-savvy layperson. Their job is mostly to communicate between internal stakeholders and the external providers. Other organizations may be data-heavy. They may have a DBA/analyst on staff to handle data management and reporting. A very small subset of nonprofits see technology as core to their mission. These are probably the ones you're looking for. Just keep in mind that many of these are relatively new kids on the block, so to speak. Few of them have the resources to hire more than one or two technologists, thus those people are of necessity very broad generalists. A subset of well-funded major institutions have decided that data or technology is part of their core mission or need internal tooling beyond classic IT desktop and network provisioning. Institutions of higher education come to mind. So does the NYPL, which has all sorts of fun digital initiatives. Another possibility you might consider would be government sector work. There are hundreds of federal agencies that need everything from websites to data management to payroll systems, and a few doing fun things with open data. There are also state and local agencies - from transit to child welfare agencies - that need similar things on a smaller scale; some of which are doing very good things, and whose efficiency you might help improve.
- anon58987656553 10y ago
  Your analysis of small non-profits matches my experience both searching and applying. I'll add that even the tech agencies that serve these non-profits want people with a specific set of relatively old skills, as HN would think of them, that are still really well-known. Wordpress and Drupal are popular. I guess this is doubly true for the non-profits themselves, which have more specific needs and less flexibility. Some government work is fine. I'm avoiding any federal work under the incoming political leadership, but that's a complex situation and reasonable people can disagree. Most state or city government work is fine with me, but I want to relocate and I assume these places aren't interested in hiring remotely. Moving to a large state capital might be a good idea if I decide to move without something lined up. My technical background is a little scattered, so while I'm a good developer in a general way, I'm unlikely to be the first choice if an organization needs a specialist in any specific thing. I suppose anyone hiring me remotely needs to either be confident in their ability to assess general technical aptitude, or large enough that they can afford to be wrong, neither of which correspond well to the places where I'm applying.
  - cauterized 10y ago
    Being a generalist will likely serve you well applying to small agencies and organizations. You may have more trouble with larger agencies/orgs and government due to the way their hiring processes work. Unless there are one or two things you'd be willing to focus on for a couple years and can tailor your resume to. Good on you for pursuing this, and good luck!

There are sites that focus on both, for instance... https://www.nten.org/jobs/ https://www.nten.org/jobs/

by taprun 10y ago

There are sites that focus on both, for instance... https://www.nten.org/jobs/ https://www.nten.org/jobs/

Nten is great. One thing to understand about nonprofits is that although most now recognize that they now need tech, they (rightly) do not generally consider it part of their core mission. Thus instead of keeping someone on staff, they outsource technical work to agencies. (Just as they outsource other important but non-core functions, such as developing, printing, and sending all that snail mail spam they send every winter.) There are even a few agencies that specialize in tech work for nonprofits. Other organizations use services that offer a hosted CMS and fundraising database and other tools in a single package along with high-touch customer service. Small nonprofits may hire freelancers to manage their website for a few hours per month, and try to run their own email campaigns. Larger organizations will often have someone in house whose job is to plan and manage their digital presence and campaigns. That person is generally a tech-savvy layperson. Their job is mostly to communicate between internal stakeholders and the external providers. Other organizations may be data-heavy. They may have a DBA/analyst on staff to handle data management and reporting. A very small subset of nonprofits see technology as core to their mission. These are probably the ones you're looking for. Just keep in mind that many of these are relatively new kids on the block, so to speak. Few of them have the resources to hire more than one or two technologists, thus those people are of necessity very broad generalists. A subset of well-funded major institutions have decided that data or technology is part of their core mission or need internal tooling beyond classic IT desktop and network provisioning. Institutions of higher education come to mind. So does the NYPL, which has all sorts of fun digital initiatives. Another possibility you might consider would be government sector work. There are hundreds of federal agencies that need everything from websites to data management to payroll systems, and a few doing fun things with open data. There are also state and local agencies - from transit to child welfare agencies - that need similar things on a smaller scale; some of which are doing very good things, and whose efficiency you might help improve.

anon58987656553 10y ago
Your analysis of small non-profits matches my experience both searching and applying. I'll add that even the tech agencies that serve these non-profits want people with a specific set of relatively old skills, as HN would think of them, that are still really well-known. Wordpress and Drupal are popular. I guess this is doubly true for the non-profits themselves, which have more specific needs and less flexibility. Some government work is fine. I'm avoiding any federal work under the incoming political leadership, but that's a complex situation and reasonable people can disagree. Most state or city government work is fine with me, but I want to relocate and I assume these places aren't interested in hiring remotely. Moving to a large state capital might be a good idea if I decide to move without something lined up. My technical background is a little scattered, so while I'm a good developer in a general way, I'm unlikely to be the first choice if an organization needs a specialist in any specific thing. I suppose anyone hiring me remotely needs to either be confident in their ability to assess general technical aptitude, or large enough that they can afford to be wrong, neither of which correspond well to the places where I'm applying.
- cauterized 10y ago
  Being a generalist will likely serve you well applying to small agencies and organizations. You may have more trouble with larger agencies/orgs and government due to the way their hiring processes work. Unless there are one or two things you'd be willing to focus on for a couple years and can tailor your resume to. Good on you for pursuing this, and good luck!