Salary for social respect. Competition for collaboration. Structure for stretch. Sounds good, right?
I made the leap from corporate marketing and PR into nonprofit development five years ago. My fundraising experience to that point had mostly been as a volunteer, donor, and board member. I’ll admit, I had no idea how different it would feel on the inside. Board member versus staff — it really is a different world.
I’m proud of being able to make such a big pivot. At the time, I needed a reset, but there are things I miss.
Living your values as a day job sounds admirable. In the corporate world, success is visible and quantifiable: units sold, brands built, market share gained. Competition is a good thing. In development, dollars do matter (no money, no mission), but success is measured in lives changed, and trust is built slowly over time. The pace is more measured and metrics are human, not transactional.
Friends from my corporate life often ask what it’s like to make the transition as they think about “giving back.” It’s not as simple as trading a big salary for personal fulfillment. As my husband, who’s spent decades in enterprise tech, likes to remind me, pride in doing good isn’t exclusive to nonprofits. Many companies create enormous social value through jobs, wages, innovation, and corporate responsibility. The difference isn’t in intent. It’s in the system — how success is defined, sustained, and shared.
The skills I carried from my brand and communications career, from strategy, storytelling, relationship-building, these were all useful and, I think, helped me stand apart. But they were an incomplete skill set. The real work was learning to navigate scarcity with creativity, to lead through influence rather than authority, and to find meaning in progress that is humble, quiet, and collective.
For anyone considering this path, it can be worth it. Success looks different here. You are no longer your accomplishments. It’s about connecting, enduring, and maintaining.
If you’ve made a similar leap, I’d love to hear your story. What did you discover when “giving back” became your day job?
“The real work was learning to navigate scarcity with creativity, to lead through influence rather than authority, and to find meaning in progress that is humble, quiet, and collective.”
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