What do I need to know about working at a very small non-profit?

May 6, 2022 7:29 AM

I have applied for a part-time job at a very small non-profit and I have no experience with an organization this small. If I get an interview, I'd like to have questions prepared. What are some things to ask about working for a very small org that might not be obvious?

I am leaving my current job at the end of the summer and was not even looking for a new one yet when a job opportunity appeared the other day. I am hoping to get an interview and so I am trying to think of questions I would like the answer to. This is a very small arts non-profit and I have never worked anyplace so small before. I don’t even know what questions I should be asking about the org b/c I have no frame of reference for something like this. If you’ve ever worked at a tiny non-profit before, what do you think I should know in advance?

I would be one of two paid, part-time employees. Everyone else is a volunteer. Right now the volunteer Board is running all the admin stuff. This position would be new which is something I am fine with, I have been the first person in a position several times before. I have also worked in arts non-profits for 15 years. The other employee is the Artistic Director of this org and handles, well, artistic stuff. He is also p-t and this is not his main job (he's a teacher.) The position I applied for is the admin person doing all the stuff the volunteers are trying to do now. In case it helps direct your answers, the org is a performing arts org for kids ages 7-teens and I have experience with kids, too. My child has been involved with the org for about 4 years so I have some knowledge of what they do and how they work. They definitely need a person to organize some things. I live in the US and the job is a US-based org. I’ve thought of some questions it would be good to know in advance. What are some other things I should ask?


· Who would I report to? The Board? The Artistic Director?

· It’s a part-time work-from-home job b/c there’s no office. Would I be expected to store stuff in my condo? (For ex: folding tables for events, boxes of snacks for rehearsals, flyers, gift bags) If so, there’s no room in my condo for this. Where would I keep it instead?

· Is there an org credit card that I would use to buy things for the org or do I spend my own money and get reimbursed? If the latter, how long is that process and who approves?

· Since I am using my home technology to do the work and probably my personal mobile phone, does the org pay for some of my access or for supplies?

· Hours and flexible schedule were in the job posting as well as pay information

Those are all the questions I have that are not general, like hours and benefits and what-have-you that might apply to all jobs. Those I have covered. Any thoughts?

posted by bijou243 to Work & Money (16 answers total)

What programs/software are they using now to perform tasks like managing contacts, collecting money, messaging, etc.?
What kind of training will you need if unfamiliar with the software? Who will provide that training?
Will there still be volunteers for any of the current activities?
posted by XtineHutch at 7:44 AM on May 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

I would want to know how the HR type processes work at an org that small / with that structure. If someone is harassing you, who do you report it to? What's the resolution process?
posted by macfly at 7:45 AM on May 6, 2022 [6 favorites]

I've never worked for one, but have lived with people who have. (One a small, membership-based political activist org and the other a small environmental think-tank kind of shop. Both slightly larger, I think.) It might make the interviewers uncomfortable, but asking about how funding works and what the trends are springs to mind for me. The rude version is, "are you going to ask us all to go without pay in 12 months because you're bankrupt?" But, there are polite versions.

Asking about government/foundation grant opportunities and how that process works and who writes the proposal might also be useful and perhaps less dangerous in an interview. Cheers!
posted by eotvos at 7:46 AM on May 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

I am on the volunteer board of a very small arts nonprofit with one part-time paid admin!

Questions I would ask them:
- Are you guaranteed a certain number of hours? Is that per week, per month?
- Is the work evenly distributed through the year or are there busier times, e.g. signup/orientation, concert/show week, etc.?
- Are they expecting you to be an actual W-2 employee or is this a contract kind of thing?

Questions I would ask myself in your shoes:
- Am you going to feel comfortable defending your boundaries if the role starts to creep?
- If things go sour with the work relationship (even is everyone has the best of intentions, this is a new position and things can go wrong), how will that affect your son's involvement in the group?
posted by mskyle at 8:21 AM on May 6, 2022 [6 favorites]

I work in a job like this now, and all the advice above is great. My personal main issue with working in an almost-all volunteer org is the number of cooks in the kitchen. Anytime I try to develop a new procedure or make a change, I have to track down and get input from at least five different volunteers who have worked on this procedure in the past or might in the future.

It's also really hard to set meetings and get responses in a timely fashion because, again, all volunteer. Finally, in my org at least, I'm expected to be "on call" quite often, even if my actual hours worked are low. Often when someone needs an answer, they need it very quickly and I have to scramble to get the answer even if I'm not scheduled to work that day.

I'm not sure how to best suss out these issues in an interview -- maybe asking something about how committees are structured and what the chain of command is for making changes to processes? How they plan to structure time when you're in communication and time when you're not?
posted by LeeLanded at 8:43 AM on May 6, 2022 [10 favorites]

I've worked for a lot of small nonprofits & arts organizations. Some are the most wonderful groups of humans; some are poisonous dumpster fires of founder syndrome, toxic positivity, tokenizing minorities, punishing victims, and pretty much every other sort of toxicity. The organization's mission statement and/or public-facing goals don't keep the above from being true. All of the above chain-of-command stuff is very wize; I'd add a recommendation to get to know your potential co-workers a bit, and if possible to talk to some folks who've left the organization, for a true insider perspective.
posted by jeffjon at 8:52 AM on May 6, 2022

If you decide during the interview that you want the job, tell them you’re very adaptable and can work with a wide range of personalities 🙃
posted by cakelite at 9:10 AM on May 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

How things are handled (for example, by having other people with backup training or access) if you aren't available (medical issues for you or your family, vacation time, etc.)

Would there be points (like the week before a show or registration) where you wouldn't be able to take time off, or would need to plan on additional hours? How is that decided and how does it work.)
posted by jenettsilver at 9:11 AM on May 6, 2022 [2 favorites]

I would want to know how decisions regarding the programming are made, ie: does the Artistic Director have final say, or does the board? I would want to know if the board and director are generally copacetic with each other and the people are in general reasonable and respectful. The one thing that could be unpleasant would be an organization with a bunch of nasty power struggles between parents of the kids, and the director, or between director and the board (not that this is necessarily the case, but I've seen it before, even in a kids arts group).
posted by winterportage at 9:50 AM on May 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

If it's a new position, I would want to make sure that they have a decently defined scope for it and aren't just going to be throwing everything at you that's not getting done by someone else (likely there will be some of that at any small nonprofit, but ideally it would still be somewhat intentional and realistic.)

If you're reporting to the board, I would want to know how much they've thought through who will be doing the day-to- day management of tasks with you. Do they have defined roles or are you constantly going to be trying to figure out who to go to for the things you need/ caught between multiple people's ideas of how things should be done?
posted by geegollygosh at 9:55 AM on May 6, 2022 [3 favorites]

ALLLL of this (gestures at comments above).

Make sure the busy times of the year do not also coincide with your busy times. Finding ways to ask if your time/family needs will be respected is really important. If it's busiest during the summer when your kid is not in school, how will that affect your family?

If you don't already have it, will there be support for you to learn about grantmaking? Will you be supporting the board or the AD as they apply for funds? How much budgeting/accounting do they want from you? In my limited experience (I work at an arts non-profit but we do not seek grants, and our staff is slightly larger than what you're describing) that is a consuming task.

Small arts non-profits don't typically have HR departments. Interpersonal stuff takes time to suss out once you're there. If the job description is not detailed, can you get them to nail it down a bit more for you? What if they ask you to take on a task well outside your understanding of the job they advertised?
posted by Lawn Beaver at 10:43 AM on May 6, 2022

Basically, if you really like and trust the other employee and the board, then the job will probably be ok. If the other people are bullies, inconsiderate, etc, then no policy in the world could protect you. So I would just trust my gut to decide if I liked these people enough to enter into a work marriage.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 10:47 AM on May 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

So I would just trust my gut to decide if I liked these people enough to enter into a work marriage.

This, although for a part-time job I feel like it's more like a roommate situation than a marriage!
posted by mskyle at 11:17 AM on May 6, 2022

I always look up the orgs most recent IRS 990 filing. If I can't find the most recent one online, that means they are behind in filing, which is often a sign of general finance disorganization. Whatever 990 you can find, look at their their revenue/expenses, assets etc to get a sense of where they are at. In my experience it is a red flag if they are not comfortable discussing org finances.

If they have existing grants, ask them what the current process for tracking and reporting is for those and what role your position would play.

Just in general, people who volunteer for orgs can sometime be bitchy about how benevolent they are to someone who is being paid for their time (even if the pay is peanuts). Hopefully that won't happen to you!
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 11:44 AM on May 6, 2022 [2 favorites]

Checking the 990 is a good idea. On top of that I’d ask about their funding - how are they funded? All grants? If so are you the person who is writing them? Ask about how involved their board is especially re finances - do they rubber stamp the director’s plans or are they involved deeply in things like fundraising and oversight of the bookkeeping. A small org might be reliant on the treasurer to do the bookkeeping. Would you be the person filing taxes or do they use a bookkeeper or accountant for that? Definitely ask about their grant management processes - on top of what everyone else has suggested above.
posted by leslies at 1:08 PM on May 6, 2022

Response by poster: I didn't mark a "Best Answer" because everyone of you gave me something to think about, so thank you! I hadn't even thought about things like funding the position and if there are "on-call" expectations. The Board president wants to have lunch so we can talk about the job so I guess that's my interview. Most of the work for this position is during the school year (Aug-June around here) so they don't even want me to start for a couple months giving me time to get all these questions answered.
posted by bijou243 at 9:35 AM on May 9, 2022