Nonprofit Careers:
Searching for Work in Puget Sound

Quick Facts

• The State of Washington has 43,904 nonprofit organizations according to a recent study Nonprofits in Washington by Putnam Barber of The Evergreen State Society.
• Some 45 percent of these have 50lc3 status and are recognized by the federal government as tax exempt.
• The great majority of the State’s nonprofits are located in the counties and cities surrounding Puget Sound, with the City of Seattle having the largest number, 6,763. However, the City of Tacoma and Pierce County are a close second. The number of nonprofits in that area grew by 144% in the past five years.
• Salaries for employees in the area’s nonprofits are also increasing dramatically and are among the highest in the nation, according to the February 2001 issue of Board & Administrator Newsletter. For example, the average executive director received a base salary of just over $77,000 and a performance bonus of $6,686 in 2000. A more detailed analysis of local nonprofit salaries is also available through the United Way of King County at www.uwkc.org/nonprofit/wagesrv/

Search Methods

• Check the nonprofit job listing in the office of the Center for Nonprofit and Social Enterprise Management, 200 West, Casey Building, Seattle University, 901 12th Avenue, P.O. Box 222000, Seattle WA 98122-1090. This listing is available to the public, without charge, weekdays from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. It includes positions submitted by search firms as well as the area’s nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. It also includes the latest copies of subscription-based newsletters advertising local nonprofit employment opportunities. While the Center also has a dedicated e-mail job placement hotline, that service is limited to participants and graduates of the Center’s Executive Master of Nonprofit Leadership Program.
  
  
• Review the job announcements listed by the Northwest Development Officers Association at www.ndoa.org. Normally, these listings are available for members only. Prospective members may call NDOA at (206) 367-8704 to find out how to obtain job listings and announcements. NDOA is the region’s largest nonprofit professional association and its monthly luncheons and other programs are excellent networking opportunities. NDOA also offers a monthly job search seminar in conjunction with its Basic Training Series. Its annual fee is currently $85.00 and this is prorated for those who join after the program year starts.
  
  
• Look for State of Washington listings on a variety of national nonprofit employment web sites. Some of these are:
  
  www.pnnonline.org/jobs, Philanthropy Journal can be searched by region and title;
  
  www.idealist.org allows users to search by type of nonprofit organization, city and state. You can also subscribe to a mailing list that announces new job openings.
  
  www.nonprofitjobs.org you can search by position title, pay range and link to an advertisement of the position.
  
  Other useful sites include
  www.ExecSearches.com/exec
  www.opportunitynocs.org
  www.nonprofitcareer.com
  www.dotorgjobs.com
  
  
• If you are interested in working in the region’s community health organizations, check job listings on the web-site of the Washington Association of Community and Migrant Health Centers (www.wacmhc.org).