Nonprofit HR’s Blog

In Mid-April Nonprofit HR’s advocacy initiative Work4Nonprofits took to Capitol Hill, assembled a panel of leaders from government, education and the nonprofit sector, and started a conversation about “Putting America Back to (Nonprofit) Work.” Our goal at this event? Build awareness of the Work4Nonprofits mission, inspire nonprofit leaders to join the movement, and ultimately, take a small step forward toward our goal of helping 100,000 unemployed individuals find work in the nonprofit sector.

The room was filled with nonprofit executives from around the country, many of whom were intrigued by what Work4Nonprofits hoped to achieve.

Panelist Mike Curtin, CEO of DC Central Kitchen, emphasized the need for the nonprofit sector to help end unemployment.

“We need to take these men and women who want to work, who want to be a part of this economic conversation, who want to support their families, who want to break this cycle of poverty, and put them in a place where they can break that cycle,” he said.

Panelist Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) agreed.

“Creating a full employment economy is what we’ve got to work on,” he explained. “The supporters of my Full Employment Legislation are behind you 100%.”

Much of our discussion centered on the challenges facing today’s long-term unemployed population.

“If we don’t respond to [the long-term unemployed] with the tools and services they need to overcome unemployment,” shared panelist Joseph Carbone of The Workplace Inc., “then they cannot overcome it.”

And that’s where Work4Nonprofits comes in.

We’re moving forward in our effort to put 100,000 long-term unemployed people to work, and we need your help to get there. So what can you do to get involved in Work4Nonprofits?

• Pledge Your Support. Join us in our goal of putting 100,000 unemployed Americans to work in the nonprofit sector. Visit work4nonprofits.org today and fill out the form to show that you support our mission.
• Lend Your Voice. In order to drive change, we have to make noise. Help us spread the word about this work to your networks (personal and digital). Here’s a sample Twitter post you can use to share what we’re up to today: 
  • Let’s make #unemployment a problem of the past. Join us with @work4nps efforts to put Americans back to work! #w4n
• Hire the Unemployed.  2.5 million Americans are still facing long-term unemployment, and the nonprofit sector has the power to be part of the solution. If you need tools and resources to help you hire work-ready individuals from among the ranks of the long-term unemployed, download this handbook to empower employers put together by Deloitte and The Rockefeller Foundation, in support of the White House National Economic Council.

For more updates on our progress, visit work4nonprofits.org or reach out to us directly. We are excited to continue this conversation.