Charitable organizations are referred to in many ways-as nonprofit or not-for-profit organizations (NPOs), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs-some of which have a consultative status with the UN), and private voluntary organizations (PVOs-normally organizations providing development assistance). While there are legal or substantive differences among them, all the organizations share the following attributes: they are private, not-for-profit and, in most Western countries, tax-exempt. Most are supported by voluntary donations, which they receive from individuals, foundations, corporations and government agencies. Some supplement their income through the sale of publications or services.
Unlike businesses whose goal is to make a profit from the sale of products or services, NPOs provide free food relief or free medical care to the poor, educate people about population planning, publish books on important topics (that rarely make the best-seller lists) or organize cultural-exchange programs to acquaint Westerners with people of the Third World.
Most people choose to work in the nonprofit area because they find satisfaction working for something in which they believe, but NPO work is not for everyone. For example, it does not offer the market-oriented excitement that many business people thrive on. The main drawback, for some people, is the low salaries. Some NPO professional salaries start well under $15,000 a year. It is not unusual for middle-range salaries to be less than $25,000. Many senior-level salaries do not top $50,000.
This article focuses on NPOs active internationally.
Research and Educational Organizations
Research organizations, or "think tanks" as they are sometimes called, are interested in formulating and communicating ideas. Their aims are to publish their views, influence or educate the views of others and change foreign-policy directions. Some do this by lobbying and disseminating their publications. Others take a more passive approach. Some research organizations are nonpartisan and publish only objective educational materials. Others promote a political or ideological cause. The research organizations listed in this chapter run the gamut from nonpartisan to overtly partisan; their missions range from education to advocacy. Their audiences also vary-from policymakers and academics to average citizens.
Most research organizations have a similar structure: a board of directors or governors, which has at least nominal control over the organization; a president responsible for administration and development; senior managers, or vice presidents in charge of public affairs, outreach, development (that is, fund raising) and lobbying. Some organizations have staff who arrange seminars, meetings or trips. Most also have research departments, which may consist of senior fellows or senior researchers/analysts, junior researchers, research associates and assistants and often an editor and copy editor.
Senior research staffs are often made up of former government officials or academics who have devoted their careers to international relations and who are considered experts in their fields. They serve as spokespersons for their organizations, often generating publicity by their appearances on talk shows and radio and before congressional committees and influential groups, as well as articles in the op-ed pages of newspapers and periodicals. International research organizations rarely have overseas staff, although researchers may travel.
Research organizations are generally small; the largest listed below has no more than 240 professional staff. Turnover can be slow and promotions rare. Research organizations offer a small number of entry-level positions, as research assistants or associates, to recent BA or MA graduates. The jobs are highly competitive.
Development Assistance
"Development is not a cluster of benefits 'given' to people in need, but rather a process by which a populace acquires greater mastery over their own destiny," according to a person in the field. The range of "processes" currently being provided to the Third World by development assistance NPOs is phenomenal. Organizations offer small business loans to people who would otherwise not be eligible for loans; or they teach nutrition and health care, agricultural methods and community planning. Some organizations provide emergency food aid. A few help only children; some work solely in a few countries; others concentrate on providing a single form of aid. The larger organizations are involved in many different projects in countries throughout the Third World. Most expend the bulk of their resources on field operations. Their budgets and salaries reflect their organizational purposes.
While these organizations' aims are almost universally applauded, their methods at times have been criticized. In the past, some development assistance organizations omitted local people in their planning and implementation. They used Western staff to analyze a problem, suggest a remedy and carry out a solution. In some cases, this approach worked, but in others it harmed local ecosystems or economic patterns, alienated the local community, wasted money or simply failed to correct the original problem.
Today, this approach, which its critics termed "imperialistic" or "paternalistic," has for the most part been replaced by programs planned with input and help from the locals and designed to promote self-reliance. As one development manager put it, "Gone are the days when... staff identified for rural villagers and urban slum dwellers how they should improve their lives... Development professionals of today ask the people they seek to help and, more important, they listen to them." Helping people to help themselves is now the operative catchword of the development assistance field, even among organizations that specialize in providing disaster relief and emergency aid.
The structure of development organizations is similar to that of research organizations, except instead of having a large research staff, they have field (or overseas) staff. Support staff and coordinators usually are based at headquarters, and area managers and field workers based abroad. Development assistance NPOs use only experienced specialists in their field operations. A specialization in this case means a PhD or MA plus overseas experience in a technical field like agriculture, nutrition, community planning or social work.
Because almost no field workers are hired without significant work experience abroad, technical assistance is a difficult field to enter. Finding the first job abroad is the hardest. Although one job does not assure future employment, it is more marketable than no experience.
One way to gain field experience is through the U.S. Peace Corps. The Peace Corps trains Americans who often have had no experience working abroad and then sends them overseas for two-year assignments in developing countries. Personnel managers of the NPOs listed in this chapter said that Peace Corps experience was excellent preparation for development assistance.
Although interning for the headquarters office is good experience for someone interested in development, very few interns are sent abroad. A few organizations, however, do offer internships abroad: Amigos de las Americas, YMCA [see youth section], American Friends Service Committee and Save the Children Federation.
Another way many people enter the field is through a religious group. U.S. Christian churches are especially active in sending their lay members overseas. People chosen for these assignments usually do a combination of religious organizing and development work. Some national church-related development assistance organizations are listed in this chapter. People interested in this option should also check with their local religious groups. Another way to get experience abroad is through an educational program. The School of International Training, affiliated with The Experiment in International Living, offers a unique MA degree in intercultural management. It accepts about 50 students yearly. Students are required to do a nonacademic internship abroad in a developing country. Other academic programs, on both undergraduate and graduate levels, offer opportunities abroad although most involve some formal academic study.
Health and Population Organizations
The main difference between health-related organizations and the ones included in the developmental assistance section is the nature of the fieldwork. The organizations listed in this section provide medical care and health-related counseling, usually preventive, to peoples of the Third World. Their salaried employees are doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians and people with experience and graduate degrees in nutrition, public health/planning, maternal and child care, epidemiology or family planning. Health-related work experience is almost always required, except for some medical students who work abroad as part of their training.
The health-care field is unique in that it frequently accepts volunteers for its programs abroad. Volunteers generally have not had experience working abroad but do have accredited health-care work experience and graduate degrees. For both volunteer and permanent positions, health-care credentials are more important than international experience or language proficiency.
Youth oriented Organizations
The organizations listed in this section arrange exchange programs and educational and work experiences abroad. Their programs are aimed mainly at young people, high-school through college age. However, most of the organizations also sponsor shorter programs for young adults and older groups.
Some of the programs listed provide useful work experience for budding internationalists. Others at the least provide international exposure, which is a prerequisite for anyone considering an international career.
The organizations below have been included not only because they provide opportunities to work or study abroad; they are also a source of internationally related employment. Someone interested in international education or intercultural relations would find work at one of these organizations satisfying. One caveat: this is a subset of a small field, so the opportunities are limited in number.
