# Non-profit jobs: what're they all about?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-profit-jobs-whatre-they-all-about/458787>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 4, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-profit-jobs-whatre-they-all-about/458787 "2008-08-04T05:33:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-profit-jobs-whatre-they-all-about/458787/1 "2008-08-04T05:33:03Z")

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I mean the ones that appear on Craigslist by the dozens upon dozens, advertising how much you can make a difference (and $$$) without really telling you a lot about what you’d be doing.

My instincts tell me that it’s basically glorified cold calling and door-to-door selling, except under the umbrella of “good causes.” Am I right?

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**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-profit-jobs-whatre-they-all-about/458787/2 "2008-08-04T10:27:12Z")

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Probably. I got suckered by one of those when I was too young to know any better. The way they advertise the jobs is quite unethical, IMHO.

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**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-profit-jobs-whatre-they-all-about/458787/3 "2008-08-04T11:44:30Z")

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Aren’t they mostly from the various PIRGs? Those outfits squeeze out as much free labor as they can from starry-eyed college students.

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**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-profit-jobs-whatre-they-all-about/458787/4 "2008-08-04T13:37:28Z")

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I think those are the kids on the busy shopping blocks trying to get you to talk about Greenpeace or some such. I avoid them.

I work for a non-profit which does not involve hassling people for money, thank goodness.

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**Author:** ![sugar\_and\_spice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@sugar\_and\_spice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugar_and_spice)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-profit-jobs-whatre-they-all-about/458787/5 "2008-08-04T14:50:19Z")

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[QUOTE=Neidhart]  
Aren’t they mostly from the various PIRGs? Those outfits squeeze out as much free labor as they can from starry-eyed college students.  
[/QUOTE]  
I applied to a job at one of those about 10 years ago when I was in high school. The job was soliciting donations, ISTR that the way it worked is that I would kept 40% of what I collected. But it was 10 years ago, so I don’t remember the exact percentage. I would be curious if anyone could provide more accurate details.

(I thought the job was stuffing envelops or something. I just left when I found out what was involved)