It’s 2012. Can I get political or do I have to keep it under wraps if I call myself a professional? 

A life of service in nonprofits often means addressing quality of life issues in the places we live and for the people and communities we serve. (Sometimes, it’s animals, trees or water we’re saving.) Even if you aren’t working on issues pertaining to people or for a political advocacy organization per se, the initiatives you support most likely have politics written all over them. As election season rolls around, your first instinct may be to jump right in and wave a flag of support for the issues on the ballot you care about most.

There is nothing wrong with showing your true colors, but how can you do that and still maintain professionalism in the workplace? 

Mentorship was a hot topic at YNPN’s Turn It Up to 11 event last November and continues to be on the minds of our board as we look toward the future of YNPN and our own personal career paths. Just as YNPN looks to other organizations to show us next steps, we members can do the same in our personal lives and careers by choosing mentors who have collected knowledge, experience and finely honed talents we admire and hope to emulate in the future.

Romance. It’s not a concept typically associated with success in a nonprofit, but rest assured, it’s underlying in the very basic operations.

A romantic nonprofit, like a romantic partner:

• Proactively asks about your needs 
• Listens with care and consideration
• Makes adjustments & delivers

So that’s what we did. And we thank you, our members, responding in full force to our 2011 YNPN member survey.

The results are in and we are listening closely to understand what will fulfill your needs in the future.

So what did we learn?