This week’s blog is going to serve as a collection of musings and reflections regarding the pursuit of nonprofit work as a career, if that’s alright with y’all.

Unrelated to my time at HFF, the fellows attend bi-weekly “learning sessions” where we hear from nonprofit leaders in Columbus about a variety of topics. This Wednesday, we capped off our ongoing conversation about leadership with a message from the president and CEO of The Columbus Foundation, Doug Kridler. I knew as soon as he sat down at the table that I could learn  lots from his experience and outlook on the sector.

He prompted us with an opening question: “are you ambitious?” We mumbled some yeses and nodded some heads. But he pushed further: “is there ambition in working for nonprofits?” After some silence and scattered attempts at a response, he gave us respite. The group at large immediately resonated with his analysis of an ‘outsider’ reaction to hearing that our career goals were set on the nonprofit sector. He mentioned the condescending comments and metaphorical head pats, which I, too, have experienced in my very short time in the nonprofit world. It’s discouraging, because I know firsthand the enormous impact people in these spaces can make on a community, a nation, a globe. Our ambitions are seemingly deemed ‘less than.’

Which brings us back to his question. What does ambition in the nonprofit sphere look like? Is it baked into the essence of the field? To me, societal standards of ambition tiptoe around, but never truly come out and say, that money equals excellence, and it’s no secret that professionals starting out in nonprofit jobs make a very modest salary. It’s in the name, for heaven’s sake! Perhaps people feel that because nonprofits aren’t prestigious—meaning not high paying jobs—truly ambitious people choose other career paths. Remember, ambition often equates to money-making.

I know, however, that this isn’t the case. Just like any other field, our leaders are innovative, bright, and effective at what they do. It’s difficult to conceptualize what ambition looks like outside of money.

What does ambition mean, if not for the sake of personal gain and cold, hard cash? I choose to believe that nonprofit administrators and leaders seek to ambitiously change lives for others who have even less means than themselves.  I believe they have the skills and passion for advocating for the marginalized, which is excellence regardless of what judgement may follow; I believe truly ambitious people cast aside the judgement to zealously pursue their goals.