Supporting the Next Generation of Nonprofit Leaders

The Brighter Futures Podcast by Rodman for Kids

This episode of The Brighter Futures Podcast explores how strategic investment in early-career professionals strengthens nonprofit organizations.

Key takeaways

• Andrea Chesnovsky advanced from a UMass Amherst freshman intern to a full-time Development Associate at OneBeat through four years of progressive, hands-on experience.
• Hosts Amy Rossman and Jane Lima frame Rodman for Kids' charity partner program as a critical ecosystem for sharing best practices across nonprofit staff levels.

Main topics

• Nonprofit career development
• Mentorship and professional growth

Notable quotes

brighter futures don't just happen, they're built together.

Conclusion

The episode provides actionable insights for nonprofit leaders on cultivating

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:10) Hi, I'm Amy Rossman, executive director of Rodman for Kids, a nonprofit focused on empowering youth charities to build brighter futures for kids and your co-host of the Brighter Futures podcast. And Speaker 4 (0:19) I'm Jane Lima, marketing and communications manager at Rodman for Kids, your other co-host of the Brighter Futures podcast, where we'll be telling the stories behind the impact in the people building brighter futures. This Speaker 3 (0:30) isn't just a podcast about impact. It's about the people behind it. the communities who come together, the connections that drive change, and the shared belief that we can build something better for kids together. On Speaker 4 (0:40) the Brighter Futures podcast, we will shine a light on the partnerships, programs, and people behind the impact. Because brighter futures don't just happen, they're built together. Speaker 4 (0:55) Welcome back to the Brighter Futures podcast. We are often talking about things like funding, programs, strategic planning, or organizational resources, but there is a... an incredibly important piece of the equation when it comes to talking about strengthening nonprofit organizations. And that really is investing in the people that are doing the work. Speaker 1 (1:15) Absolutely. So at Rotman for Kids, our charity partner program is designed to support organizations at every stage, meaning that we can support their staff at every stage in their careers as well. From someone entering the nonprofit sector all the way to an experienced executive director, we want to create opportunities to learn, connect, and grow so that we can build stronger organizations. Speaker 4 (1:33) Joining us today is Andrea Chesnovsky, Development Associate at OneBeat, a Rodman for Kids charity partner reimagining career readiness for middle grade students. Andrea brings the perspective of a rising nonprofit professional who is building her career while helping advance OneBeat's mission and impact. So a little bit about Andrea. She is a UMass Amherst graduate with a degree in comparative literature and a minor in Italian. Okay, I took an Italian class in college too, Andrea. We'll talk about it. She speaks... four languages, which we will get into as Speaker 3 (2:03) well, Speaker 4 (2:03) and has a lifelong love of writing skills that she is able to put into use crafting the grant proposals and donor communications that support OneBeat's growth. She interned for OneBeat for four years and just joined the team full-time this summer. Speaker 1 (2:17) Andrea, welcome. We're excited to talk to you about what it's like to build a career in nonprofits and the importance of creating opportunities. for rising professionals along the way. But first, obviously, tell us a little bit about yourself, your role at OneBeat, how you found your way into nonprofit work. Speaker 2 (2:32) Yeah, awesome. Well, thank you guys so much for having me. Thank you for the nice introduction as well. Yeah, so I was born in Bulgaria. That's how I know part of my four languages. And I've moved back and forth quite a bit. And the way I found OneBeat was actually in college during my freshman year at UMass Amherst. It sounded like a really cool opportunity. I kind of wanted to like see what it was all about. And yeah, then it like blossomed into a four year internship. Then I went part time for a little and then I finally joined the team full time as a development associate in July. Speaker 4 (3:05) So before we continue into Speaker 2 (3:07) the Speaker 4 (3:07) actual stuff, what are the four languages you speak? Speaker 2 (3:10) Okay, so the four languages I speak are Bulgarian. That's my native language. English, of course. I also went to a French school in Bulgaria. So French. And then I took some Spanish classes and studied abroad in Sevilla. So Spanish. And then Italian, I don't consider myself fully fluent, but I didn't want to be like 4.5. So you Speaker 4 (3:28) just said that you saw the posting for 1B on Handshake, which what a blast from the past when you said Handshake, I was transported. What initially drew you to One Beat and nonprofit work in general? What specifically about that work? Speaker 2 (3:45) Yeah, I think it was actually called like a community impact intern. And the job description was like kind of like helping with kids, like assisting. We were doing the local leader spotlight series back then. So we were like connecting local professionals with kids on Zoom. And my job back then was kind of like. pick the best quotes for our social media, kind of like help facilitate with student questions. And I love the idea of like giving a student the opportunity to lead an interview rather than like having it be done by adults. So I just really believed in that mission. And then I wasn't super familiar with it, obviously, back then when I was like first applying. But yeah, I don't think I would have liked it. could have imagined what I would have learned back then at the point that I am now. So kind of that's a perfect segue for my next Speaker 4 (4:29) question, which is when Speaker 2 (4:30) you started your career, what Speaker 4 (4:33) did you imagine working in the nonprofit sector would look like versus how that reality is now? Speaker 2 (4:39) That's a good question. I think, well, based on what I thought I was going to be doing, I thought I was going to be helping with marketing and kind of like the Instagram and that whole thing of it all. And I feel like I thought it was maybe what I had known before was more like corporate vibes. And so I think I didn't realize that it's like super people focused and that I would be able to get to talk to so many different people. I think that's like one of the blessings of nonprofits and especially smaller nonprofits is that you get to like help each other out and always talk to new people. And I didn't know that was going to be like such a big and fun part of working at a nonprofit. Speaker 4 (5:15) Yeah, I know Bill and I were literally just in a meeting talking about this, but when, especially at smaller nonprofits, and I have worked at, I did work at a national nonprofit for a small period of time, and I know Bill has more experience with other nonprofits as well. When you're at a smaller nonprofit, like you have your job description, right? So it could have said marketing, social media, maintenance, whatever. There is that line that is other duties as assigned, which at small nonprofits is probably like 50 % of your job description because you have to have your hand in so many hats. You have to talk with so many different people. It's so, especially as a young professional, it's so important, but also so, I hate to use the word cool, but it's so cool that you can have your hand in so many different things and kind of learn what your niche is, where your interests are. It's a great place to start a career. nonprofit in my not so biased opinion. Speaker 2 (6:07) No, I totally agree. And when I first started as a community impact intern, as I mentioned, I was like doing the quotes and kind of helping with the local leader spotlight series interviews. There were these like little sheets that students were creating where they were asking leaders their questions and I was kind of helping translate them into Spanish and just filling those sheets out. And then like throughout the four years, like what you said, I started dipping my foot in other things. When being CEO and founder, Sarah, at one point was like, wait, do you want to try helping with like grant applications? And I was like, yeah. And that's actually how I came to be a development associate. Like, I don't think I would have started doing grant applications if Sarah wasn't like, do you want to try doing a grant application? Which is great because I wouldn't have known that I like doing that if I wasn't able to like dip my foot in many things. Speaker 1 (6:49) Yeah, that's it's such a big part of the nonprofit culture is that like one conversation that leads to. the next great thing that you're going to do with your career. And it's always wonderful to hear what those sort of aha moments are for professionals. And that doesn't change at any stage in your career. You'll get those aha moments throughout. But it's wonderful when they come early, too, so that you start to, like, just understand more of the experience. Speaker 2 (7:14) Yeah. And Speaker 1 (7:15) speaking to that, thinking about skills, what... skills have you developed since you've started working in nonprofits and specifically skills you may have developed through the connections we have in the charity partner program? Speaker 2 (7:27) I think one of the biggest things that I've developed through OneBeat and being part of the charity partner program is the real sense of like ownership and confidence in taking something from start to finish. I was, yeah, so as I mentioned, I