fundraiser

commissioner

non-profit representative

canvasser

actor

Public Outreach

Almost all starting jobs at Public Outreach are for street fundraisers, otherwise known as canvassers, street yellers, in the UK chuggers i.e. "charity muggers." 

Which is sometimes true, but hopefully not. 

Public Outreach is a third party fundraising company for a variety of nonprofits, like an agency that makes that makes TV commercial campaigns for charities. Except in this, you're the commercial. And you're outside. And people talk back to you, sometimes rudely.

Because it's working outside, it's a much nicer job to do in LA than the Midwest, but the substance is the same wherever. You have to get people in public to talk to you when their plan is often anything but that, and do it in a way that's not so aggressive or annoying that people actively hate you.

The goal is to fundraise, and unlike most other canvassing companies PO *only* counts monthly donors. The equivalent for other organizations would be "sustainers." Quota is an average of $30 in sustainers per day per week. A $15 monthly gift would be half of what you need for a day (10 percent of a 5-day work week), but a $500 one time gift would be worth nothing. 

The pay is hourly, starting at $10 or $11 depending on the market, and there's no bonus for a good day or good week. So essentially, your motivation is just to keep going and talking to people about a charity. You get a $0.50 per hour pay raise when you staff (getting that average) and each time you hit the next overall total, so about every month and a half for full time workers. Top pay is $16 or $17, again, depending on the market.

But most people who try the job and get picked for training won't staff, and most people who staff won't make it beyond about 3 months. People who make it to 3 months typically fall off after 6 months, and after 6 months people go until they burn out after a few years, either as fundraisers or once they've done a management level job for a while (and for management, the job work/life balance rating seems to be 1-star). Those jobs open up fairly regularly because of that burn out, and somewhat less often, because a new office is opened.

Most people won't staff because it's a very negative job, and if you're not an incredibly positive person, being told "Not today" or worse repeatedly for saying "Hello" wears on you. If you meet a nice person and really need a sign up for the day, you may yourself end up pleading with them to do something they're not into just so you can keep your job. That wears on you, too. 

And when you do get that sign up at the end of the day, and it actually does process, you still have the pressure of doing it all the next one.

So, on a typical day, street fundraisers meet at the office for a meeting to talk about numbers, or focus on a particular skill or updated information about the charity. Most typically it's just an energizer to get people in the mood to TALK TO PEOPLE all day.

You go out together in a teams to the actual fundraising locations, called 'turf.' In most cities, turf is shared with other canvassing organizations, and there's a rotation so there's not competition between charities and rival consultancies.

There's two paid 15 minute breaks for smokes, coffee, etc., and a lunch in the middle of the day to break the work into quarters.

When you're out there, there are other fundraisers around, your supervisor comes by to check on you, and you're completely awash in people most of the time. But you can sure feel completely alone, too.

The good things, really, are that for young people who are trying to figure out their lives and do something "meaningful," it is better than working retail or bartending or doing other service jobs. 

If you've hit rock bottom recently, it's nice when someone actually expects something of you, like supervising a crew of people and doing paperwork. You may still be a screw up, but you can feel like you're not while you work.

And if you're either genuinely passionate about the charitable sector, or as other have said, a manipulative sociopath, you can do this sort of thing for the long haul and get a salaried job, or paid to travel to lots of places and do this gig indefinitely.

But it's not a job for everyone, and for most who can do it, it's sort of a phase while you're sorting other stuff out, looking to get a paycheck, and be able to look at yourself in the mirror for what you have to do to get it.

First thing’s first, I worked as a Remote Crisis Fundraiser for PO for a whole weeks before I just couldn’t take it anymore, and if there’s anything that I took away from working here, it’s that the team / my coworkers were genuinely a dream to have around and the most supportive people you’ll find in ANY workplace - and that sales is a mental health crushing, ‘get-the-sound-of-phone-ringing-out-of-my-head’ nightmare.

Lots of my time spent on the phones was mainly voicemails or immediate hangups, which is understandable for what the job is, but despite putting my absolute best work forward even going as far as to rewrite the rap that I was given in training completely in my own words and high energy, even the potential donors who picked up either were completely uninterested, or no matter what would not budge on their stance to give. Which, as someone whose job is performance based, stressed me the heck out!

I was told by one of the trainers or the group that my rap was one of the best that they’ve ever heard from a new hire, but despite such a huge compliment / team cheering me on, the majority of people just would not donate, and it was a HUGE mental health killer as someone who struggles with ‘shifting my mindset to the positive’ when there’s the impending doom of not reaching a job security related goal. 

Despite being told that there’d be no cold calling, I would even tend to run into people who would mock me or even be AGAINST the cause that I was calling them for, and that was always a doozy…

And to have the cherry on top, if you also have ADHD like I do, unless you find some way to make enough calls all while entertaining yourself at the same time, you’re going to get so absolutely tired…

This isn’t to say that I didn’t have some positive experiences with donors, though! I met some of the coolest people, cried at the stories of others, laughed with others, got fired up with others… And best of all, got to work from home, even if my home environment isn’t the best right now. I don’t think that I’ll ever forget the people on the team nor the people who gave me their time and decided to donate towards the cause!

Office is fun to work for, everyone is chill but that comes with extreme unprofessionalism from upper management who decided it was proper to send me sassy text messages with emojis when I was asking for more clarity from the office on schedule changes.

Long story short you will only survive at this office if you make buddy buddy to the main office and avoid contacting them at all. I've been scheduled on days I asked off, locations have changed last minute,etc. Ontop of that they changed me from 2 to 3 days a week without my knowledge and threatened to get rid of me and the other brand new girl. I have tried to express issues with a lack of communication with upper management. Its disappointing to know one of the youngest in the office is the only one trying to keep it professional.

I have canvassed to over 500 doors and have probably called over 2k+ individuals to canvass. Training was half done, I was unaware of max pacs or donations per an hour requirement. As a result my performance in the office was poor because I was under the assumption (from the others) the first weekend was solely training and that I had been unaware how much in donations to push for. However, I had tried to say this and it was rubbed off. The only support I received was from the weekend manager which was great, but you realistically need the support of all layers to have a successful canvassing office

I do not recommend working for the Boston office. So many grassroot non profits pay much better and have stability in the upper offices. It's sad to say because the non profits in the area and nationally are heavily understaffed. It's sad to know they're looking to make friends rather than build a proper office.

I had a lot of fun working here, the job attracts a lot of really nice coworkers and the day to day work was easy. The problem is they act like making the numbers every week isn’t luck based, like there’s a foolproof science, and while yes obviously there’s strategies that can help, there are days where nobody will stop, there are days where when they do stop but don’t listen to a word you say and you have no control of that, the most charismatic person on the planet could work this job and have a several day run of getting barely any PAC’s, so having the job be performance based is really frustrating. At my location hardly anybody working there has been around for longer than a year, the cycle I observed during my time working was that a wave of new hires get by on beginners luck and then all slowly leave one by one being replaced by a new wave of new hires. And the working environment is weird, half of my coworkers were the sweetest people you’d ever meet and the other half were rude and catty, and it was often that the people working above you were the rudest, it also just isn’t worth the stress, the topics you advocate for are inherently heavy and talking about them to the public yields 2 results mostly, either the most traumatic story you’ve ever heard from somebody super invested in the cause (that you’re incentivized to use that story against and guilt into donating) or awful bigots who will yell and argue for sometimes up to like half an hour, overall, with some fine tuning I think the gig would be worth it but as it is now it’s rough

The team and my managers were all super helpful, but the job itself can be really stressful. You're expected to hit certain sign-up goals every week, and if you don't it can effect the entire team's sales numbers. You still get paid hourly, not on commission, however the pressure is always on to do well or you can risk getting put on probation. Flip of the coin with this job - you can give your absolute best rap, and it still won't convince someone to donate to the campaign you're apart of. You learn a lot about people though, how to put yourself out there which is nice, and learn valuable sales techniques. But is the stress probably worth it? No. Think of it as cold-calling sales but in-person. Also sign-ups can really be based on arbitrary things. I will be honest - if you are a person of color applying for this job, it may be best for your mental health not to do so. People in general can be rude to you especially as you try to stop them in the street/convince them to sign up for something at their door. Your numbers may also not be as good as other teammates, who aren't any better at their job, but may just "fit" the standard criteria of what society deems as "approachable". If you know what I mean, then you know. Yeah. It's terrible. Protect yourself and consider looking for something else because that topic definitely won't be discussed and even it was there's nothing they can do to help.

Public Outreach is synonymous with community support. The charities are more than familiar and comfortable with giving fundraisers the opportunity to find donors willing to give. The job is, without a doubt, beneficial for those who seek to maintain a steady work ethic around communication, public speaking, and team management. The stress can come in where the quota is. It can be a bit of a mental setback when you realize that you're in possibility of being let go when not reaching a certain number of donors for a period of time. This is no different than a sales job, but the workday varies. It can be excruciatingly painful or delightfully easy to get donors depending on weather, team morale, personal performance, or availability of the people you talk to. One thing to note is the work family element. I can't begin to nominate how affectionate staff are towards each other. The team is prioritized over the organization as well as the charities it represents. However, it prioritizes team culture over professionalism. When employees are sometimes expected to treat their coworkers as a priority, it can be quite stressful to those who are already overwhelmed with life struggles of their own. Despite this, the organization lives up to its name as a true beacon of community welfare. One thing to watch out for is the excessive causality and focus on team morale.

It's not an easy job to do, but employers understand that. They can be very understanding and it is a very uplifting and positive work culture. Schedules are flexible, people are nice but mentally and physically its a taxing job. Every two weeks you have an amount you have to reach and there's a lot of pressure to reach the goals . You're expected to bring your 100% to every shift and that's just not possible.  If you have issues however, you can talk to management and they are very likely to be understanding ( on anything other than the goal). If you're looking for a job where you can get better at sales and people skills this will force you to. Every shift is started with settingg a challenge for yourself on a sales/ people skill you want to focus on improving that shift and you're offered classes on it. Coworkers are encouraged to give each other feedback. The job description states you're always in a team of two but that's just not true. In theory its true but in practice unless it is late at night most of the time you can't see your coworkers.  Pay is good and as far are fundraising positions go, it is the most ethical one you will find. There is an emphasis on being ethical in your fundraising and not pressuring or misleading people into donating. 

It's been a few years since I've worked here, but back in 2018 the management and the work culture were incredible. There was an emphasis on supporting each other and the management was on the front lines of demonstrating that support. They were committed to helping you grow and worked hard to keep the employees in a good head space, because that was how they got donations. The work life balance was also awesome. I only worked 5 hours a day and they weren't restrictive on time off because they didn't need everyone there all the time, so if you were feeling sick you could take a day. There were company dinners and weekly optional paid trainings and I really felt a sense of community within the workplace. Not to mention the job itself is incredibly rewarding. You get to go to work knowing you were making a difference by helping raise money for charity. However introverts beware, the entire premise of the job is talking to people you don't know and you get rejected a lot. But I also had a lot of really incredible interactions with amazing people that I still haven't forgotten years later.

worked at the nyc location. the team culture itself was generally positive and coworkers were supportive, but there were serious structural issues that made the job feel unstable.

the pay structure is heavily tied to performance metrics like pph, which creates constant pressure and unpredictability with income. employees can be let go very suddenly if numbers aren’t met, sometimes on the spot, which makes job security feel extremely fragile regardless of effort or improvement. this creates a high stress environment rather than a motivating one.

management and supervision were inconsistent. expectations were enforced strictly, but support and transparency were not always present. there were also unprofessional dynamics at times, including supervisors crossing boundaries by flirting with staff, which added discomfort and blurred professional lines.

this job may work short term for people who can handle intense pressure, strict metrics, and uncertainty, but it’s not a stable or secure environment. i would strongly recommend clearer policies, more accountability in leadership, and a more humane approach to performance management.

Working at Public Outreach was a new and unique experience for me. I did not know what canvassing was when accepting the position, but I wanted to do something that actually helps make a difference. You basically go around talking to people about charities and get them to donate by explaining the need. It can be a little awkward having to press people to donate, but it seems like its all for a good cause. I also appreciated learning a bit more about how nonprofits work, and you can reason out the need for donations from the public.

The job is hard, especially since there are quotas, so you need to be self-motivated. Luckily the staff and management is pretty good. I really appreciate the good energy from the staff and management. Everyone is super nice and supportive, which makes everything a bit easier to deal with. The training period is quick, but they do run a training every day, and have someone work alongside new staff for the first week.

Ultimately, this is a sales job but instead of selling an item, you're selling a charity. The staff and management are great, but working with the public can be draining. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Fundraiser 87 salaries reported	$20.02 per hour
Commissioner 5 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Non-profit representative 1 salary reported	$30,000 per year
Canvasser 5 salaries reported	$20.10 per hour
Actor 5 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour

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