A plethora of nonprofit organizations operate in the healthcare space. Here are several:
Hospital foundations
If you’re drawn to supporting a hospital's mission but don't feel working inside one is right for you, working at a hospital foundation could be a great fit.
Most hospitals have foundations that help financially support them. These foundations focus on raising money for various purposes, from adding a new pediatric wing to running pipeline programs for high school students interested in healthcare careers. If you’re interested in fundraising, some administrative roles at hospital foundations to consider include donor assistant or grants assistant.
Foundations do more than garner donations, though. They also support making their local communities healthier and helping out when health emergencies strike. This means they need assistance organizing events, managing volunteers, and handling external communications. Roles might include events assistant or volunteer coordinator.
Disease- and condition-related or organ-specific nonprofits
If you or a loved one has been affected by a serious health condition, you might want to be part of a team that helps prevent and treat the condition while supporting those who live with it.
The American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention and the American Cancer Society are all examples of nonprofits that engage in lifesaving research, provide health education, conduct outreach and advocacy and help people impacted feel less alone. These organizations often run awareness campaigns (e.g., Go Red for Women) and host large events (e.g., Relay for Life) and support groups, both online and in person.
From working with these types of organizations, I know they appreciate employees who have healthcare knowledge, strong organizational skills and want to make a difference. Is this you?
Provider advocacy groups
Patient care improves when those providing the care have the tools, resources, and training they need to succeed. To ensure they can do so, healthcare professionals band together to promote their interests and healthcare systems at large. Some of these membership organizations include the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Nurses Association and the National Association of Social Workers.
These nonprofits play a variety of roles, such as advancing professionals’ careers through education and training, advocating for their profession in state capitols and Washington, D.C., and keeping the public informed of issues impacting healthcare through research, publications and the media. If helping the helpers appeals to you, working with provider advocacy groups could be a career in healthcare worth exploring.
Healthcare think tanks
Healthcare think tanks conduct research and analysis on topics ranging from healthcare access to quality and cost of care, aiming to improve patient outcomes. They are often the epicenter of in-depth health policy discussions and critical decision-making that affect millions of patients.
These think tanks sometimes have “policy” or “institute” in their name, and they may be affiliated with universities, healthcare providers or organizations. They tend to be nonprofit and nonpartisan. Examples include the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy.
If you enjoy intellectually stimulating environments focused on addressing the major health issues of the day and improving patients' lives on a large scale, you might find working at a healthcare think tank fulfilling.
Community and social services nonprofits
A growing number of community and social services organizations are providing healthcare to the surrounding community as part of their service offerings. For example, some after-school programs offer children's vaccinations, while several food banks offer blood pressure screenings.
Today, even the types of local community and social services nonprofits that haven’t historically provided healthcare are now engaging with the sector. This shift is based on the widely accepted understanding that food, housing, transportation and emotional support significantly influence people’s health and are most effectively addressed together.
The above approaches require community and social services organizations to collaborate closely with healthcare providers. Consequently, these organizations need individuals with a background in healthcare to help them effectively communicate with medical providers and better understand how healthcare operates. This means there are more opportunities for you to join a community or social services nonprofit that aligns with your passion.
