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Common Mission Not “Alien” To A Great Place to Work
best-nonprofits

Nonprofit work isn’t for the faint of heart. It isn’t for the glory or remuneration that allows you to retire early. So, you need a pretty good sense of humor.

Take the Space Foundation in Colorado Springs, Colo., for example, which has a lounge and meetings area they rent out called “Area 51.” It is not used by aliens, at least of which they are aware.

“We started letting family and friends in and word kind of got out. Now people rent it to watch things like the Super Bowl. It’s a revenue stream we weren’t expecting,” said Kathleen Vinson, vice president of operations.

Even though the organization has been in transition at the senior management level, staff still gave the organization high enough scores to finish No. 37 overall and No. 21 in the medium-sized organization category (51-250 employees). One shock was the death of former CEO Elliott Pulham who had planned to do a lot of traveling in retirement. He retired, was diagnosed with brain cancer and died within months of leaving the organization.

Much of the C-Suite has transitioned during the past two years. “Change came over us as a tidal wave,” Vinson said. New or somewhat new to the organization are the chief executive, chief operating officer and head of human resources.

“Everyone’s commitment to a common mission” is what has kept things moving along, she said.

Is your nonprofit a great place to work? Compete to find out. Check the website https://www.bestnonprofitstoworkfor.com and sign-up to compete for local, state and national bragging rights in the small, medium and large-sized organizational categories. The result just might be out of this world.