Nonprofit organizations are created to improve the lives of people in need. These organizations complement different aspects of society using their available resources either in health, education, or the arts to promote the social and economic development of all residents within a community. According to the National Council of Nonprofits, individuals who conduct or support nonprofit work cover an ample range of interventions that can vary from managing a food pantry to feed the hungry, providing life-saving trauma care for victims of accidents, to participating in relief efforts for hurricane survivors. All this humanitarian work can reach a larger number of people, domestically and internationally, when the people who are doing the interventions speak two or more languages. For instance, with U.S. Census forecasts predicting that by 2045 ethnic communities will become most of the nation’s population, it’s imperative to establish a reliable team of multilingual outreach teams to effectively meet the needs of persons in affected communities who might not fully command English. “The nature of nonprofit work makes the ability to speak other languages extremely valuable, and many times necessary” (Lyons).
Foundation List defines a nonprofit organization (NPO), “as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, dedicated to furthering a particular social cause or advocating for a shared point of view.” What better way to achieve an NPO’s goal and fulfill its mission than using the preferred language of the people being served? Multilingualism is a beneficial skill to have at hand when it comes to helping individuals in crisis or facing hardship, whether in our country, abroad, or in remote areas. When organizations don’t have bilingual or multilingual volunteers and employees, it can make the work of engaging and providing solutions more difficult. On the one hand, meeting new people, listening to their stories, and learning their needs while speaking with them in their preferred language is always insightful as well as rewarding. It allows you to connect with the person in an empathetic way and understand their concerns. On the other hand, it allows the individual in need to share specifics about their grievances, helping better solve them, while developing a strong and trustful relationship with the nonprofit organization’s team members.
The need to speak more than one language is becoming extremely relevant in nonprofit organizations because this sector is growing. The United States has 1.3 million charitable nonprofits. In fact, U.S. nonprofits are the third largest employer in the U.S. economy, as stated in the 2020 Nonprofit Employment Report from Johns Hopkins University for Center for Civil Society Studies. The National Council of Nonprofits states that the fundamental role nonprofits play benefits the whole community, not just the direct beneficiaries. The mission of this sector of providing adequate food, shelter, and access to reliable information to people of different ages, genders, races, or socioeconomic status is enriched when it receives and understands meaningful feedback from non-English speakers during outreach efforts. It also provides multilingual nonprofit professionals and volunteers the opportunity to work internationally.
For example, postgraduate students at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, recently conducted research to better understand language as both a problem and solution in the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. One of their research projects focused on water scarcity in India. Even though it rains sufficiently in India, limited access to safe drinking water has become a crisis, mostly affecting poor rural women who also experience low levels of literacy. Poor understanding of water conservation and political processes impact water allocation, contamination, and over-exploitation, making this a human-made problem that can be solved by engaging with rural communities orally in their preferred language through face-to-face interactions with the women affected. “When an organization, nonprofit, or business uses the native language of the group or community, know that your organization is also honoring that subgroup’s culture and traditions, promoting diversity based on the de-facto acceptance and validation of their cultural identity. In this way, your organization actively exercises the endorsement of different viewpoints, which are the essence of diversity and the rejection of conformity” (Ochoa).
If you are a bilingual or multilingual leader, volunteer, or professional looking for a new opportunity in the nonprofit sector, you can make a tremendous difference in society using your language skills. Contact Language Testing International (LTI) to assess your proficiency in one or more of over 120 languages. As an exclusive licensee of ACTFL, LTI conducts reliable and valid certifications through remotely proctored assessments that can take place at your convenience from the comfort of your home or office.
Sources
Foundation List. “What is a Nonprofit? Explanation of the types of nonprofits, definition, and the difference between “Public Charities” and “Foundations.” August 14, 2022.
https://www.foundationlist.org/news/what-is-a-nonprofit-the-types-of-nonprofits-definitions
Lester M. Salamon and Chelsea L. Newhouse, “The 2020 Nonprofit Employment Report,” Nonprofit Economic Data Bulletin no. 48. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, May 2020). Available at ccss.jhu.edu.
Lyons, Dylan. Bilingual Jobs: “How Language Can Make Nonprofit Work Even More Meaningful”. February 28, 2018.
https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/bilingual-jobs-language-make-nonprofit-work-meaningful
National Council of Nonprofits. “Nonprofit Impact in Communities”.
https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/nonprofit-impact-communities
Ochoa, María. Emprender Creative. “How bilingual social media content helps promote diversity, equality, and inclusion in nonprofits”. May 20, 2021
Piller, Ingrid. Language on the Move. “ Language and communication in crisis”. October 21, 2021: https://www.languageonthemove.com/language-and-communication-in-crisis/
