Sarah Barbosa Consulting

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿? No - we aren't. But the good news? We can change that! ✨ Here’s the issue: Youth want to make a real impact, and non-profits have critical needs. But often, the gap between the two feels impossible to bridge. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣? 𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩. ▶️ For youth: It’s about finding roles that empower and equip them to create meaningful change. ▶️ For organizations: It’s about identifying areas where youth perspectives can spark innovation and drive impact. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Fundraising and administrative tasks are fundamental to non-profits. But young people can also bring so many other skills to the table —they want to lead projects that strengthen their communities. Non-profits, these are the people you need on your team. So, what are you waiting for? Give young people a seat at the table and see the difference it makes. 💡 Want to explore what that could look like for your organization? Reach out—I’d love to brainstorm! Sarah Barbosa #youth #community #youthempowerment #youthdevelopment #youthengagement

Question: Are you supporting young people working in your non-profit organization? As someone who has worked in the non-profit sector for a few years, I’ve come to notice something important: organizations that actively support their youth employees tend to thrive, while those that don’t often struggle with higher turnover and less productive work environments. But what does it really mean to support youth employees? It’s about creating internal practices that allow them to grow, thrive, and see the impact of their work. When this happens, the entire organization benefits. Here are three ways you can support youth employees: 🌟 Pay and Benefits Short-term contracts without benefits hurt both organizations and young workers. Longer-term, stable roles improve retention, workplace culture, and career growth. 🌟 Opportunities to Grow and Connect Invest in professional development, involve youth employees in meetings and events outside their regular scope of work, and support their growth — it benefits them and your organization. 🌟 Set Clear Expectations Unrealistic roles lead to burnout. Define priorities and realistic expectations to set your team and organization up for success. When we invest in young employees, the returns are long-lasting: stronger teams, better outcomes, and a network of advocates for your mission. 👇 Want to learn more? Read the full blog post - link in comments. How does your organization support its youth employees? Let’s share ideas in the comments! 💬 #youthengagement #community #youthemployees #youth Sarah Barbosa

Have you overlooked a candidate because their experience mainly came from volunteering? 🙋 Recently, more and more people have been mentioning that their volunteer experience is considered ‘invalid work experience’. Let’s talk about it, shall we? 💬 As someone who has been a volunteer countless times and also on the other side as the person managing volunteers, I can confidently say that the skills gained while volunteering are not ‘invalid work experience’. 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. The day-to-day distractions of emails, meetings, and paperwork take a back seat, and someone gets the opportunity to develop valid experience in whatever area they’re working in. In case that didn’t convince you, here is what volunteer experience shows about a candidate: ▶️The candidate is committed, considerate and loyal. They care about something bigger than themselves. ▶️The candidate can manage multiple priorities. Volunteering is most definitely not their only priority; they are likely working already and/or in school. ▶️The candidate has a deep understanding of the community’s needs and nuances. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂? You will be hiring a well-rounded candidate. A candidate that cares enough to give their time to a cause or mission they believe in. The experience they get through volunteering makes them just as knowledgeable and qualified as someone who has paid work experience. The next time you are considering overlooking a candidate because their experience mainly comes from volunteering – think twice. Read over their experience and ask them about it. I promise it will be worth your while. Do you consider volunteering as a valid experience? Let me know your thoughts! Sarah Barbosa #youth #community #volunteer #interview

💡 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲? You guessed it—they’re online! But here’s the real question: Is your organization maximizing social media as the powerful tool it can be for youth engagement? If you’re rethinking your strategy, here are 𝟯 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 to keep in mind when planning your social media approach to engaging youth: ▶️ 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 Not every platform is the main platform for youth. While they’re present on several platforms, certain ones matter more.  Knowing where your target audience hangs out is step one to using social media effectively. ▶️𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 Trends can be fun, but not all trends align with your brand or mission. The goal? Adapt trends to your organization, mission and brand. ▶️𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭-𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 Have you ever heard of “slacktivism”? It’s when online engagement doesn’t translate into offline action. To avoid this, social media should be used to build awareness and engage youth online. ✨ Remember: social media is just the start—what happens offline is where the real magic of youth engagement begins!   💬 What strategies have you used to turn online engagement into real-life support? Share your insights below! #youthonsocialmedia #youth #youthengagement Sarah Barbosa

🔥Hot Take: Volunteer experience is equal to paid work experience. I’m not sure if this is a controversial take, but I’ve seen so many situations where young people are putting in overtime with their volunteer work to boost their resumes—only for it to get discredited. Here’s the thing: the skills and knowledge you gain from volunteering are beyond valuable, both in and outside of the non-profit sector. Let me tell you why: 👉 It’s getting all the skills you need from a base level and allows you to skill up.  👉 It’s pushing aside the paperwork, emails, and general bureaucracy of paid work that distracts you from learning and growing.  👉 It’s diving right into the heart of the community. 💖 What I’ve come to learn is that it’s all in how you present it. Does volunteer work count as valid experience? Yes. Full stop. Volunteer experience is a valid experience. 💯 💬𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲? 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a comment down below. 👇😊 Sarah Barbosa #youth #volunteer #volunteerexperience #nonprofit

Not sure what comes next for your career in the non-profit sector? Whether you want to grow in your role, explore new opportunities, or gain clarity on your next steps, the Career Mapping Workshop for Young Non-Profit Professionals is here to guide you! 🌟 Starting today, I'm offering this new service to help young non-profit professionals like you build fulfilling careers aligned with your values and goals. Together, we'll define your core values, reflect on your accomplishments, and map out a personalized plan to move forward. Why? Because being young in this sector is your greatest asset. Your unique experiences and perspective can shape your career and a community so that both succeed and thrive. 💬 Wondering if this is right for you? Book a free 15-minute call to learn more: https://buff.ly/4fi1Fvg Take that first step toward building a career that fuels your passion and serves you and your community 💫 Any questions? Send me an email at sarahbarbosaconsulting@gmail.com or comment below! #youth #youthengagement #youthempowerment

🤔 Feeling stuck in the non-profit sector? Ever feel like the system doesn’t make sense or isn’t working in your favour? You’re not alone. I’m reaching out to young professionals (ages 18-30) in the non-profit sector who feel like there’s more to be done—who feel unheard, overwhelmed, or even confused by what comes next for them in their careers. I want to better understand the unique challenges you’re facing so that together, we can build a community that works to solve those challenges. If you’re open to sharing your perspective in a short survey, please take a few minutes to fill out the survey below. All insights and feedback will be used to build future initiatives, projects and services. 💫 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ecQECCNx Thank you in advance for answering the survey & for sharing with your networks! Sarah Barbosa #nonprofit #youth #careersupport #workers

📣 Calling all young non-profit professionals! 📣 I’m conducting a short survey to better understand the challenges and needs of young professionals between the ages of 18-30 working in the non-profit sector. The information collected will be used for future projects, initiatives and services I develop! If you’re willing to share your insights and are between 18-30 years old working in the non-profit sector, I’d love to hear from you! 💫 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ecQECCNx Thank you in advance for your time & for sharing with your networks! Sarah Barbosa Consulting #NonProfitProfessionals #CareerDevelopment #Survey #NonProfitCareers

⚠️Are you concerned about why youth aren't staying in your organization? It might be due to the 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. While this may not apply to every organization, it's worth considering whether your organization's work environment and culture are contributing to the issue. Assessing your organization's work environment is a crucial step to understanding why youth aren’t staying in your organization. 📝 Here are a few things you can look at to understand how they might be discouraging youth from entering or staying in your organization: 1️⃣ Evaluate your hiring process. 2️⃣ Talk to youth within your organization and listen openly and attentively to what they have to say. 3️⃣ Identify policies or internal programs (environment) that might be discouraging youth from staying. ▶️ Your goal at the end of the day is to get more youth involved in your organization, whether it be as volunteers or staff members. Without understanding what’s blocking or stopping them from already staying within your organization, how can you move forward? Take a look at my youth analysis framework service for more information on how I can help your organization move forward. 🔗https://lnkd.in/e8bvQYzs Sarah Barbosa 

𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹. Stop trying to have the perfect or trendy campaigns, the pretty graphics, and the most outlandish incentives in order to reach youth. We often get scared of getting started, so we obsess over the smallest details, waiting until everything is just right. But here's the truth: that approach doesn't work. 🛑 Stressing and planning don’t engage youth. Engaging youth involves reaching out to them, inviting them to join your organization and discussions, and implementing their feedback. What many don’t realize is that engaging youth doesn’t have to be complicated, nor does it have to be perfect. You don’t have to do it all – you just need to go back to the basics. All it needs to be is 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰, and 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹. You’re already doing that without thinking – so why do you feel blocked when it comes to youth engagement? If you need help breaking through that block, reach out – I'd love to help. 💫 #youth #youthengagement #youthoutreach Sarah Barbosa