The NFP (Not For Profit) sector is often inaccurately referred to as ‘the voluntary sector’. It actually employs more than half a million people in paid jobs and has an annual turnover of £15-20 billion. The NFP sector encompasses charities, NGO’s and voluntary organisations.

Kinds of Writing
There is a massive quantity of written material produced for various NFP organisations, including features, web copy, press releases, letters, leaflets and reports.

Volunteering
The best way into writing for NFP organisations is to volunteer. As a starting point, any kind of volunteering is useful. This could be working in a charity shop, fundraising on the street, or helping out at a day care or drop in centre. Many organisations also need people to do research and adminstrative work.

Paid work for the inexperienced
If the wolf’s at the door and you can’t afford to give your time for free, there are a number of agencies that recruit for the NFP sector. Jobs range from £6-7 per hour temping opportunities to more highly paid permanent positions. One of the best agencies is Charity People, at http://www.charitypeople.co.uk

A paid professional
Charlie Pye-Smith is a freelance journalist who has written feature articles for a number of NFP organisations, mostly in the environmental and conservation field. He has also written country reports for Oxfam and worked as a travel writer.

In the beginning…
Charlie studied botany and zoology at Newcastle University in the early 1970s and spent several years travelling after graduation. He then completed an MSc in conservation at University College. He was the first editor of a magazine called Ecos - set up by students from the course – and ‘gradually drifted’ into writing for small magazines concerned with environmental issues. From doing this he progressed to writing for national newspapers like the Independent and the Sunday Times. He has also written a lot of material for the New Scientist, Country Living, BBC Wildlife and various other magazines.

Short term contracts
Charlie has worked for a variety of NFP sector organisations, generally on short-term contracts. These include: The Soil Association, WWF, The International Institute for Environment and Development, the Centre for International Forestry Research, and Oxfam. He spends about four months of the year working on issues related to tropical forestry, mostly paid for by the CIFR. He is paid for writing done on behalf of all these organisations.

Sloppy Journalism
Charlie says that there is a lot of ‘sloppy journalism’ being produced for the sector these days, mainly produced by ‘people who are really activists dressed up as writers’. This suggests that there is a need for professional writers in the NFP sector. On the downside, his advice for aspiring writers wanting to work in the NFP sector is: ‘marry someone rich’.