Nonprofit Management Requires Diverse Expertise

In a conversation with Bruno Gimenes on Marketing - The Podcast, Sonia de Almeida, executive director of Afesu, discussed transitioning from the corporate world to the nonprofit sector and the practical demands of leading a social organization. With a career spanning over 30 years in the private sector, Almeida had always maintained ties to volunteering and adult education before taking the helm at the organization.

For Almeida, the career switch represented an opportunity aligning with her deep-seated belief in the power of education. "From the moment I provide education to anyone, I am giving them the freedom and tools they need to advance, whether personally or professionally," she points out. At 59, she shares that joining the institution was her way of giving back for the opportunities and achievements she attained throughout her professional life. In the video above, you can follow the detailed account and the full dialogue.

The difference between corporate structure and NGO management

Comparing her background in conventional companies with the daily realities of a social organization, Almeida emphasizes that the operational model is vastly different. While major corporations and organizations she previously worked with, such as Sebrae and Camargo Corrêa, had dedicated support departments for various needs, leaders in a nonprofit must operate as generalists.

"If I needed marketing work, I asked the marketing department. If I needed something financial, I called the finance department and showed my budget; I had a budget to follow. In an NGO, it's not like that. Deep down, you need to have multiple areas of expertise because it is not a large structure," Almeida explains. She began as the director of a single Afesu unit to understand operations before eventually taking over the executive directorship across all three of the institution's branches.