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I am actively working for a software development company. One of our clients is a nonprofit organization. I am doing a good portion of the programming for them. Is it appropriate to put on my résumé something to the effect of:

"Did nonprofit programming work for Organization XYZ?"

4 Answers 4

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Can I claim nonprofit work at my company on my résumé?

No.

It doesn't seem that you did nonprofit work. Instead, you did work for a company whose client happened to be a nonprofit organization.

Is it appropriate to put on my résumé something to the effect of: "Did nonprofit programming work for Organization XYZ?"

Unless you did your work pro-bono, then it isn't appropriate. The statement as written makes it sound like your software company is a non-profit organization. I'm guessing that's not actually the case.

But it's your client who is a non-profit, not your programming work. Even if you didn't charge for your services, the phrasing you chose isn't correct.

Better would be something on the order of "Performed programming work for Organization XYZ (a non-profit organization)." That places the "non-profit" modifier where it more properly belongs.

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    In particular do not claim this as volunteer work in one section at the same time you claim the paying job in your job section.
    – HLGEM
    Jul 28, 2015 at 13:58
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I'd be a little careful about how you proceed with this - your company and their client may not want their relationship to be public knowledge - so you should talk in general terms, like "significant contributions to a something project for a large/national/global non-profit organisation" rather than specific company names.

On the other hand, if your company lists the organisation on a public site as a client, then you are on safer ground.

In any event - you did not work directly for the non-profit - you worked on a project that your company did for that non-profit.

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Short answer: If it's valid, verifiable work that you did, then definitely add it!

There is no harm in adding the work you did for a non-profit on to your CV. If there were skills you learned or expanded on, and goals you achieved, and potentially someone who can act as a reference for your work, then there is absolutely value in including it.

Make sure that you show on your CV the technologies you used, the type of analytical work you may have performed, what you completed and what benefits it brought to the non-profit organisation.

Story: A few years ago I was doing development work for a non-profit after hours. It allowed me to expand a skillset that I wanted to gain some practical experience in, and the person I was working for has on occasional acted as a reference for me :)

[Edit]

I misinterpreted your situation that you did work directly for the non-profit, rather than in your regular role that the company you work for, your company provided services to them. My answer pertains to the former situation, not the latter.

If it was just a part of your normal job, you should not mention separately. At best you could add a line to the duties for your current employer such as, "we provided services for xxx non-profit organisation". However, as Joe Strazzere states in his answer, be very careful about non-disclosure.

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As a development team lead at a not-for-profit company: definitely not. You didn't work for this company, you worked for another one and just had an engagement like any other.

Typically employers will check with the companies that you've listed on your resume to ensure that you've actually worked at the locations that you're claiming. If I were to receive a call asking if you had worked at <not-for-profit-x> and you had not worked directly with me then I would more than likely be unable to place the name and would state this to your potential employer.

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