Nonprofit Administrative Assistant Resume Examples & Templates

Nilda Melissa Diaz, CPRW
By Nilda Melissa Diaz, CPRW, Career Advice Expert Last Updated: February 01, 2024
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You have to be a jack of all trades when working as an administrative assistant at a nonprofit. You’ll need an effective resume to show employers that you have the ability to adapt quickly and efficiently to different tasks such as event planning, office operations and fundraising assistance. 

We’re here to help with professionally made administrative assistant nonprofit resume examples and guidance to help you land an interview fast. 

Start by editing our nonprofit administrative assistant resume samples, or browse our selection of 40+ professionally made resume templates to find the right one for you.

Nonprofit administrative assistant resume example (text version)

Emily Salazar

Portland, OR 97212

(555) 555-5555

example@example.com

Professional Summary

Seasoned nonprofit administrative assistant with over a decade of dedicated service supporting mission-driven organizations. Proficient in managing office operations, coordinating events and maintaining donor databases. Adept at providing seamless administrative support to executive teams, enhancing organizational efficiency and fostering positive stakeholder relationships.

Work History

November 2020 – Current

Oregon Community Foundation – Portland, OR

Nonprofit Administrative Assistant

  • Coordinate office activities and operations to ensure efficiency, managing correspondence, including emails, letters and phone calls and redirecting them when appropriate.
  • Maintain a database of over 300 donors and increase retention rate by 15% through personalized communication and acknowledgment strategies.
  • Assist in planning, organizing and executing five fundraising events, workshops and community outreach programs with an average participation of 5,000 guests.

September 2016 – October 2020

All Hands Raised – Portland, OR

Nonprofit Secretary

  • Scheduled, organized, and facilitated board meetings, including sending notices, agendas and meeting minutes.
  • Supported the board of directors by preparing materials, agendas and presentations for meetings, reducing meeting preparation time by 20%.
  • Composed, proofread and distributed professional business correspondence to internal team members, maintaining record accuracy by 98%.

June 2013 – August 2016

Community Vision Inc – Portland, OR

Nonprofit Receptionist

  • Managed incoming and outgoing correspondence, including emails, letters and phone calls.
  • Improved board meeting attendance by 10% through timely reminders and scheduling accommodations.
  • Served as a point of contact for inquiries and requests from stakeholders, donors and an average of 200 visitors weekly.

Skills

  • Database management
  • Customer service
  • Fundraising strategies
  • MS Office
  • Data entry and record-keeping
  • Nonprofit proficiency
  • Time management
  • Problem-solving

Education

University of Oregon Eugene, OR

  • Bachelor of Science Planning, Public Policy & Management
  • Minor in Nonprofit Administration

Certifications

  • Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) – (2019)
  • Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) – (2017)

5 essentials of a job-winning nonprofit administrative assistant resume

  1. Contact details

    Add your contact information to the top of your resume. Include your full name, city, state, ZIP code, phone number and professional email address. Add your LinkedIn profile and professional website, if applicable. Reference our guide on writing a resume for more advice on creating an effective contact details section. 

  2. Personal statement

    Your personal statement — also known as a professional summary — is where you introduce yourself and highlight your top qualifications in no more than five sentences. 

    Your administrative assistant nonprofit resume summary should showcase relevant skills, such as answering phones, greeting guests and assisting with data entry. Include one or two notable accomplishments and touch on how long you’ve been in the industry. 

    If you are just starting your career, we recommend including a resume objective instead of a professional summary. Your resume objective should focus on career goals and transferable skills such as communication and customer service. For additional guidance, take a look at our guide on writing a resume with no experience.

  3. Skills

    The skills section of your resume is where you’ll let hiring managers know what you can offer as an administrative assistant. An impressive nonprofit administrative assistant resume will showcase a mixture of hard skills and soft skills

    Examples of skills you might want to include on your resume are scheduling and coordinating meetings, handling incoming and outgoing mail and email and managing office supplies and equipment. 

    Nonprofit administrative assistants should have strong communication, organizational and problem-solving skills. They should be proficient in using common office software, such as Microsoft Office and Google Suite, and have experience with database management and record-keeping. 

    Note your excellent communication and interpersonal skills as well as your technical skills such as experience with data entry and assisting with the preparation of grant proposals, reports and other documents. 

  4. Work history

    To create the work history section of your resume for a nonprofit administrative assistant resume, start with your present or most recent job and list your remaining work experience in reverse-chronological order. 

    Remember to mention the job title, employer’s name, company location and the duration of your employment.

    Use bullet points to showcase your accomplishments and quantifiable achievements for each role. For example, Developed and implemented a new filing system that reduced file retrieval time by 50%, resulting in increased staff efficiency and productivity.

    Read our guide on adding work experience to your resume for more advice from career experts. 

  5. Education

    List your educational background starting with the most recent degree and working backward. Include the name of the schools and the year of graduation. If you did not attend college, provide information about your high school and any relevant courses you have taken since graduating.

    The education requirements for a nonprofit administrative assistant can vary depending on the organization and the specific job duties involved. In general, a high school diploma or equivalent is preferred. 

    However, many employers seek candidates with some post-secondary education, such as an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as business administration, nonprofit management or communications.

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Do’s and don’ts for your nonprofit administrative assistant resume

  • Use measurable achievements to describe your experience. For example: Improved donor retention rates by 15%.
  • Use action verbs — such as streamlined and coordinated — to make an impact on your nonprofit administrative assistant resume.
  • Tailor your resume to the nonprofit administrative assistant job you are applying for.
  • Use keywords from the job description throughout your nonprofit administrative assistant resume. For example, “budget management” and “grant awards.”
  • Format your nonprofit administrative assistant resume with clear sections and appropriate fonts so that it is easy for ATS software to parse and hiring managers to read.
  • Don’t lie about your nonprofit administrative assistant experience and skills. 
  • Don’t make vague claims about your skills. Instead, provide specific examples of your experience planning fundraisers or streamlining administrative processes. 
  • Don’t include irrelevant personal information such as your ethnicity and age.
  • Don’t include irrelevant skills and work experience. Focus on relevant skills instead, such as preparing and submitting grant proposals or implementing a new database system. 
  • Don’t forget to proofread. A nonprofit administrative assistant is expected to have high attention to detail, and your resume should reflect that.

Top 4 tips for interviews for a nonprofit administrative assistant job

  1. Research the organization.

    By conducting thorough research, you can gain a better understanding of the nonprofit organization and position you are applying for, which can help you tailor your application materials and interview responses to the specific needs and goals of the organization.

    Here are some areas to consider researching: 

    • The mission and values of the nonprofit organization: Understanding the mission and values of the organization is important to ensure that you align with their goals and are passionate about the work they do.
    • Programs and services offered by the nonprofit: Research the programs and services offered by the nonprofit organization to gain a better understanding of their work and how your role as an administrative assistant will support their mission.
    • Organizational structure and culture: Research the organizational structure and culture of the nonprofit to get a sense of how the organization operates and how you can best contribute to its success.
    • Current events and issues related to the nonprofit’s mission: Be aware of any current events or issues related to the nonprofit’s mission, as this can demonstrate your interest and engagement with the organization’s work.
  2. Practice your answers.

    It is important to prepare for your job interview by practicing commonly asked questions. Here are some behavioral interview questions to prepare for:  

    Make sure that you prepare for job-specific questions in addition to behavioral questions. Here are a few nonprofit administrative assistant questions to prepare for:

    • What experience do you have working in the nonprofit sector?
    • What skills do you possess that make you a good fit for this administrative assistant role?
    • How do you manage your time and prioritize tasks when working on multiple projects at once?
    • Can you describe a time when you had to handle a difficult situation or conflict with a coworker or volunteer?
    • How do you ensure that you maintain confidentiality when dealing with sensitive information?
    • Can you describe your experience with fundraising and donor management?
  3. Prepare questions to ask during the interview.

    Turn your interview into a conversation by asking the hiring manager questions about the organization, culture and expectations. 

    Here are a few questions you can ask during your interview:

    • Can you tell me more about the organization’s mission and how the administrative assistant role supports it?
    • How does the organization measure success, and how would my performance as an administrative assistant be evaluated?
    • What are some of the most significant challenges facing the organization currently, and how can the administrative assistant role help address them?
    • How does the organization involve and engage volunteers, and how would the administrative assistant support volunteer management?
    • How does the organization approach fundraising, and how would the administrative assistant contribute to those efforts?
  4. Gather references.

    Gather your professional references to share with the hiring manager. Make a list of two or three former colleagues and a former manager willing to speak highly about your abilities and performance as a nonprofit administrative assistant. 

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