Should I offer to work unpaid for a nonprofit I love, hoping to become a paid employee within a few months?
I am in my mid-twenties, currently employed in Washington DC in a policy/nonprofit coordination role making roughly $60k. I am planning to relocate back to my home city in the Midwest this year. I have been job searching there for a couple of months.
Recently I interviewed for a position at a small international affairs nonprofit in my home city that I genuinely love. The interview went incredibly well and the hiring manager told me she was very impressed and hoped we would work together. However, they had to pause hiring due to federal grant cancellations affecting their programming, something a lot of internationally focused nonprofits are dealing with right now.
In her email she told me: "I have learned to trust that there is a bigger rhythm to how things unfold. The right people tend to cross paths at the right moments, even if the timing does not immediately make sense. This feels like one of those situations," which to me feels like confirmation I would have been hired. She told me I am on her radar and invited me for coffee when I am in town next.
The organization's focus is directly aligned with my professional background and goals. It is the kind of work I have wanted to do for years.
The proposal I am considering:
Reaching out to offer to work unpaid for approximately six months while they work toward diversifying their funding away from federal grants, which she explicitly told me was their goal for this year, and this position would free up their time to pursue that goal. If they are not able to start paying me by the end of that runway, I would ask that they connect me with people in the community who could help me find my next position, and that we maintain a strong ongoing relationship regardless.
My situation:
I can live with my parents rent free in a suburb of my home city, keeping my monthly expenses to roughly $800 to $1,000 covering loans, car, phone, food contribution, and personal expenses. I have enough saved to sustain myself for much more that period comfortably, but I want to set the runway from the beginning.
Does this seem sound given my situation? Is working unpaid for a nonprofit a reasonable strategic move or does it set a bad precedent? Am I missing anything obvious? Has anyone done something similar and how did it work out?
I am genuinely excited about this organization and this city, and I want to make sure I am not letting that excitement cloud my judgment about whether this is actually a smart move.