DART Center Reviews

Pros

very fulfilling role and nice coworkers

Cons

long work hours and weekends

Pros

This job is incredibly fulfilling. To work with people day in and day out and see their growth and excitement when they realize they can change their community for the better is truly a privilege. I love getting to meet people of all different walks of life and help them connect with one another. I've worked in other non-profits before, and I always felt burned out and hopeless. But working for DART gives me so much hope that if people work together, we can change any injustice we're confronted with. I find it exciting to be part of issue campaigns where we're winning big things like $100 million for affordable housing, or state laws that give children second chances instead of arrest records. I also enjoy getting to work with other organizers and the supportive atmosphere and camaraderie . Fair compensation, with good benefits/healthcare/vacation package

Cons

When you first start, it can be hard to figure out a good work-life balance. It's a job where there is always more to do so you have to be disciplined about scheduling (and taking) your time off.

Pros

A great opportunity to live out your values, lots of room for professional development

Cons

Long hours, often have to work nights and/or weekends

Pros

Community organizing is incredibly rewarding to see improvements made in my city through the work we are doing to bring people together. DART offers excellent training in how to be a community organizer. There is good camaraderie among organizers. There are opportunities for growth - I was able to advance from an associate to a lead organizer.

Cons

Initially it was difficult to move to a new city and start a new job. It can take a while to see public policy changes implemented and working in your city so you have to stay motivated in the meantime to keep working at it.

Pros

Meeting with passionate community leaders

Cons

Would not recommend. Very unhealthy organizational culture: long hours for little pay, philosophy that makes you feel as though you and a handful of others are responsible for transforming the world, manipulative coaching during training, non-guaranteed location. This was my first job after graduating college, and I am still upset to this day at the way I was treated. Incredibly disrespected. I feel like my youthful energy and outlook on community change was taken advantage of and really regret my time with DART. Also, is it really community organizing if you’re giving orders to the community? No room for organizing in new ways outside prescriptive model.

Pros

Knowing you're making a difference, getting to know a lot of different types of people, good support and training from DART to teach you how to do the job, lots of autonomy, flexible hours

Cons

specific times of year have a lot more night meetings

Pros

DART has a lot of cool organizers and the cities they are in allows us to work with a lot of cool community leaders that care deeply for their city. I didn't really see myself working in the same field past three years, but really enjoy the grassroots leaders I work with and got energized by the victories we were winning. It is cool to have a job that allows you to live out your values.

Cons

I have built strong bonds with many of the organizers that live in different cities from me and I wish I could see them more often.