July 21, 2005 | Read Time: 4 minutes
Q. I am in my 20s and currently work for a nonprofit organization. I want to climb into midlevel management in the next three to five years, and eventually into senior management at a charity. I have a master’s in education, but little work experience. What should I be doing now to ensure that I reach my goals?
A. Your first step: Schedule some time with your supervisor, suggests Suzanne E. Simons, executive director of the National Headache Foundation, in Chicago. “Ask what is required to get to where you want to be,” she suggests. “Together, you can map a career course with a timeline.” She also suggests that you document your accomplishments — keep them in a file for yourself, and regularly update your supervisor via e-mail about all you’re getting done.
Next, even if you’re not in development now, you should definitely learn how to be an effective fund raiser, advises Celia Bernstein, West Coast director of the Shefa Fund, a grant maker with headquarters in Philadelphia that focuses on applying Jewish values to issues of justice and building community. “The staffer in a nonprofit that knows how to fund raise quickly moves to the top,” she says. Ms. Bernstein suggests that you hone your skills by taking a fund-raising course, or by chatting with development directors of organizations similar to yours, to learn how they got their current positions.
Think about how your résumé will eventually look to a board of directors, says David Davenport, executive director of the End Hunger Network, in Houston. “Keep in mind that the higher the position you are seeking in a nonprofit organization, the more likely it is that you will interact with board members during the interview and selection process,” he says. “The challenge is to build a résumé that ultimately meets their concerns. In general, board members are looking for honesty, stability, and commitment to mission as well as a proven ability to lead.”
This is why you should also seek out opportunities to manage others — early and often, says David B. Waters, executive director of Community Servings, a charity in Roxbury, Mass, that delivers free meals to people homebound with HIV/AIDS or other serious illnesses. “If you aren’t in a position to manage other staff now, you might try to take a leadership role on a specific project team to prove your abilities as an effective leader,” he says.
To increase your chances of eventually getting a plum assignment, Ms. Simons suggests that you take a counterintuitive route. “Volunteer for assignments that no one else wants to take,” she says. “That demonstrates that you are willing to take on a challenge and you’re a team player.” If you still feel like you’re not getting the experience you need, “you’ll need and want to make occasional job moves — although not too many — to gain that experience,” advises Fred Bronstein, president of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. In his opinion, he says, “too many” moves would be more than one new job every three years.
You may also want to consider continuing your formal education in the field. For example, consider getting a certified fund-raising-executive credential, suggests Kay Harvey, executive director of the Bethesda Hospital Foundation, in Maryland. The credential, she says, “can help you stand out and give you nonprofit management basics.” However, you’ll need at least five years of job experience as a fund raiser to sit for the exam. To learn more, go to the CFRE Web site, or check out a previous Philanthropy Careers story about the credential.
Many books can help you along in your career. Mr. Davenport has found the classic business book, The One Minute Manager, by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson (Morrow, 1981, $19.95), to be very helpful in his own career. Ms. Harvey says she has often turned to Stephen R. Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Free Press, 1989, $15). Ms. Shefa is a big fan of books written by the fund-raising consultant Kim Klein, editor of the Grassroots Fundraising Journal. You might want to start with The Accidental Fundraiser: A Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Money for Your Cause, by Ms. Klein, Stephanie Roth and Mimi Ho (Jossey-Bass, 2005, $19.95).
Finally, Mr. Davenport also suggests that you look for someone who can serve as a champion or a mentor — a senior executive in the nonprofit world who is willing to offer guidance. (The board of your charity might be a good place to start looking, he says.) “Few things can replace an outsider’s view of your career, growth, and development, or a caring mentor’s advice,” he says. For more about making the most of the mentoring relationship, see this previous Philanthropy Careers article.
