A Boston Arts-Education Nonprofit Grooms Its Own Fundraisers

Zumix, a nonprofit that offers arts and music after-school programs to youth in East Boston, couldn’t afford to hire fundraisers with the kind of skills it needs to grow beyond its $1-million budget.

So instead, it’s training its own fundraisers for far less money.

“We have the potential to really expand, but we just don’t have the money to invest in a real development team,” says Madeleine Steczynski, the group’s founder and executive director.

Vista Volunteers

Zumix has long relied on a shoestring operation of consultants and passionate board members. But three years ago, Ms. Steczynski decided to try something different. She hired a former Vista volunteer who had served with the charity as a fundraiser.

“The idea was that while we can’t give you a huge paycheck, we can invest in you and help you learn the skills to be a real development professional,” she recalls.

Zumix recently hired a second former Vista volunteer to help organize special events and persuade individuals to give.

Sharon Small, who originally volunteered at the youth-run radio station that Zumix operates, says she’s thrilled to learn skills and help an organization about which she cares deeply.

“I feel like this is an opportunity to learn a profession,” says Ms. Small.

Focus on Training

With an ambitious menu of arts and music programs, nine full-time staff members, and a small army of part-time employees, the charity’s budget is stretched thin.

But professional development for its workers is a priority, says Ms. Steczynski.

Every full-time employee gets $1,000 a year to put toward classes, conferences, and training. And, she notes, with many of Zumix’s staff also either working or hobbyist musicians, another perk helps keep them on board: unfettered access to the organization’s equipment and practice rooms.

Some staff members, she says, have “created their own playground” and settled in for tenures of more than a decade.

But, she notes, the organization’s success in building its own fundraising talent has sometimes worked a little too well, as novice fundraisers “hit the little Zumix glass ceiling” after a few years, she notes ruefully, and bolt for higher paychecks elsewhere.

“We would love to be able to hire fundraising superstars, but that just isn’t realistic for an organization of our size,” says Ms. Steczynski. In the meantime, “investing in young people who are passionate about our mission is working well for us.”

Zumix

Turnover rate in 2012: One of two staff fundraisers left

Key strategy: Saving money by grooming early-career workers as fundraisers