A Calif. Animal Charity Supports Its Workers’ Career Goals

Marin Humane Society, which focuses on its workers’ career development, recently spotlighted three employees’ expertise in a promotional campaign illustrated by the artist Bill Russell. Marin Humane Society, which focuses on its workers’ career development, recently spotlighted three employees’ expertise in a promotional campaign illustrated by the artist Bill Russell.

January 15, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute

Organization: Marin Humane Society (Novato, Calif.)

Number of employees: 56 full time, 32 part time

The group’s approach: The charity, which highlights employees in its advertising, emphasizes professional development and career planning. Employees are required to observe work in departments outside their own, both to increase their understanding of what the organization does and to open their eyes to other career opportunities. Employees are encouraged to speak at conferences, and they are eligible for tuition assistance for courses related to their work. The humane society even posts job openings at other animal-welfare organizations on a central bulletin board.

Why: “It’s not necessarily a bad thing when somebody goes and takes a better job and a more challenging job in our field,” says Nancy McKenney, the organization’s chief executive. “We have pride that this person learned and grew up here, and they’re going out and imparting the Marin Humane Society culture in their new organization.”

Results: A longtime employee recently left the organization to lead a local animal shelter, a position she learned about on the Marin Humane Society’s job board. Says Ms. McKenney: “As much as we wanted to keep her and have her stay here, this was an opportunity for her to grow and spread her wings.”

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About the Author

NICOLE WALLACE

Features Editor

Nicole Wallace is features editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy. She has written about innovation in the nonprofit world, charities’ use of data to improve their work and to boost fundraising, advanced technologies for social good, and hybrid efforts at the intersection of the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, such as social enterprise and impact investing.Nicole spearheaded the Chronicle’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts on the Gulf Coast and reported from India on the role of philanthropy in rebuilding after the South Asian tsunami. She started at the Chronicle in 1996 as an editorial assistant compiling The Nonprofit Handbook.Before joining the Chronicle, Nicole worked at the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs and served in the inaugural class of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps.A native of Columbia, Pa., she holds a bachelor’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University.