Major-Gifts Jobs

Q. How can I make the switch from a very successful stint in foundation and government relations to major gifts without starting at the bottom?

A. There’s no reason for you to have to start at the bottom, says Ellen Ray, director of development at the Lena Pope Home, a charity that provides services to children and families in Fort Worth. The skills that you’ve honed in foundation relations will probably serve you in good stead in major gifts. “It’s probably similar to what you’ve been doing with foundations, which is all about developing relationships and cultivating them,” says Ms. Ray. “In major gifts, it’s also all about relationships, and being able to close the deal.”

The task is to spin your experience in the right way. When you’re putting together your résumé, be sure to highlight the amount of money that you’ve raised from foundation and government sources, Ms. Ray advises. “That’s one thing that [a hiring manager] is really going to be looking at: What kind of money have you raised? What size are those grants?” If you haven’t landed sizable grants, she adds, then that’s something you’ll probably want to work on before you make the switch.

You’re also going to have to dazzle your prospective bosses with your social skills during the interview, Ms. Ray says. While charities do look for experience with major gifts, she says, “the right personality is really important. I don’t care how much experience you have, if you’re not the person who can go out and relate to my constituents, I’m not going to hire you.” If you can show that you have connections with the sort of major donors the charity wants to reach, she notes, that couldn’t hurt either.

Finally don’t forget to show off your strategic thinking skills, says Jerry Silverman, executive director of the Foundation for Jewish Camping, in New York. In major gifts, you’re competing for donors’ time and money, he says. Therefore, in your interview, he says, you’ll need to show that you’ve thought about how you’re going to win that competition, and share the strategies that you’ll use on the job.