August 17, 2007 | Read Time: 3 minutes
Q. I have a bachelor’s in English and a varied résumé. I want to pursue a nonprofit career. Should I pursue a master’s in nonprofit management, or just get some kind of certificate? What are the best programs for a master’s in nonprofit management? Would I be better off specializing (in, say, fund raising) or attempt to train for a leadership role? And what’s the difference between management and leadership?
A. Your questions are extremely broad, hinting that perhaps you aren’t clear as to what your goals are. Before you do anything else, think about what you hope to achieve from this career switch, suggests Lyn Brennan, a partner at Battalia Winston, an executive-search firm in New York City that works with nonprofit organizations.
What motivates you to work for a nonprofit group? For which type of charity are you most interested in working – social service, international relief and development, health care, the arts? For what type of position do you think your skills are best suited – raising money or developing and carrying out a charity’s programs?
Until have some of these questions answered, it is hard to recommend a specific educational path, says Ms. Brennan.
“If you’ve had little exposure to the nonprofit sector, I’d recommend that you get some experience before getting a master’s in an area so focused as nonprofit management,” she says. At the very least, spend some time volunteering and talking with people who work in various positions within the sector so you can better focus your interests.
That being said, regardless of your level of charity-related experience, you can’t go wrong by obtaining a more traditional master’s of business administration, says Ms. Brennan.
While her nonprofit clients have often specified that they only want applicants with master’s degrees or, more specifically, M.B.A.’s, she says no client has explicitly required a master’s in nonprofit management.
Beth Finnerty, executive director of Skyland Trail, a nonprofit psychiatric rehabilitation center in Atlanta, agrees that your career will benefit by attaining a master’s degree.
“A master’s program will give you a broad-based view of management as well as a range of experience that is applicable across a wide variety of areas,” says Ms. Finnerty, who herself has two master’s degrees, one in business administration and another in health-care management. “You will learn organizational systems, theory, and behavior, as well as finance, marketing, information technology, and business operations. Then you can better decide which areas interest you the most.”
Ms. Finnerty recommends that you take internships at small, fast-growing nonprofit organizations while pursuing your degree so that you can obtain hands-on experience in as many management areas as possible before you graduate.
As to whether you should focus on fund raising or on grooming yourself for a leadership role, Ms. Brennan cautions you to recognize that the two are not mutually exclusive.
“Regardless of the route you take, you will have to work your way up the career chain, and virtually all nonprofit leaders, including executive directors and CEO’s, are involved in raising money,” she says.
Lastly, regarding your inquiry about the difference between management and leadership, Ms. Finnerty offers this analysis: “The difference between leadership and management lies in their relationship to each other: Management is a key aspect of leadership,” she says. “Leadership embraces vision, innovation, strategy and planning – as well as the ability to motivate others, which is one sign of a strong manager.”
Sources of information on continuing-education programs for nonprofit managers are available in an earlier Hotline column.
