How hard is it to move up from smaller, local nonprofit groups to larger, national ones?

Q. I have a law degree and 20 years of nonprofit experience, with 11 of those years spent in fund raising. I’ve worked in youth organizations and now am development director at a museum. I want to work for a health organization with national impact. How hard is it to move up from smaller, local nonprofit groups to larger, national ones?

A. Given your credentials and experience, it shouldn’t be very difficult for you to move from a small charity to a larger, national one.

“Fund raising for any nonprofit requires the same knowledge, such as developing and implementing strategies, building a team, and working with donors and volunteers,” says Donna Hale, senior vice president of income development for the American Cancer Society’s Florida Division, in Tampa. In fact, the best fund-raising teams are often those that bring together people with diverse experiences and perspectives, she says. Your challenge, however, will be to demonstrate how transferable your skills and background are.

“No one has had the exact combination of experiences that you’ve had,” she says. “Be prepared to highlight how your unique skill set would help the organization accomplish its mission.”

Craig Rocklin, director of major gifts at the American National Red Cross, in Washington, concurs. “From my experience, you use the same process to ask a donor for a $1,000 gift for a small organization as you might for a $10,000 or even $1-million gift for a larger organization,” he says.

When he interviews potential staff members from smaller organizations, Mr. Rocklin says, he looks primarily for people who have a solid understanding of fund-raising concepts, have proven results, and who are honest about why they want to make the move to a larger organization. Depending on the focus of your law degree, it sounds like you might make an excellent specialist in planned gifts, he adds.

For some national organizations, however, the fact that you have no prior history working specifically with health-related charities may be a deal-breaker, says Karen Alphonse, a recruiter for nonprofit clients at ExecSearches.com, in Fort Lauderdale. Similarly, if you have few personal contacts within the health field, you may be at a disadvantage.

“Personal connections go a long way toward making you a more appealing candidate,” she says.

To that end, Ms. Alphonse suggests that before sending out any résumés, join a few health-related professional organizations and set up meetings with any personal connections you may already have in the health industry.

“This is an excellent strategy for getting to know the field and to build critical relationships before even submitting an application,” she says.

Once you’re ready to start looking for work, you might consider first applying to the local affiliates of national organizations where your knowledge of the community could be a key strength as a candidate, suggests Ms. Hale: “Once you are on board and have demonstrated your talent, there may be opportunities to move up within the organization, including the national office.”