August 15, 2002 | Read Time: 1 minute
Q. Where can I find information on the organizational structure of nonprofit fund-raising departments?
A. The Association for Fundraising Professionals is probably your best bet for this kind of information. Try a booklet published by the organization called “Establishing Your Development Office,” by Linda Lysakowski. This publication covers a variety of topics pertaining to fund-raising departments, and also covers issues of staffing, hierarchy, budgets, and volunteers. The booklet also includes sample documents and checklists. It costs $10 for association members and $15 for nonmembers, and is available through the association’s Web site.
The association offers another reference tool that you might also find useful, also available through its Web site. It’s called “Tool Kit #1 Fundraising Job Descriptions” and provides more than 100 fund-raising job descriptions broken down by field (education, social service, health, etc.). The tool kit includes a questionnaire to help develop job descriptions in your own organization, and also covers the legal concerns related to writing such descriptions. It was just published this summer — an introductory price of $60 lasts through August 31. After this month, the price goes up to $75 for association members and $100 for nonmembers. Finally, if you need more specific information than what is covered in these publications, you can always ask the association’s Resource Center to track down the facts for you. Upon your request, the staff will put together a custom compilation of articles from professional journals, magazines, and a variety of other sources on this or any fund-raising-related subject, says Michael Nilsen, the association’s public-affairs director. This service is free for members, but costs $50 per topic for nonmembers. Call (800) 688-3463 for more information.
Got a question about job hunting, recruiting or managing in the nonprofit world? Send it to us at hotline@philanthropy.com.
