July 31, 2008 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Q. I’d like to learn more about jobs in corporate grant making. How do I get started on achieving this goal?
A. You may want to start by requesting informational interviews with a few executives who work in those types of jobs. (For tips on informational interviews, see a previous Philanthropy Careers article on the subject.) Many corporate grant makers are more than willing to answer your questions.
Ophelia Basgal, vice president for civic partnerships and community initiatives at PG&E Corporation, in San Francisco, says she considers these interviews part of her professional responsibility. Ms. Basgal is on a corporate grant-making committee run by the Council on Foundations and the members of that group are especially interested in helping others learn about professional opportunities, she says. (For a complete list of committee members, see the Council on Foundations Web site.
If you’re interested in pursuing a career in corporate philanthropy, this may be a good time because of changes companies are making in their giving policies.
“Corporate philanthropy is changing so dramatically — to be fully aligned and integrated with the business, and being innovative and responsive to community needs,” says Ann Cramer, director of corporate citizenship and corporate affairs at IBM, in Atlanta. She expects this trend to continue, especially as more companies focus on “green” issues and the environment.
Ms. Cramer, who chairs the council’s committee on corporate grant making, says a background in public and community relations, communications, and experience managing volunteers are some of the skills corporate grant makers prize.
If you have a background in nonprofit work or volunteering, Ms. Basgal recommends finding a company whose philanthropic goals match up with your experience. For example, she says, “if you’re a teacher, and you’ve been involved in receiving grants but you’d like to work on the other side, you’d want to look for organizations that are making grants in the educational area, and leverage the experience and knowledge that you have into helping them be more efficient grant makers.”
If you’re already working at a company that has a philanthropic department or foundation, you have a head start.
Christopher Montross, vice president and assistant controller at the Aetna Foundation, in Hartford, Conn., suggests making yourself a “known entity” in the company through your community involvement. If your company has volunteer committees, he says, offer to head one, or organize a fund-raising activity.
Cassie J. Moore contributed to this article.
