Hotline

By Rebecca Gardyn

Getting experience in wooing major donors

Preparing for a career in program management

Tracking the right of part-time charity workers

The Chronicle's Philanthropy Careers section asks its readers to submit questions about job hunting, recruiting, and management challenges in the nonprofit world. In our bimonthly advice column, we respond to some of those inquiries with tips about resources and recommendations from experts.

Previous editions of Hotline are available at http://philanthropycareers.com. Send your questions about job hunting, recruiting, or managing in the nonprofit world to hotline@philanthropy.com.

Q. I have written grant proposals for a dozen years and have had lots of experience in many areas of fund raising except the one I'm most interested in: soliciting major gifts, working one-on-one with affluent donors. How do I break into this field?

A. It will be tough for you to land a job as a major-gifts officer, primarily because of the age-old Catch-22: Most employers want to hire people with relevant experience, but to get relevant experience you first need someone to hire you.

Still, depending on your additional skills, some employers may be willing to give you a chance, says Tom Knox, executive director of resource development in the major and planned-gifts department at the Humane Society of the United States, in Washington.

For instance, a sincere passion for an organization's mission may help win over a potential employer. In fact, Mr. Knox says that is one of the first things he looks for in an applicant.

"It is critical that the gift officer's enthusiasm match the donor's passion, so if you couldn't convince me that you were mission-focused, then it wouldn't matter how much experience you had in major-gifts work, I wouldn't hire you," he says. "On the other hand, a very enthusiastic, mission-focused person with limited experience is one that I would give further consideration."

But you would be better off if you had at least some background — whether on staff or as a volunteer — working one-on-one with donors.

"Certainly your experience as a grant writer is helpful in terms of being able to prepare a proposal, but it doesn't show how well you interact directly with donors," says Mr. Knox.

So if you have any fund-raising or sales experience, make sure to highlight it. If not, he suggests you get some by volunteering.

If you have taken any classes in the area of major gifts or planned giving, or attended any conferences, make sure to mention that to potential employers as well, says Mr. Knox. He also encourages you to consider becoming a certified fund-raising executive through the Association of Fundraising Professionals. For more on this credential, see "What the Certified Fund-Raising Executive Credential Means — and What It Doesn't, (The Chronicle, October 16, 2002).

But the most critical skill you need to be a successful major-gifts officer is the ability to cultivate relationships, and unfortunately, grant-proposal writers aren't always thought of as having the right personality for the job, says David Reis, director of business development at Orbis International, a nonprofit organization in New York that strives to eliminate blindness in the developing world.

Yet even if you have the salesmanship and people skills, Mr. Reis thinks you will still have difficulty unless you are able to demonstrate how you've used those skills to bring in new donors or retain existing ones.

"If you already have this background, you probably have a good case, especially if you've developed relationships with wealthy foundation trustees," he says. "If not, you've got your work cut out for you."

Bentley Marane, vice president of major gifts for the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, offers suggestions on developing in-person contacts: "Put yourself in the same room as major donors by becoming [a donor] yourself or by attending charity events with major donors."

She also recommends asking the charities you already work with if you can volunteer to help with any major-gift associated events, such as helping to arrange or guide tours of the organization.

Once you meet donors, pay close attention to their interests, adds Ms. Marane.

"Remember what they tell you and follow up by taking advantage of opportunities to communicate with them," she says. For example, send them a congratulatory note if you read a newspaper article about any achievements or recognition they receive. "You never know what connections they have that may lead you to a job in major gifts."

Q. I'm a clinical social worker with 15 years of experience in direct service. I have a master's degree, and a broad range of experience in health care, working with elderly people, the homeless, and disadvantaged children. I would like to work in program management for a charity. I realize that volunteering is the best route to the kind of job I seek, but can you offer advice on finding a volunteer spot that will truly make use of my experience?

A. Volunteering may not actually be the best or only route to the kind of management job you're describing, says C.T. O'Donnell, president of KidsPeace a national nonprofit organization in New York that provides services and residential treatment to children with mental and behavioral problems.

While volunteering can get your foot in the door and help you better understand a charity's mission, says Mr. O'Donnell, you'll need more training in management before you can become a successful program manager. Thus, he recommends that you go back to school for your master's in business administration.

"In the nonprofit world, management aspirations require layering business skills on top of human-services skills and passions," he says.

Indeed, making the transition to program management from direct service isn't easy, says Barry Antos, senior vice president of the behavioral health division of Pioneer Human Services, in Seattle, which provides job training, counseling, housing, and drug treatment to needy clients. Former social workers may miss the personal contact they had with clients, he says.

If you already have some clinical supervisory experience, your understanding of how to provide guidance and coaching to a professional staff will certainly help you make the transition, he says.

But if you've never had to oversee others' work, Mr. Antos strongly recommends finding a volunteer position that gives you that kind of responsibility, either where you currently work or perhaps at a local educational institution that needs someone with your level of clinical experience to help supervise interns just completing a master's program.

Something that might help you decide if program management is really for you, he suggests, is to first volunteer as a trustee for a charity for which you might like to work.

"As a board member you will become familiar with financial imperatives and operational oversight and gain opportunities to directly observe management operations," he says. "You'll also gain connections through other board members and will better understand the dynamics of your potential career choice."

Your lack of management experience may limit your chance of being hired by a charity right away for a midlevel management spot, says Sanford Otsuji, executive director of the Olive Crest Homes and Services for Abused Children in Santa Ana, Calif.

"At our organization, a person with lots of social-service experience but no management experience would likely start at a coordinator or assistant position to gain the skills required before moving up to the management position," he says.

Even so, Mr. Otsuji still recommends seeking a junior-level job in the field over just volunteering. "The most effective way to get you on the path to program management is to speak directly with the nonprofit's human-resources department or the executive directors," he says. These people, he says, "can best guide you toward your goal of program management within that specific organization."

Q. I'm working for an organization that is hiring part-time employees, but makes them work full-time with no benefits. Is this legal? Should the Internal Revenue Service be informed about this?

A. To answer your question, it is first necessary to know whether the charity's part-time employees are "exempt" or "nonexempt," says Angela Reddock, a labor and employment lawyer who works with nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles.

"Exempt" means that you are paid on a salaried basis and are exempt from the laws that require that your employer to pay you overtime. "Nonexempt" means you are paid on an hourly basis and are paid for both your regular hours and any overtime hours.

From your question, it sounds like you are a nonexempt employee paid on an hourly basis," says Ms. Reddock. "If this is the case, regardless of whether you are a full-time or part-time employee, the law requires your employer to pay you for all regular and overtime hours you work."

Whether you are also owed benefits, however, is another story. In most states, benefits such as health, dental, and retirement-savings plans are discretionary and are granted based on an employer's specific policies and practices, says Ms. Reddock — and, in many instances, part-time employees are not entitled to such benefits

In fact, federal law does not require an employer to provide any benefits to its employees, regardless of whether they work full or part time, says Joseph Vater, a labor lawyer in Pittsburgh who works with nonprofit groups.

However, if an organization does provide benefits to its full-time employees, the definition of "full time" will usually be specifically outlined in the organization's benefit plan, he says. That definition often will be based on the number of hours an employee generally works in a week.

For example, an organization may provide medical benefits for full-time employees. If "full-time employee" is defined in the benefit plan as "a person who is generally scheduled to work in excess of 32 hours in a week," then an individual hired as a "part-time employee" but who has been generally scheduled to work more than 32 hours over several months could argue that any medical expenses she has incurred should be paid, says Mr. Vater. Since the organization had not been paying premiums to the health-insurance carrier for the individual, it could be legally liable for the cost of the medical treatments, he adds.

If for some reason the organization's benefit plan does not specifically define "full-time employee," most will spell it out in an employee handbook.

The handbook also usually describes who is entitled to benefits. If the handbook defines "full time" as working a certain minimum hours per week, a part-time employee could bring a breach of contract action against the employer, arguing that the organization violated its own terms and conditions of employment by not providing benefits to someone working full-time hours, says Mr. Vater.

Many states maintain laws relating to the payment of wages and benefits to employees, he adds. Some of these statutes will permit lawsuits against officers or directors of an organization, who may be liable if the charity is unable to pay the damages.

"That's why it is extremely important that officers and directors take whatever actions are necessary to determine that the organization's payroll practices are consistent with the employee handbook, if any, and the terms of the employee-benefit plans which the organization may sponsor," says Mr. Vater.

If, after reviewing your organization's employee benefit plan and handbook, you still believe that the part-time workers should be receiving the same benefits as full-time employees, Mr. Vater suggests bringing your concerns to the human-resources department or to a member of the board of directors. If you aren't happy with the answers you receive, consult a lawyer.