HOTLINE

Answering Readers' Questions About Snagging a Family Foundation Job, Seeking Support for a Youth Group, and More

The Chronicle's Philanthropy Careers asks its readers to submit questions about job hunting, recruitment, and management challenges in the nonprofit world. In our monthly advice column, we respond to some of your inquiries with tips about resources and wisdom from experts in the field.

Q. I have spent 12 years as a chief fund raiser for religious organizations, with small administrative teams and budgets of up to $3-million. Now, a local family foundation that gives about $1-million in grants per year is hiring its first executive director, and I want the job. I have established good contacts with several foundation executives, but am worried about my lack of experience in areas such as foundation tax law. How can I present my current qualifications and acquire new ones as I prepare to pursue this job?

A. "Play to your strengths," advises Karen Green, managing director of family foundation services at the Council on Foundations, in Washington. "You already have many of the skills these folks can use." The staff at a midsize family foundation such as this is likely to comprise just one or two full-time staff members and perhaps one administrative support person, she notes. What they will probably need from an executive director is a well-skilled generalist. Family-foundation staff members typically get hired for a combination of the following: trustworthiness, expertise in the issues the family wishes to support, experience in nonprofit fund raising (including applying for grants), knowledge of the community, good communication skills, and solid organizational abilities. So be sure to highlight such skills in your interview.

That said, she adds, both family foundation boards and staff do indeed need to be familiar with key legal concepts, such as the federal requirement that foundations distribute an average of 5 percent of their assets for charitable purposes each year. She recommends a brief and accessible book for nonlawyers called Family Foundations & the Law: What You Need To Know, published by the Council on Foundations, which can be purchased ($55 for nonmembers, $30 for members) through the organization's Web site. (Click on "Publications" and do a search for the title.) Tax-exempt-organization law is quite specialized, and few lawyers are familiar with it, she says, so chances are that the foundation employs a consultant as needed for any in-depth tax issues. So, she says, while you will certainly need to understand the basics, there is no need to master the finer points.

Most important is your overall "fit" with the foundation, says Alfred Castle, executive director of and a member of the family that created the Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation, in Honolulu. "Family foundations look carefully at the important intangibles," he says. "For instance, does the applicant match the 'culture' of the family?" He suggests that you take time to study the family's history and its characteristics, because, while technical skills are important, the standout applicant will be the one who is prepared to show a keen understanding of the family's philanthropic purpose and can add value to it. You must also genuinely feel comfortable with this aspect of family dynamics and not force a match where there is not one, he adds. Family foundations are different from other grant makers, he says, in that personal values play a prominent role in decision making.

Lastly, Mr. Castle -- who also served as a vice president for university advancement at California State University at San Marcos -- encourages you to promote your fund-raising skills when you apply for this grant-making job. Fund raisers know how to plan, deal with a variety of constituencies, and manage and create resources, he says. Moreover, your background gives you a good understanding of nonprofit organizations from within. "Many excellent executive directors today," he notes, "were once chief fund-raising officers or heads of grant-seeking nonprofits."

Q. I am the director of a decades-old, grass-roots recreational group in Cincinnati that serves girls from low-income households. We are at a dead end in trying to find funding; help from the city and a local community foundation has dried up. Got any ideas where we might look for grants?

A. If you've been managing for decades on grants, you have been very lucky, says Christine Graham, a fund-raising consultant in Burlington, Vt. It isn't particularly surprising that your funds have dried up, she says, as foundations typically do not want to support the same organizations year after year. So, if you want to continue to rely on grants, you will have to put a new face on this effort to find support. She suggests looking at your program from new angles. "Focus on characteristics and new challenges for this organization which might appeal to a different batch of foundations than you've gotten support from in the past," she says. You might try a brainstorming session with board members or friends to learn how they perceive the organization, and see if those impressions lead you to refocus your grant search, she says.

Very few grants go to programs specifically for women and girls, says Ellen Markowitz, president of PowerPlay NYC, an organization in New York that teaches girls sports and life skills. However, those grant makers who do support such programs typically have a specific focus for their efforts, such as literacy, college preparation, health, education, or peer leadership. To make your program more attractive to those foundations, she says, you need to communicate what else your recreational group does for girls and demonstrate how it does it: "Does it build leadership? How? Better study habits? Do the girls from your group graduate high school at a higher rate than their peers? Do they go to college?"

For example, Ms. Markowitz says, PowerPlay NYC has received money from a grant maker that supports pregnancy-prevention efforts because her charity was able to show the role sports can play in preventing teenage pregnancies. "If girls are playing sports, feeling strong, and feeling good about their bodies, they may make different choices," says Ms. Markowitz. Another huge national issue with all children is obesity and its associated medical problems, so you might consider collaborating with a health center or with medical professionals to add a health component to your program, she says. Doing so, she says, might help expand the types of grants for which you could be eligible.

One specific grant maker that Ms. Markowitz suggests checking out is the Women's Sports Foundation, in East Meadow, N.Y. One of their programs, called "GoGirlGo," supports girls' sports programs that combine athletic instruction with the delivery of educational information aimed at reducing risky health and social behaviors in girls between the ages of 10 and 14. The most recent deadline for grant applications was in November, she says, but it may be worth considering for the next application cycle.

Additional possibilities include the Ms. Foundation for Women, in New York, which provides multiyear awards to programs that support youth development through its "Collaborative Fund for Youth-Led Social Change," or contact your local chapter of the National Organization for Women, which may also provide some money. The American Association of University Women, in Washington, also offers two-year Community Action Grants to help charities start long-term programs in math, science, or technology for girls in kindergarten through high school. For more ideas, consult with umbrella groups of grant makers that focus on women and girls, such as the Women's Funding Network, in San Francisco, or Women and Philanthropy, in Washington.

You can also search The Chronicle's Guide to Grants for relevant key words like "youth" and "girls." And finally, the Foundation Center, in New York, has comprehensive listings of grant makers, which can be searched by key words. Click on "Grantmaker Web Sites" on the home page's "Finding Funders" menu to reach the search engine.

While continuing the search for grants is important, says Ms. Graham, don't stop seeking money from individuals. "Hopefully, after decades of work, you have some visibility and people recognize your organization," she says. "I'd work the funding pyramid from both ends, doing some grass-roots appeals to a broad mailing list of individuals in your region and at the same time finding and cultivating potential major donors." Find out who the top donors are for other Cincinnati programs for girls, for low-income needs, and for recreational programs, and visit these individuals to ask for advice on how to proceed, advises Ms. Graham. Not everyone will be interested, she says, but some may have ideas or contacts for you -- and, with luck, some may want to support you themselves. If your board does not already include major donors or prospects, she says, start recruiting them.

"Over time, the secret to your success will be individual donors, an active fund-raising board, and then the occasional grant to jump-start a new idea," says Ms. Graham. "You'll find this is really a more reliable way to sustain the organization, too. People are more consistent than foundations, and they'll actually help you raise money from others, too."

Q. I have eight years of experience in arts administration, both fund raising and program work. I have a master's degree in English literature, but have begun to wonder if having a nonprofit-related credential would strengthen my résumé. I have been looking into various certificate programs in fund raising and nonprofit management. Do these programs carry any weight with potential employers?

A. A nonprofit academic credential is not essential, nor is it nearly as important as significant experience in the nonprofit field, says Rebecca Worters, president of Capability Company, an executive recruiter in Raleigh, N.C., that works solely with nonprofit clients. When she searches for an executive director or development director, she says, she looks for leadership, determination, common sense, experience, and a track record of success in positions of increasing responsibility. If you already have eight years of experience, your best bet is to take on the kinds of responsibilities that will allow you to demonstrate your contributions to future employers, she says: "If you can point to specific achievements, such as new or expanded programs that you developed, dramatic increases in revenue streams that you generated, or your effective bottom-line financial management, those will carry far more weight with employers than a certificate program or degree."

Participation in such educational programs is much more important for people who have little relevant experience or who are switching into a nonprofit career, she says. In those cases, being involved in a program does show initiative and a commitment to the nonprofit world and can provide a career boost.

If you do choose to enroll in a nonprofit-management program, consider carefully the advantages and disadvantages of online and classroom courses, says Joe Watson, chief executive officer of StrategicHire, a recruiting company in Reston, Va., that works with nonprofit clients. Although online programs are more convenient, many employers prefer more-traditional courses, says Mr. Watson. He recommends that if you do choose an online program, you should seek one with an institution that is accredited and has a good reputation. You might even seek out a hybrid course that incorporates both classroom and online instruction.

To learn more about nonprofit-management education -- including online programs -- read a recent Philanthropy Careers Special Report on the subject. State and regional associations of nonprofit organizations provide training opportunities or can point you toward them; go here for a listing of such groups. Also consult the comprehensive guide of nonprofit-education programs, compiled by a Seton Hall University researcher, Roseanne M. Mirabella. Click on "Nonprofit management education research" to obtain the listings. And see this previous edition of Hotline for more advice on the subject.

Got a question about job hunting, recruiting, or managing in the nonprofit world? Send it to us at hotline@philanthropy.com.