HOTLINE

Answers to Readers' Questions on Major-Gifts Jobs, Insuring Trustees, and More

The Chronicle's Philanthropy Careers asks its readers to submit questions about job hunting, recruiting, 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. How can I make the switch from a very successful stint in foundation and government relations to major gifts without starting at the bottom?

A. There's no reason for you to have to start at the bottom, says Ellen Ray, director of development at the Lena Pope Home, a charity that provides services to children and families in Fort Worth. The skills that you've honed in foundation relations will probably serve you in good stead in major gifts. "It's probably similar to what you've been doing with foundations, which is all about developing relationships and cultivating them," says Ms. Ray. "In major gifts, it's also all about relationships, and being able to close the deal."

The task is to spin your experience in the right way. When you're putting together your résumé, be sure to highlight the amount of money that you've raised from foundation and government sources, Ms. Ray advises. "That's one thing that [a hiring manager] is really going to be looking at: What kind of money have you raised? What size are those grants?" If you haven't landed sizable grants, she adds, then that's something you'll probably want to work on before you make the switch.

You're also going to have to dazzle your prospective bosses with your social skills during the interview, Ms. Ray says. While charities do look for experience with major gifts, she says, "the right personality is really important. I don't care how much experience you have, if you're not the person who can go out and relate to my constituents, I'm not going to hire you." If you can show that you have connections with the sort of major donors the charity wants to reach, she notes, that couldn't hurt either.

Finally don't forget to show off your strategic thinking skills, says Jerry Silverman, executive director of the Foundation for Jewish Camping, in New York. In major gifts, you're competing for donors' time and money, he says. Therefore, in your interview, he says, you'll need to show that you've thought about how you're going to win that competition, and share the strategies that you'll use on the job.

Q. We're starting a new nonprofit organization in central Florida, offering after-school classes in the performing arts. We are all new to the world of charities, and are trying to determine what to pay our first president. How do we find the information we need to come up with a decent starting salary?

A. Determining an appropriate salary for a high-level employee, like a president, can seem like a tough call, but luckily, there's plenty of information available to help you settle on the right figure.

The first step is to see what other organizations similar to yours in size, budget, and location are paying their leaders. Check out Salary.com, which allows you to tailor salary information by geography, nonprofit status, organization size, and other variables. Other sources of salary information include The Wall Street Journal's Career Journal, Wageweb, Salary Expert, CollegeRecruiter.com, and Guidestar's annual survey.

Since you say you're new to the nonprofit world, be sure to check with your state or regional nonprofit association to find out if a salary survey is conducted in your region, and to connect with other charities in your field to get a sense of their salary ranges. You'll find a list of such umbrella groups here.

Q. I work for an educational foundation and we are researching the need to insure our executive director and board members. What is the industry standard for an all-volunteer board?

A. You're probably referring to what's known as directors and officers liability insurance, commonly referred to as D&O insurance. Eighty-nine percent of all nonprofit groups provide liability insurance for their trustees, according to BoardSource, a Washington organization that assists nonprofit boards.

It's an important protection for people who are serving on your board, especially if they are doing so without compensation. Such insurance generally protects a board member's personal finances, if he or she is implicated in a lawsuit while acting on behalf of the organization, says DeAndre Salter, president of Professional Risk Solutions, an insurance company in Somerset, N.J., that specializes in covering executives.

The good news is that the premium for such coverage is relatively inexpensive, says Sean Coady, principal of Capstone Insurance, in Boston, who notes that a typical annual premium for $1-million in coverage would be $1,000. "These policies will often include some combination of D&O and employment-practices liability coverage," he says. "EPLI provides liability protection for claims relating to the employment context, such as failure to hire or promote, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, or other forms of employment discrimination." Employment claims are very common causes of lawsuits against board members, say Mr. Coady.

Some people will refuse to sit on your board if you do not offer this kind of protection. "I can't imagine any nonprofit functioning without [D&O] insurance," says Sara Kirkland, executive vice president for administration and planning at Susquehanna University, and a board member of the Evangelical Community Hospital, in Lewisburg, Pa. " I sure wouldn't work or volunteer for one that didn't provide generous coverage."

You'll need to talk with your insurance professional or risk manager about exactly how much coverage is right for your foundation, says Mr. Salter. The amount depends on how likely your foundation is to be sued, which is determined by the sort of work that you do. If cost is a concern, you also might want to see whether any of your board members also belong to for-profit boards, suggests Mr. Coady. "The D&O coverage for that company may in many instances cover them for the nonprofit work," he says. The trustees may also have personal policies that provide sufficient coverage, he says.

Learn more about D&O insurance by checking out the Nonprofit Risk Management Center;http://www.nonprofitrisk.org. Also don't miss "Directors & Officers: Key Facts About Insurance and Legal Liability," a free booklet that is available for download at the Alliance of Nonprofits for Insurance Web site.

Q. I've received information from Moveon.org that the Federal Election Commission has proposed new rules, under which nonprofit groups that advocate for a variety of causes (cancer research, poverty issues, the environment, etc.) could be transformed into political-action committees if they criticize or condemn elected officials based on their actions or policy positions. Is this for real?

A. It appears that for now, it's not. Although the Federal Election Commission flirted with the idea of applying its finance rules that apply to political committees to all tax-exempt organizations, the commission stepped back from that position earlier this year. Like all matters in campaign finance, this issue is far from settled. Read this Chronicle article to learn more.

Q. How do I go about finding a good, reputable headhunter to assist me in a job search for a senior-level fund-raising position in a different region of the country from where I currently live?

A. First, bone up on the process that headhunters use to locate and cull potential applicants for their clients. Philanthropy Careers recently tackled that topic in this article.

Next, create a list of headhunters to contact. The best way to do that is to work the phones, suggest Annie Gray, a recruiter in St. Louis who works with nonprofit clients. "Use the back-door approach by contacting the nonprofits in your target city to inquire which headhunters they retain," she says. (Bonus: The charities might just ask you to send them a résumé.)

Another tack: Contact professional associations -- such as a local association of human-resources professionals, or a local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals -- and ask them to recommend a recruiter, advises Ms. Gray.

You can also build your network by combing your Rolodex for friends and acquaintances who have used headhunters in the past and ask them for recommendations, reminds Katherine Beal-Roblin, president of United Chase Group, an executive search company in San Diego that specializes in filling health-care slots. And, she says, check your prospective city's business journal. Such publications usually put out an annual guide to local employers -- complete with contact names and phone numbers.

Keep in mind that headhunters are in the business of filling specific positions -- not finding career opportunities for candidates, says Jan Nickerson, a recruiter with Find Great People International, in Greenville, S.C. Contacting a recruiter just as he or she is filling your dream job is a long shot, she says, but contacting a lot of headhunters well ahead of your move date will increase your odds of success. "It may be months, even years, before they have an opportunity of interest to you," she says.

For more information about finding a job in another location from where you live, check out Greener Pastures: How to Find a Job in Another Place by Andrea Kay (Griffin Trade Paperback, 1999, $12.95), recommended in this previous edition of Hotline, where you also might find some helpful advice to aid in your relocation.

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