…because I am a not-for-profit fundraising executive, but have you thought about getting into development? It’s actually funny that I would say that because my job is driving me nuts right now – but it has to do with office culture, not the work.
I was a bartender and a musician until I was in my early thirties. Then I decided I wanted health insurance and regular hours and had no idea what I wanted to do, except that no matter what it was – manipulating a spreadsheet or unpacking a box, I wanted the work to have some community benefit. So I started working at the front desk of a community center. I became very interested in what the development department was doing. My first job in development was as a part time administrative and development assistant for a small breast cancer nonprofit affiliated with a major hospital. That was ten years ago. I advanced to full-time senior staff very quickly and am now in my second director position at an arts and culture org.
As a development generalist, I spend a lot of time writing. I write ad and brochure copy, newsletters, articles, letters, grant narrative and other materials. Being a strong writer is a major asset.
The other big part of my job is spending time with people, building and growing relationships. There’s also event planning and a lot of data crunching. The diversity of tasks does keep it interesting.
The community of fundraising professionals is wonderful. People are very invested in each other’s success and love to share ideas that have worked for them.
There remains a leadership crisis in the not-for-profit sector. Leaders are aging out and there is not enough new talent coming up in the field, though I think that is changing. Still, having fundraising under your belt makes you a much stronger executive director candidate.
If you were interested, a good place to start might be grantwriting. I'm probably not the first to suggest it.
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