I'd love to know how to transition from fundraising to leadership in nonprofits. It seems that once you are in development, it is difficult to gain experience in any other facet of nonprofit administration. I have a Master's in Nonprofit Administration. What else should I do?

Gaining leadership experience in the nonprofit market is not as difficult as some people let on. Volunteer! That may seem to be a too simplistic answer, but that is the answer. Volunteer! Where to volunteer? Most communities have more nonprofits doing great things that all need help. Figure out what it is you are passionate about and find out who else is passionate about the same things. Write out 10-15 things that you need to learn in one column and align these with various volunteer jobs posted by nonprofits in your area. Figure out the scalability and whether or not a particular nonprofit will really help your resume stand out. The public image of a particular nonprofit really matters. If you align yourself with one that is constantly in scandals, that may not be something you want on your resume. Board involvement is very important, but which board really matters and what you do on that board really matters. Did you lead a vision planning committee? Did you catch a problem needing addressed before it became something that would have dragged the nonprofit through the mire of public oppinion and fix the problem - share it but be careful about the way you present it. Don't come across as a know-it-all or a whistleblower, rather come across as having protected the image of the organization by your actions and involvement.

When I was an Executive Director for a nonprofit and reviewing applicants for any job we had and I did not see volunteerism on a persons resume that resume and person sending it in was immediately dismissed as someone not having what was needed.
History of fundraising involvement was very important for upper level nonprofit management. You need to show managing groups of people and with their help accomplishing far more than you personally could have done. You also need to show what you personally did. In the USA most organizations look at 1-2 page resumes and one to one and half page cover letters. I recommend also having a very good Curriculum Vitae that is no more than 4 pages long. These are best presented to nonprofits that are looking for key executive level positions. It could be either Executive Director, CEO or Development Directors. The one page resume never gives enough information and the Curriculum Vitae is nausiatingly detailed and too long, but extremely important. Do not think that those highest level Executive positions aren't looking through your CV, because they are. They are especially if your applying for a hospital or university position. They want more not less information up front. They want to have access to your education transcripts. They want to read what other people say about you. So include a one page reference sheet that quote short statements that your peers and supervisors have said about you and give them the contact information for each of those comments so that they can verify those comments for themselves. Have an internet portfolio website where the organization can look into your entire hiring history. Don't hide anything and don't have anything needing hiding! Show you have integrity. Let them look around ask questions and get answers that they want to hear.

If you have led fundraising as a one person show, then you need to figure out how to involve volunteers into your fundraising program. It is not that difficult to find people who are willing to volunteer for a cause. Get out from behind your desk and begin to build relationships with businesses and organizations in your community. Then on your resume show how you recruited and managed volunteers and successfully accomplished outstanding fundraising events or campaigns with your volunteer team.

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