Hotline

By Rebecca Gardyn

Tips for winning support from the business world

Deciding which fund-raising tasks to delegate

The pros and cons of graduate degrees for nonprofit job seekers

Q. I'm working with a small aikido group that has a wonderful program for children focused on leadership and conflict resolution. We'd like to raise funds for building renovation and scholarships. Can you offer any information about fund raising in for-profit environments?

A. When it comes to fund raising — whether you're approaching foundations, individuals, or, in this case, for-profit corporations — the best thing any charity can do is tell a good story, says Linda N. Spencer, a fund-raising consultant in New York. Having a feel-good mission isn't enough.

"You need to be specific," she says. "Tell the real-life story of Jack or Jane. What happens to that child when they go to the aikido studio? They learn martial arts, yes, but what beyond that? Do they learn discipline, self-respect, goals, how to be a better student? All of these successes are the story." In addition to a good story, she says, corporate donors are also looking for a good reason to give, and to give to your organization: "Those reasons may include: to raise their brand awareness in the community, to increase the company's revenue, to increase brand preference, or simply to become a good corporate citizen."

For example, you might approach a local store and ask it to donate 5 percent or 10 percent of its sales to your organization for a given day or for a specific period of time, suggests Ms. Spencer. The company can then promote its good will as a way to increase sales, since customers tend to be more inclined to buy when they know part of the profit is going to a good cause, she says. When approaching a business owner, give assurances that you will encourage all your teachers, volunteers, and students' parents to patronize the store for the duration of the campaign, thus providing new customers.

You might also consider approaching companies with a detailed sponsorship package, showing how much the company must give to receive specific benefits, suggests Kate Atwood, founder of Kate's Club, a nonprofit organization in Atlanta that provides programs for children who have lost a parent or sibling. For instance, for a $20,000 donation, the corporate sponsor might be promised naming rights to a new aikido studio room. Giving a higher amount could offer naming rights for a scholarship, an attractive perk for companies as well as individuals, says Ms. Atwood: "Offer recognition for the gift at your facility, on your Web site, in your newsletter, and with the press."

Because you represent a small organization, Ms. Atwood recommends that you first seek support from local, small to mid-size for-profit partners, rather than big corporations. "It's common that the bigger the company, the bigger the charitable organization they are going to fund," she says. "So seek smaller, local companies or even local branches of bigger companies to endorse your fund campaign. It may mean securing more than one, but you'll see more success in your requests."

Focusing on smaller companies, she says, may also help minimize red tape for a charity seeking support: Small companies often handle their giving within their own marketing or public-relations departments, while larger companies usually maintain separate foundations that distribute most donations.

Ms. Atwood also suggests investigating grant opportunities and donation-matching programs within the corporations where your current board members, volunteers, and donors are employed. Her organization, for instance, recently secured a $25,000 grant from a company for which one of its trustees works.

And don't forget to ask for support other than cash, adds Ms. Spencer. Ask a local company to give a day off or some other incentive to employees who volunteer to help with your charity's renovations. Fostering that connection can help not only in ultimately attaining financial aid from the company, but also in recruiting individual donors. As an example, Ms. Spencer describes a small nonprofit client of hers that asked employees from a local company to help paint the charity's building. Afterwards, one of the volunteer painters sent the organization a $50,000 check.

For more on working with corporate supporters, see the Philanthropy Careers article, "Handling the Ethical Dilemmas that Corporate Partners Can Bring to a Charity." For more on raising money for building and renovation pojects, see the Philanthropy Careers article "Crafting a Capital Campaign."

Q. As the leader of a small charity who previously worked for technology companies, I outsourced many functions successfully. To keep a nonprofit organization's costs low and to keep it primarily focused on delivering services, it would seem that fund raising would be a logical thing to delegate to outsiders. Why do I not see this happen more often?

A. You probably will never see nonprofit groups hiring people to provideall of their fund-raising tasks because some duties — particularly the long-term relationship-building involved in cultivating an organization's most generous donors — are generally better off in the hands of the executive director and a full-time development staff, says Chris Zervas, formerly director of development at the nonprofit Willow Springs Boys Ranch, in Chandler, Okla., and now a fund-raising consultant in Branson, Mo.

"Consultants usually do not provide a lasting point of connection with the organization for its donors," he says. "And because they are not under the same roof as those executing the mission, they typically are not as familiar with and aren't able to share with donors the real 'story' of how the nonprofit is making a difference."

Matthew Hugg, who has spent the last 20 years as a charity fund raiser, most recently as the director of development and alumni relations at the University of the Arts, in Philadelphia, echoes the notion that certain fund-raising jobs should never be delegated to outsiders. Seeking planned gifts or large donations require face-to-face contact with donors and should always be done by staff members, he says.

"I call these 'trust positions' because their primary responsibility is to build trust between the donors and the nonprofit's mission: the more trust, the bigger the gifts," says Mr. Hugg. "These should always be your long-term employees, not just 'hired guns,' because building that trust doesn't happen overnight."

That being said, many charities do successfully hire outsiders to conduct some fund-raising tasks. For instance, many groups pay freelancers to write grant proposals and consultants to assist with large capital campaigns.

To help match charities with fund-raising consultants for short or long-term projects, Mr. Hugg in December started FundraisingTalent.com, in Collegeville, Pa. He acknowledges that he is biased in favor of delegating fund-raising tasks outside when possible, but does not advocate farming out every chore.

"I've been in the fund-raising business long enough to know that this is not an 'all or nothing' proposition," he says. "Much more can be taken out of the hands of the nonprofit than typically occurs, but definitely not all of it."

So what stays and what goes? Start with anything that doesn't require donor contact, says Mr. Hugg. Conducting research on prospective donors is a perfect example. "In the last development shop I ran, it was the first to go," he says. "Even if I were to pay only $25,000 for salary and benefits — a paltry sum for the lowest-level researcher in my market — I wasn't going to buy as much research as a full-time salary would cost."

Tasks like making calls for an annual fund drive or recording gifts receipts can also be easily handed off, he says: "As long as the job is accurate and timely, why does it matter if someone in-house types the receipts or not?"

Judy Perlman, chief executive officer of Housing Families, a charity that provides shelter and services to homeless families in Malden, Mass., says her organization has had success hiring consultants to help with special-events planning and public-relations efforts. Hiring consultants, she says, has given her group the benefit of greater expertise and contacts than it could otherwise afford with its limited funds. "For instance," she ays, "the public-relations expertise and connections of our media-relations consultant have brought us tremendous press coverage and access without taxing the limited professional writing capabilities of our staff."

But she echoes Mr. Hugg's opinion that some chores are best managed by a charity's own staff. "Cleaning up our donor database, for example, is a time-consuming task that is closely tied to institutional memory," she says. "So, when a staff member who is working on this walks into my office and asks, 'Who should be the contact for the Medford Rotary Club, I have three names here?' I have the answer, whereas an outside fund-raising or public-relations consultant would not."

Q. I am gearing up for a career in public-interest work, focusing on international or child advocacy, and being deeply involved in crafting policy. I am having trouble deciding whether to seek a graduate degree in psychology, social work, or go to law school. Can you give me an idea of what jobs might be open to me in the nonprofit field if I followed each of these three paths?

A. Certainly any of the advanced degrees you mention would be an enormous asset in carrying out a charity's mission, whether as a counselor or teacher, or as a manager of a program and staff, says Elinor K. Hite, strategic director of human resources and organizational development at the YMCA of the USA, in Chicago. Indeed, she says that, when hiring for its child-advocacy programs, her organization looks favorably upon candidates with any of these advanced degrees. However, saying that you are interested in a career that is "deeply involved in crafting policy" implies that you see yourself eventually in a leadership role, rather than in a more hands-on position, she says: "For that, I would recommend law school as the most targeted, advanced degree."

This advice is echoed by Carol Boone, executive vice president of systems' improvement at Casey Family Programs, in Seattle, which serves children and youth in foster care.

"A graduate degree in social work would be most helpful if you intend to spend time working in direct services to children, and a psychology degree might be useful if you opt to pursue counseling children as a career avenue," Ms. Boone says. "But a law degree would best position you to work for an advocacy-oriented nonprofit. Law graduates bring a knowledge of current regulations and restrictions, and business sensibilities which are highly valued in an advocacy-oriented organization."

If you're interested in working for an international organization like Catholic Relief Services, in Baltimore, then a degree in international law or social work are your best options, says David Piraino, the group's vice president of human resources. "We do not run across many people who major in psychology that join CRS," he says.

However, he also urges you to keep in mind that, while a graduate degree is important, it isn't the only thing employers will be looking for. For instance, in addition to a master's degree, his charity looks for people who have between one and five years of related experience (depending on the level of the position) and who can speak a second language, specifically French, Spanish, or Portuguese.

"The candidate also needs to be sensitive to other cultures and open to working in different parts of the developing world that do not have all the basic amenities we are used to," says Mr. Piraino.

To that end, he suggests that you spend some time getting your hands dirty: "Before getting to a position where you can 'craft policy,' I'd recommend you work in the field for at least a few years so that you can learn the on-the-ground issues and realities firsthand."