Hotline

By Rebecca Gardyn

Recruiting business executives for top jobs at charities

Seeking free legal help for fledging nonprofit group

Moving into grant-making work without a master's degree

The Chronicle's Philanthropy Careers section asks its readers to submit questions about job hunting, recruiting, and management challenges in the nonprofit world. In our bimonthly advice column, we respond to some of those inquiries with tips about resources and recommendations from experts.

Previous editions of Hotline are available here. Send your questions about job hunting, recruiting, or managing in the nonprofit world to hotline@philanthropy.com.

Q. Are charities more inclined to fill their upper-level management jobs from the corporate world or from the nonprofit world?

A. Most nonprofit employers are more interested in finding the right person for a job than they are concerned about whether a candidate comes from the for-profit or nonprofit world, says Elinor K. Hite, strategic director for human resources and organizational development at the YMCA of the USA, in Chicago. "We don't usually approach our recruiting solely from the perspective of 'corporate' or 'nonprofit' candidates, but look at both pools in order to ensure we have done a thorough and thoughtful search."

Ms. Hite notes, however, that when her organization does hire leaders with corporate backgrounds they tend to be people who have a strong understanding of nonprofit culture or have had at least some experience working with charities, even if only as a volunteer.

Steven Lufburrow, president of Goodwill Industries of Houston, agrees that when hiring from the corporate world it is important to find candidates who understand what they're getting into. He says he has often interviewed people who expect a nonprofit job to be "easy."

"They don't realize they'll actually be working longer hours for less money and with little to no budget," he says. "That can be quite an adjustment especially for senior-level people who have gotten used to things like pens and pads being supplied for them and now sometimes they need to bring their own."

Still, Mr. Lufburrow says that in his 20 years at the helm of Goodwill Houston, he has very rarely hired an executive to run a division of his organization who did not come from a business background.

"The major reason I hire outside of the nonprofit world is availability of candidates," he says. "Top nonprofit executives aren't usually willing to leave once they get to the top, and I want top people."

He adds that, while Goodwill has an extensive executive training program of its own, one of the things he likes about candidates from the for-profit world is the amount of business training they already have when they walk in the door. "I like to hire people who are looking for a change in their career and who understand that money won't be the same in the nonprofit [world], but they are at a point where they are ready to give back to the community."

Indeed, Lyn Brennan, a partner at Battalia Winston International, an executive-search firm in New York that works with nonprofit organizations, says she has had nonprofit employers specifically request candidates from the corporate world. When this happens, she says, it is usually because the employer seeks some skill, such as information-technology expertise, that is easier found in the for-profit employee pool.

But unlike Mr. Lufburrow, some charity leaders are still wary of hiring candidates from the corporate world, says Ms. Brennan.

"Not-for-profits tend to be more consensus- and process-driven in terms of decision making, and they sometimes have concerns as to whether a corporate executive will be frustrated by that," she says. "When a corporate executive does not work out in a not-for-profit, it is often a result of that frustration."

In the end, however, whom a nonprofit manager chooses to hire usually comes down to pure chemistry, says Ms. Brennan: "Most executives want to hire the person who they not only believe will do the best job, but who they will enjoy working with most."

Q. My husband and I spent two years in South Africa on a mission for our church. While there, we began several small charitable programs, such as providing tools to women so that they could make products to sell. We are now back in California and have several people telling us they'd like to contribute to those programs to keep them going — but they want us to register as a nonprofit organization so that their gifts will be tax-deductible. Any suggestions for making this happen, without having to spend a lot of money on a lawyer?

A. Creating a nonprofit organization isn't as complicated as it sounds, assures Nancy Lublin, founder of Dress for Success, in New York, a nonprofit organization that helps women find employment by providing them with professional clothing and career support. "What you are doing is terrific," she says. "Don't let organizational bits like this stand in the way of your good work."

Registering a charity involves two basic steps:

• First, you must incorporate the organization with the state in which you'll be running the charity. You can find instructions and forms for registering in California on the state attorney general's Web site. (For a list of other charity offices by state, visit the National Association of State Charity Officials' Web site.

• Second, you need to apply for charity status from the Internal Revenue Service, the paperwork for which can be found on its Web site. Be sure to carefully read Publication 557, "Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization."

Keep in mind that it can take the IRS several months to review your application, warns Ms. Lublin. In the interim, you might want to find a fiscal sponsor — an already established organization with a similar mission — that can act as a parent organization for your project while the IRS is considering your application, she suggests.

The Foundation Center, in New York, has an online "Guide to Fiscal Sponsorship" that may prove helpful to you.

The Foundation Center and BoardSource, a group in Washington that assists charities with board development, also post lots of information on their Web sites that can help you with the fundamentals of starting a new organization.

Applying for charity status does not need to be costly. You don't need to hire a lawyer and can either do it yourself or get help from several online companies that handle charity applications for a small fee.

Because this is your first time establishing a charity, however, you might benefit from some professional handholding, says Ms. Lublin, who now serves as chief executive officer of Do Something, a New York charity that helps connect young people with volunteer opportunities. Many lawyers volunteer to help good causes, she says.

"In all my years at Dress for Success and now here at Do Something, I've never paid for legal counsel," she says.

To track down free legal help, visit the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service Web site and click on "Find Legal Help." The Web site also includes a comprehensive directory of pro bono programs by state. Also, LawHelpCalifornia.org offers a directory of free and low-cost legal services.

You could also seek help from a teacher at a local law school, suggests Ms. Lublin. "Filing your forms would be an excellent teaching tool for his or her students and a nice project for a couple of them to tackle," she says.

And sometimes state umbrella associations of nonprofit groups can direct fledging charities to legal resources. For example, in 2002, when Kate Atwood created her charity, Kate's Club, which provides programs for children who have lost a parent or sibling in Atlanta, she got assistance in filing her paperwork through the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, which helped her locate a consultant who offered his services at a discount.

"The consultant not only filed successfully, but was also able to expedite the process a lot faster than I would have been able to do alone," she says.

And don't forget to tap your friends and supporters to see if anyone knows a lawyer or consultant who would be willing to donate their time, suggests Ms. Atwood. "With a good cause and passionate founders, you'd be surprised who will come to the table to help," she says. "But you do have to ask."

Q. I have more than 12 years of experience in nonprofit administration and have spent five of those years as a program officer and program director for a nonprofit organization that re-grants to other charities. I would like to get further into grant making and move to a foundation, but it seems like those positions require at least a master's degree. I do not have one, and my family obligations won't permit me to pursue one full time. What do you advise?

A. You are correct that program-director positions at large foundations typically require a master's degree, says Norman Howard, director of human resources at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, in Battle Creek, Mich.

In fact, in some cases, depending on the position's purpose, foundations seek candidates who have a doctoral degree, he says. A job that focuses on grant-making to colleges, for instance, or one where expertise in a particular subject is necessary for credibility among the organizations seeking support, would certainly require someone with an advanced degree, he says.

That said, a master's is not the only qualification that large foundations seek in a candidate, and your years of experience would certainly be welcome at many organizations, says Mr. Howard.

"Because we focus on serving the community, it is particularly important to us that staff members have experience and demonstrated success on the ground, as well as professional network connections with a wide array of institutions and organizations," he says.

For that reason, the Kellogg Foundation has become more flexible in terms of educational qualifications, though, he notes, "we still value the depth of knowledge that an advanced degree can provide."

Sherri Killins, director of personnel and operations at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, in Baltimore, says that the same holds true at her organization.

"A master's is not an absolute essential qualification for a grant-making program officer," she says. "But it is only in rare instances that selected candidates do not have an advanced degree."

She adds that having a master's can also aid an employee's career advancement at the foundation, whereas the lack of a degree might hinder it.

If your family obligations prevent you from enrolling in a full-time master's degree program, perhaps consider attaining your degree on a part-time basis or via an online program, suggests Mr. Howard. Also, some foundations, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, offer tuition assistance programs, so you might apply for a lower-level position and then earn your degree while on the job.

Another tactic is to focus your job hunt on smaller foundations which may be more open to hiring someone without an advanced degree.

Gary Pollock, executive director of the Moyer Foundation, in Seattle, says he would certainly consider hiring an experienced program officer or director who doesn't have a master's. "Over the years, I have met some remarkably accomplished and professional staff who had never received an advanced degree," he says.

Mr. Pollock acknowledges that a master's degree program is a great place to learn things like how to create a program budget and how to navigate the relationship between board members and management, but adds that such skills can also be acquired through years of practical application and experience on the job.

Also, he notes, just because someone is highly educated, it does not mean that they possess good interpersonal skills. Says Mr. Pollock, "If a professional is not able to effectively work and communicate with his staff, board of directors and donors, whether a person has a master's degree or not will be of little importance."