Spring arrives late in New Hampshire, but it eventually comes. To college seniors, warmer weather and budding trees mean graduation and possible panic over what to do next.
Some, though, are lucky enough to have most things figured out. Take Emily, one of our seniors, who has been a work-study student for two years in our college-relations office. She's learned the finer points of stuffing envelopes, entering data, calling alums to confirm address changes, and rearranging office-supply closets. Based on those exciting tasks, she has decided to pursue a career in university development. Knowing that I'm a veritable font of wisdom, she came to me looking for advice.
Emily has everything fairly well planned. She's already mulling a couple of offers for entry-level professional jobs in development offices. She'll start with the annual fund and work her way toward major gifts. After getting a bit of experience, Emily wants to return to school, preferably part time, for a graduate degree.
But she's not sure what she should study. Which field or degree program provides the best preparation for a career in fund raising? That was Emily's question to me. For what it's worth, here's what I told her.
Law: When I was in college 15 years ago, law school was everyone's safety net. Many classmates, unsure about their futures, marched straight into J.D. programs thinking that a legal education would serve as a solid foundation for any number of pursuits. I suspect that's still the case.
And law will prepare you well for a development career. Planned giving plays an increasingly important role in fund raising, as donors seek mutually beneficial arrangements and universities wish to make the most of potential contributions. Fund raisers who understand the various estate-planning vehicles have a distinct advantage in the development marketplace. Studying taxation in law school can put you on that path; indeed, a good percentage of planned-giving professionals hold a J.D. What's more, if your goal is to lead a campus foundation, then a background in nonprofit law could prove beneficial.
The drawbacks, though, are numerous. Three years of full-time study will put your career on hold; it will take even longer if you pursue a law degree part time. All along you'll have to slog through courses unrelated to the fund-raising profession. Do you really need to know much about torts and civil procedure? And then there's the cost. You might find some law schools willing to forgive loans for students who pursue careers in the nonprofit sector, but don't assume most will.
If you want to keep your options open, law school's a good bet. But if you're convinced you'll stay in fund raising, you might want to think twice about navigating this circuitous route.
Business: An M.B.A. is far more relevant to a fund-raising career. You can study marketing, management, organizational behavior, accounting, and finance -- all of which constitute a good foundation for fund raising and development leadership. Some programs, like those at Yale and Northwestern Universities, offer concentrations in nonprofit management. You'll find a smattering of courses in M.B.A. programs on fund raising, but it's hardly the focus.
Knowing the fine art of accounting can be particularly helpful. Fund raisers deal with numbers, but we're not accountants, and we certainly don't think like they do. They "book" gifts while we "count" them, and the totals often don't match. For some reason, ours tend to be higher. If you can understand both perspectives, so much the better.
Another benefit is flexibility. You can study full or part time, opt for an executive program catering to working professionals, or even earn your degree online. Most programs cover two years, and some manage to do it in one.
If you can handle the math and the loans, an M.B.A. is one of your better options.
Public policy: Lodged at the intersection of law, business, economics, and political science, public policy (or public administration) is a field from which many fund raisers sprout. I suppose that's because there's no clear path for such graduates, so some are bound to find a home in development.
If you set your sights on a master's of public administration or a related credential, you'll probably have ample opportunities to study nonprofits. George Mason University, for example, offers a program on nonprofit management through its department of public and international affairs, and features courses on philanthropy and fund raising. The City University of New York's Bernard M. Baruch College also offers an M.P.A. with a nonprofit focus.
The curricula tend to vary from one program to the next, unlike the more prescribed tracks in law and business schools, so shop around carefully.
Higher education: Let me first acknowledge an inherent bias: I earned my master's degree and doctorate in higher education from an Ivy League university in Massachusetts that shall remain nameless. That said, I can state objectively that a program in higher education -- the formal study of how colleges and universities operate and function in society -- will provide an excellent foundation for a development career.
Not that you'll find an abundance of courses on fund raising. In fact, you'll find few. I've always viewed that as a shortcoming of degree programs in higher education. I don't have statistics to support this claim, but I imagine that a good percentage of graduates -- most of whom pursue administrative careers in universities -- will find themselves working in some aspect of advancement (e.g., fund raising, marketing and communications, alumni relations, community and government affairs, and sometimes enrollment management). Those who work in other areas of university administration should at least be familiar with what advancement entails. Some graduates will eventually become presidents, at which point they'll engage in fund raising and capital-campaign leadership. But relatively few programs offer even a survey course on advancement or development.
And I'm not sure why. Maybe fund raising isn't considered a scholarly pursuit. Maybe research universities, where many top programs exist, aren't interested in "how to" courses. To be sure, some higher-education faculty members do teach such courses, but they're few and far between. What you will benefit from, though, is a thorough overview of the academic enterprise. You'll be far more knowledgeable about how your institution works and how decisions are made. You'll also gain a better appreciation for how your university or college fits into the broader spectrum of higher education. In short, you'll be far more savvy about the product you're representing.
And you'll encounter flexible programs at the master's level, and even part-time options at the doctoral level. Some of your classmates will be fellow fund raisers still toiling in the profession. Like you, they'll wonder why there aren't more development courses to be found.
Philanthropic studies: Want to cut to the chase? Study philanthropy and fund raising. Programs in this area are still relatively new, and options are limited. But more may crop up as demand warrants.
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University is probably the best-known example of such a program. You can earn a master's or Ph.D. in philanthropic studies, or a certificate through its fund-raising school. Similarly, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota offers a master of arts in philanthropy and development.
Keep in mind, though, that these programs cover the wide expanse of nonprofits, and don't necessarily focus on higher education. That's fine, because the basic elements of fund raising remain constant regardless of institutional type. Museums may differ from hospitals, which differ from pet shelters, but the fund-raising process and the key tenets of development hold steady.
Continuing-education certificates: Still wondering where many universities position programs in fund raising? Look no further. Apparently, some leading institutions choose to relegate such courses to the margins, offering certificate programs through continuing-education divisions. In other words, universities might offer instruction in fund raising and development management, but they don't often incorporate those courses into formal degree programs.
That's not to disparage these programs or continuing education in general. From what I can see, these courses, offered by seasoned professionals, deal with most of the salient issues with which fund raisers deal. You can earn your certificate in no time, maintain your career simultaneously, and avoid serious debt. Here again, you might not discover a focus on higher education, but courses that are relevant nonetheless.
If you want the quickest and cheapest route to some advanced credential, and you're not obsessed with adding letters after your name, check out the programs at Duke, Penn, Columbia, and NYU for starters. If you live in an urban area, you probably have plenty of options.
That concludes my tour of fields and programs relevant to fund-raising careers. Don't consider this list exhaustive but simply representative of the most prevalent tracks from which development professionals come. In the end, you don't need any of them; fund raising assumes no formal education or credential of any kind beyond the bachelor's degree. You'll learn what you need to know in the classroom of experience.
