In response to my previous columns, many readers have e-mailed me questions about how to break into fund raising from other professions. Evidently I've made the field seem appealing.
Assuming they're not already fund raisers in academe, candidates for jobs in educational fund raising seem to come from one of four categories. They are professionals in the for-profit or commercial sector. They work in a nonprofit group unrelated to higher education. They work in academe but not in the advancement office. Or they work in the advancement office but not in a development job. Think of these four as concentric circles inching ever closer to the core activity of college fund raising. Let's look more carefully at each, beginning with the widest circle and moving inward.
Professionals in the For-Profit Sector
Take time to lurk in development-related chat rooms or bulletin-board sites and you'll find numerous examples of professionals seeking to move from the corporate world to educational fund raising. Many of them are burned out or dissatisfied with their current lot. Others have lost their jobs or feel unstable in this shaky economy. Still others have been moved -- perhaps by the events of September 11 -- to pursue a more socially altruistic calling. Whatever the case, they face the challenges of retooling themselves and, for some, adjusting to nonprofit salaries.
The truth is, the gulf between them and their goal is not as wide as they might imagine. They would bring many skills necessary for success in academic fund raising: management and leadership, strategic planning, careful allocation of resources and time, budgeting, and personnel decision making, to name a few.
If you're considering such a career move, make the case to your prospective academic employer that your experience has direct relevance to campus fund raising. You are particularly well-suited if you come from a sales position or the legal and financial planning fields. Perhaps you've been a nonprofit volunteer, served on a board, or had a hand in making charitable contributions through your company. Stress these attributes in your résumé, your cover letter, and -- with any luck -- your interview.
As for salaries, remember that, in general, large institutions pay better than small ones, and geographic variations (e.g. urban versus rural, Northeast versus South) dictate significant differences.
Candidates From Other Nonprofit Groups
People who work for other nonprofit organizations (hospitals, social-service agencies, secondary schools, or foundations) might be drawn to higher-education development. Certainly we frequently see such candidates among applicant pools. Typically they find little difficulty making such a career change. And they'll find that university salaries are higher, with the exception of those coming from the health-care industry.
Given the nature of their organizations, many of these folks already are familiar with fund raising or, more broadly, external affairs. If you are, by all means focus on this in your cover letter. Demonstrate a fundamental understanding of development functions, even though you might not have a "front-line" background in fund raising. Above all, emphasize your appreciation of the demands of dealing with external audiences of various kinds, including donors, trustees, and volunteers.
If you're on the other side of the development fence -- giving money away via a community or private foundation -- and wish to sample life among the supplicants, question your sanity.
Moving From Within Academe
I hear it all the time. "What a great gig!" colleagues will say. "The parties, the dinners, free travel, golf excursions, autonomy -- you've got it made!" Envy, probably based more on perceptions than reality, might drive college administrators toward fund-raising careers. I'll concede, though, that development might appear a bit more glamorous and lucrative than working in student affairs, library services, or the bursar's office.
From time to time, I see applicants who hold such positions. They have one distinct advantage over those outside higher education: They know the product. They understand how colleges operate, how they're staffed, administered, managed, and governed. They can relate to professors, students, and, in some cases, alumni. This knowledge can translate easily into representing the institution to external audiences. Of course, if they hope to move into development within their current institution, they'll have to navigate those political waters carefully.
I would be remiss if I didn't recognize another group of potential development officers -- professors. Naturally I wouldn't expect someone to relinquish tenure for such a position, but an assistant professor unlucky enough to miss that rite of passage might seek alternatives. We can expand this definition to include recent Ph.D. recipients and postdocs who've witnessed the vagaries of the academic job market. As with administrators, faculty members can claim to know the academy from the inside, in many ways more intimately than do most fund raisers. If you're a faculty member leaning in that direction, be sure to restructure your vita into a brief résumé and highlight familiarity (if applicable) with grant writing and budget management.
But don't be surprised if your advances aren't welcomed; fund raisers typically look askance at "academic types" considering our track as Plan B, at least in my experience.
Moving From Within Advancement
Professionals working in some other aspect of advancement -- alumni affairs, communications, government, community relations, or development services -- can make the transition to fund raising with relative ease, at least in comparison to other candidates who are not currently development officers. I'm not suggesting that such a change is simple to effect or guaranteed to succeed, but merely that one can make a persuasive argument for this career move.
Perhaps you want more job opportunities and greater pay. Development offers you both, according to a recent article in Currents, the magazine of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. If your sights are set on advancement management, you'll most likely need to first become a fund raiser; the road to the vice presidency commonly runs through the development office.
Of course, some advancement functions are closer than others to fund raising. Alumni-affairs professionals might already be involved with annual giving and volunteer coordination. They also handle large-scale special events. Those in development services -- most notably researchers and stewardship managers -- understand donor predilections and cultivation and solicitation strategies. Government-relations folks, particularly those at public institutions, are accustomed to asking for money. Give yourself due credit.
Here again, though, be careful when attempting such a move within your institution. Word of your potential defection will spread quickly. And if you don't make it, your commitment to your current job might be questioned.
Whatever your current status, take time to learn about the various tracks available within the fund-raising profession, especially at the entry and mid-levels. They differ considerably, requiring distinct skill sets and abilities. I'll discuss these in detail next month.
In the meantime, your e-mail messages are still cordially invited.
