 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Sign up to receive PND e-newsletters. |
|
| |
|
| Re: NPO Work - time to give up?
Posted by Aurelia   on 12/17/2007, 9:22 am, in reply to "NPO Work - time to give up?"
Hi Rose,
How are you presenting yourself to prospective employees? Do you describe yourself as someone who can raise funds through proposals or as someone who can provide technical assistance in research and writing? This will make a big difference in how you are perceived and in how comfortable the person hiring you will feel.
My experience is that many persons responsible for all aspects of fund-raising--gifts from individuals, direct mail, special events, and gifts from foundation and corporations and so on (WHEE)--see research and writing as a time-consuming burden. Many are willing to engage technical assistance for these tasks. I have built my business on filling this niche.
You may have been a "threat" to the person hiring you because (I am guessing) that person was hired to do the fund-raising.
I would like to say, without too much elaboration, that the ability to raise funds from foundations and corporations is a very sophisticated process. It involves much more than research and writing. I can understand why you are having difficulty getting a position because you do not have a history of success as yet. And you cannot demonstrate success unless given a chance. Bit of a circle, but common to this field.
I am sure you will get good advice from others on this forum, but I think a good approach may be to serve as an apprentice to someone who is willing to teach you all of the intricacies, and there are many. But be sure to choose someone who is kind.
|
| |
