Hotline

Building a consulting business

Making a career switch

Why nonprofit groups merge

By Rebecca Gardyn

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 monthly advice column, we respond to some of those inquiries with tips about resources and wisdom from experts in the field. Previous editions of Hotline are available at http://philanthropycareers.com.

Q. I'm looking to start a fund-raising consulting business. I have more than 10 years of experience with nonprofit groups, focusing on foundation relations, grant-proposal writing, prospect research, special events, and annual campaigns. Where do you suggest I advertise? How should I get started?

A. Start by seeking the advice of your accountant and forming a corporation, suggests Marc S. Saffren, of Manorville, N.Y., who two years ago went into business for himself as a fund-raising and strategic-planning consultant who works solely with nonprofit clients. Next, open a business account with your local bank.

Also, he adds, be sure to consult the Web site of your state's attorney general and its charities bureau or office of consumer affairs to learn what you need to do comply with the regulations that govern fund-raising consultants in your state.

Once your business is in place, start getting the word out by placing advertisements in your community's local newspapers or on Web sites aimed at nonprofit managers, suggests ArLyne Diamond, a management consultant in Santa Clara, Calif., who works with nonprofit and entrepreneurial clients. Create business cards and brochures and send them to everyone you know. Send e-mail messages to past employers and former colleagues in the nonprofit world, letting them know of your availability. "You need to let everyone know about your plans in as many ways as possible," she says.

Mr. Saffren adds that another good way to advertise your new venture is by joining a local chapter of an organization like the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Nonprofit executives who hire consultants want to see evidence of past successes, so highlight any specific fund-raising achievements in all your promotional materials, says Cathy Brown, executive director of the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, in Los Angeles, who often hires fund-raising consultants to help her organization meet its financial goals.

Also, know your strengths and focus your marketing accordingly, she says. "If you are a generalist, you might target smaller nonprofit groups that need overall knowledge related to fund raising," she says. "Alternatively, if your expertise is in a specific area, such as major gifts or planned giving, you might focus on larger clients that need project work in a specific area where more pointed knowledge is required."

Perhaps the greatest asset you can offer nonprofit executives, however, is a willingness to engage in an overarching plan that is tailored to each of your clients, says Ms. Brown.

"Please steer clear of just becoming another project manager who only becomes involved in one particular aspect of fund raising," she suggests. "Not that you shouldn't accept business that is targeted to one particular aspect of fund raising, but realize the importance of understanding the organization as a whole."

Q. For the last 22 years, I have worked as a writer and editor. For the next 22 years, I want to work in the nonprofit world, ultimately as a program director or executive director. I've been looking for more than a year now, and because I lack direct experience working for a charity, I am getting nowhere. (I do, however, have a lot of volunteer and board experience.) I have so much passion, but nowhere to go with it. Any advice?

A. It is not clear from your question how exactly you have been going about your job search so far, but it sounds like one of the first things you need to do is focus, says Maureen Curley, chief relationship officer at Bridgestar, a nonprofit consulting firm in Boston that recruits and trains leaders for its nonprofit clients.

You say you want to work in the "nonprofit world," but what does that mean? What type of organization would you like to work for? Youth services? The environment? "Think about the type, or types, of organization that appeals to you," says Ms. Curley. "Large or small? Direct or indirect service? Established and structured, or entrepreneurial -- maybe grass roots?"

Once you figure those things out, schedule as many informational interviews as you can get with people at those types of organizations, recommends Ms. Curley. Get an understanding about how, or if, your skills and experiences might benefit those charities, then create a résumé that highlights them. Also, find out if you know anyone who sits on boards of the organizations that interest you.

"Most nonprofits are governed by at least some business people, and you may well have direct or indirect connections you never thought to explore," she says.

Still, no matter how many connections you have, the fact remains that to land any job -- whether in the nonprofit or business world -- you still need to be qualified, says Jim Masuga, a recruiter at Heyman Associates, in New York, who works with nonprofit clients.

Your board and volunteer experience, for example, are certainly assets and ones that you can cite when you are under serious consideration for a job, but first you need to prove that you actually can do the work, he says. Pursuing a program-director position, for instance, only makes sense for you if the employer is searching for a program director with strong editorial skills.

"Your passion is a great asset, but you have to be able to provide to an employer examples of relevant achievements in your work experience, and not just a promise that you'll learn or grow into the responsibilities once you assume the role," Mr. Masuga says.

Indeed, you may have better luck by setting your sights a bit lower, says Tiziana Dearing, executive director of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

"You need to pay some dues first," she says. "It's a common misconception among people who have worked in the for-profit sector that their skills will both carry over directly and be directly attractive to nonprofits. But as the sector increasingly professionalizes, organizations both want and can demand people with strong nonprofit experience. You'll need to build some of that before you reach your ultimate goal."

Q. One of my group's donors is making a presentation about brands to an association of nonprofit professionals. He noted that for-profit companies take over brands all the time and wondered if there was anything analogous in the nonprofit world. Can you think of any examples of charities that have merged or have aggressively taken over other nonprofit groups because they thought they could do a better job?

A. Mergers in the nonprofit world are becoming increasingly common and prominent, says Kenneth Grounds, senior consultant at the McCormick Group, in Williamston, Mich., which has guided more than 150 nonprofit mergers nationwide. Competition for funding and volunteers between and among public charities has increased rapidly, particularly in the past two decades, as the number of organizations has grown substantially, notes Mr. Grounds.

"In our experience, however, we don't see charities aggressively taking over other organizations to acquire their brand or brands," he says. "Since there is no such thing as a 'hostile takeover' on the nonprofit side, it is usually the organization with the more powerful brand that dictates the terms of the merger." Instead, he says, nonprofit organizations typically merge for reasons of survivability and viability. The stronger groups seek to expand their capacity through both increasing their resources and reducing the number of competing brands, while the weaker ones seek organizations that will help sustain their mission.

Indeed, nonprofit organizations with controversial pasts sometimes merge with stronger groups in order to keep themselves afloat, says David La Piana, a management consultant in Emeryville, Calif., who has assisted with more than 100 nonprofit mergers and written several books on the topic.

"I can think of several instances in which a scandal-rocked nonprofit merged with a well-regarded one in order to survive a hail of bad press," he says.

A trend that has emerged over the past several years is the "intra-merger," says Mr. Grounds. This type of merger usually occurs with national organizations that have grown by establishing new affiliates. However, he says, because such offshoots were separately incorporated, it can be difficult to combine and brand them uniformly.

Unlike corporate mergers, nonprofit mergers lack a direct financial incentive to owners and officers, says Mr. La Piana -- there are no stock purchases or "golden parachutes" awaiting them at the end of a deal. In addition, when two charities merge, only one person can be the executive director, so one or both of the people who hold that job before the merger may lose the top position, he says. Similarly, not all trustees from the two groups will make the leap onto the merged board, which can lead to fear and distrust. As a result, he says, such mergers "are often hampered by the boards' and the executives' understandable desire to maintain their autonomy," says Mr. La Piana. "Thus, a nonprofit generally needs a very strong case to consider a merger."

Send your questions about job hunting, recruiting, or managing in the nonprofit world to hotline@philanthropy.com.