Hotline

By Rebecca Gardyn

How charities can gain entry to employee-giving programs

Tips for explaining résumé gaps to prospective employers

Facing the challenges of starting a fund-raising office from scratch

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

Q. I'd like to align my charity with some employee-giving programs at corporations. Can you point me to some advice on such programs, and how best to approach corporations?

A. Many corporations run campaigns that allow workers to support charities, often through payroll deductions. In some cases, the company partially or fully matches an employee's financial contributions; also, some companies give employees paid time off to volunteer.

To become a beneficiary, check which companies might be interested in your cause, or begin to build a relationship through personal connections, says Erika Oliver, a fund-raising consultant in Portage, Mich.

Start by learning more about the companies that run charity campaigns by reading news articles and consulting their Web sites, to determine if there is a "fit" between your charity's mission and a company's philanthropic philosophy, says Ms. Oliver. If your organization isn't well known, start a public-relations campaign.

"People tend to want to invest in organizations that have a strong reputation," she says.

Once you're ready to approach corporations, ask current and past board members, volunteers, clients, and other supporters if their employer has an employee-giving program and then, if possible, ask for a personal introduction, says Ms. Oliver.

The Burbank Chorale, a nonprofit community chorus in Burbank, Calif., just started putting this approach to work.

Last fall, the charity launched a "Where Do You Work?" program, asking each of its 55 new and returning chorus members to fill out a form with information about their place of employment, and then designated a trustee to investigate each company's giving policies.

"We are also pursuing grants from foundations, but the application and approval process can sometimes take as long as a year, and finding the right match can be like looking for a needle in a haystack," says Kyrian Corona, development director at the organization. "The employee matching-gift programs result in a faster return."

So far the program has enlisted the support of just one corporation, yielding $1,500 from its workers, with another $1,500 expected this fall. But the charity is optimistic about finding more corporate donors in the coming year.

Michelle Miller, executive director of Parent to Parent of Southwest Michigan, a charity in Kalamazoo that assists families that have children with disabilities, recommends focusing on local companies so that both the management and employees can grow familiar with your organization. "You can really create a lasting connection and nurture the relationship over time when they are local people," she says, noting that her charity currently has partnerships with three nearby companies.

To solidify connections, invite corporate executives to volunteer, adds Ms. Miller. For example, she asked one corporate liaison with whom her organization deals to become a trustee, and now not only does her charity receive steady support from the company and its employees, but the individual also has become its board president.

Your local United Way, which has a long history of being the beneficiary of employee-giving programs, may be another source to help connect with companies.

You can apply to get on the United Way's list of "designated agencies" that corporate employees use to determine the charities they would like to support.

The list's inclusiveness will vary from region to region, says James van der Klok, vice president of investor relations at United Way of America, in Alexandria, Va., especially as more and more United Ways are focusing on solving specific problems and making grants to groups that work on those causes.

While getting on United Way's list can be helpful, there are also drawbacks to becoming a designated agency, says Ms. Miller, whose organization withdrew its affiliation last year.

"The rules may differ at other United Ways, but for us there was a blackout period during which designated agencies couldn't do any fund raising with any of the corporations they do campaigns with," she says. "It turned out that our big fund raiser was during their blackout period, and two of the corporations that regularly give us money were on the list. So while we were very proud of our designation with the United Way, taking ourselves off was the right thing for us."

But, as Ms. Miller subsequently learned, charities can often still benefit from the visibility of a United Way campaign without being on the designated list.

Corporations each set their own rules for employee-giving campaigns, and many have a "write-in option" that allows workers to give to any tax-exempt charity. So ask your donors — on your Web site or in printed materials — to ask their employers who participate in United Way campaigns about whether this option is available to them.

Also consider joining one of several membership organizations that set up giving campaigns at corporations across the country, such as America's Charities. Others include Earth Share, which benefits environmental and conservation charities; Community Shares USA, composed of service, social-justice, and women's organizations; and Community Health Charities, which raises money for health charities. And don't forget the Combined Federal Campaign, which solicits federal workers, including military personnel.

Q. After three years at my last job, which was great, I followed my husband when his job was relocated to another state. But in the new city, I had no luck finding a new position. After five months, we've decided to return home. How do I explain the gap in my résumé to prospective new employers?

A. Many people have a hard time answering this question, says Scott Silverman, founder of Second Chance, a nonprofit organization in San Diego that helps the homeless and recently- released prisoners get and keep jobs. But honesty is the best policy, says Mr. Silverman, who notes that the majority of his clients have long gaps in their work experience much more difficult to explain than yours.

"You were simply taking care of family obligations," he says. "Turn this gap into a positive by explaining to the prospective employer that you are ready, willing, and able to get back to work."

In fact, your situation is the easiest type of gap to handle, says Karen Alphonse, a recruiter for nonprofit clients at execSearches.com, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "A carefully crafted cover letter, explaining the facts and circumstances, will usually suffice," she says. "Life happens. Most prospective employers understand that."

In your situation, it is important to reassure potential bosses in your cover letter that you are not likely to up and quit again if your husband switches jobs, says Ms. Alphonse.

"Say something like, 'In addition to my core skills, I have a track record of loyalty and consistency; through my professional life I have worked with two, or a few, employers and my average tenure, except for unusual recent circumstances, has been five years.' This kind of language and pre-emptive explanation should dispel any employer's potential fears."

In addition, Ms. Alphonse recommends that you ask your references to describe the current circumstance as "unusual" while underscoring your overall reliability.

Had your résumé gap resulted from a layoff, you would have to do more damage control. In such cases, you should explicitly mention any honors, awards, or other accolades in your cover letter to dispel the notion that performance was an issue in your previous position, says Ms. Alphonse.

Being fired outright, however, is a much more difficult scenario to explain to an employer. In that case, Ms. Alphonse would recommend analyzing your skills and repackaging yourself, then deciding how to tactfully explain the failed situation without seeming bitter or blaming your previous employer.

Although she would not recommend describing the situation at length in a cover letter, you might allude to "lessons learned" or find some other positive way to sum up the unhappy experience.

Another approach is to use the time off to engage in intensive professional development. Says Ms. Alphonse: "By investing your own time and money in the process of enhancing your skills, you give your résumé a boost and acquire the knowledge which will allow you to navigate similar situations better in the future."

Q. My college has always relied on our wealthy founder and his foundation to support it financially, but we are now starting a development office to raise money. Can you suggest some free resources — or point me toward some real-world examples of other small colleges that have started development offices — to help us put together a strategic plan for our fund raising?

A. Carole Carpenter, vice president for university relations at Ave Maria University, in Naples, Fla., knows all too well the challenges of creating a fund-raising department from scratch.

The private Catholic university was established in 2003 by Thomas S. Monaghan, the founder of Domino's Pizza, with $250-million.

"With the need to attract good faculty and students, purchase a temporary campus, build a permanent campus with adequate buildings to accommodate classes, recreation activities, offices, and residences, it soon became evident that we needed to build a strong fund-raising plan to supplement the founder's very generous gift," says Ms. Carpenter.

Ms. Carpenter recommends some inexpensive tools that helped her get started. She advises joining the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Association of Fundraising Professionals, both of which offer conferences, classes, and opportunities to talk shop with others in the field.

Fund-raising software will also make it easier to keep track of donors and process gifts. She also hired a consultant to conduct a donor-feasibility study and assist with major gift planning.

Traditional fund-raising techniques like direct mail and special events — of which Ave Maria holds up to five per year — are critical for up-and-coming institutions without a deep pool of alumni to draw on, says Ms. Carpenter.

Ave Maria had no alumni to tap when it started fund raising, so to build its annual fund, it created a "founders" direct-mail program and sent out pleas to Catholic families and others that the university believed would be supportive, asking for just $10 a month, or a one-time gift of $120. Nearly 17,000 "founders" donated money in just three years.

The university is now building Founders Clubs around the country to aid in fund raising and to help attract admissions applications, says Ms. Carpenter. The clubs meet monthly and receive updates regarding critical needs. Some are beginning to help raise money for specific goals, like scholarships, building construction, and academic programs.

While you're still building a pool of individuals to support the institution, also consider tapping corporate, foundation, and government coffers, says Marcus Lingenfelter, vice president for university advancement at one-year-old Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, in Pennsylvania. "All three have significant resources that are accessible and nondependent upon longstanding relationships and cultivations," he says.

Send top-level representatives to visit with state and federal elected officials to talk about how to obtain government support, suggests Mr. Lingenfelter.

Budget earmarks — often derided as "pork-barrel spending" — can aid an up-and-coming organization in need of funds. "Congressionally-directed grants at the federal level, while coming under fire in recent years, are valuable for providing resources and exposure," he says. "Many state legislatures and agencies have discretionary resources available to support worthwhile projects or politically useful organizations."

Corporate grant makers are typically straightforward about what they support, with guidelines often available online. And officials of corporate-giving units are often willing to meet with potential donors, says Mr. Lingenfelter.

As for foundation grants, he suggests investigating any relationships your institution's board members and influential alumni have with foundations, setting up internal grant-seeking policies and procedures, and carefully reviewing guidelines of any grant-making programs for which your organization may qualify.

Says Mr. Lingenfelter: "For an organization that either has a disaffected alumni constituency or simply has not attended to them sufficiently, looking to the corporate, foundation, and government sectors for support can provide a bridge until an individual support program can be properly developed."