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Answering Readers' Questions About Starting a Charity with the Founder's Personal Funds, Age Discrimination in Hiring, and More

The Chronicle's Career Network asked its readers to submit questions about job hunting, recruitment, and management challenges in the nonprofit world. In our monthly advice column, we respond to some of your inquiries with tips about resources and wisdom from experts in the field.

Q. I'd like to found a nonprofit organization in Florida, and in order to get under way, I need to purchase lots of office materials and other supplies. Should I wait until my charity is officially registered? If I buy them with my own money, before my charity is registered, will I be able to write them off on my taxes?

A. You don't need to wait to buy supplies until your charity is officially registered, says Donald J. Butler, director of Rachlin Cohen & Holtz Certified Public Accountants and Consultants, in Miami, and chairman of the company's nonprofit-services division.

When you're buying supplies for your soon-to-be-charity, you're either donating your own money or donating the supplies. You're allowed to deduct the value of the donation to your charity before it receives charity status from the Internal Revenue Service, as long as you are certified within 15 months of the end of the month in which you made your donation. (You can automatically get a one-year extension if you file for it, which creates a larger buffer zone if you run into problems with your application.) Of course, if your organization doesn't qualify for charity status, you won't be able to deduct your donations from your taxes, so it's a good idea to seek advice from an accountant before you spend your own money. "The answer to every tax question is, 'It depends,'" Mr. Butler jokes.

Before you buy anything for your charity, it's a good idea to establish a checking account for the organization, says Christine L. Manor, an accountant in Rockville, Md., who specializes in working with nonprofit groups. "Commingling funds is a bad, bad idea," she says. Keep all of your receipts, and note on them whether you've spent the money for fund raising, operating, or program costs. All of this will help you at tax time. Ms. Manor recommends that you check out the Non-Profit Financial and Accounting Manual, available for $93 in print or $123 on CD-ROM from Practitioner's Publishing Company. The publisher also takes phone orders at (800) 323-8724.

Q. Several of my friends and I have completed a certificate in fund-raising management course at a local university. All of us are mature adults making career or life changes. We have all had good jobs in other fields with experience that would be relevant to nonprofit work. We are willing to start at or near the bottom. And yet, we can't seem to get hired as development officers. We have joined professional organizations, are constantly searching for job listings, attend job fairs, are open to relocation, and go on informational interviews until we're blue in the face. Some of us have volunteered for years and still been passed up for jobs at those organizations. We keep hearing that we're "overqualified." We could use any advice you might have.

A. It sounds like you and your friends are doing everything that you should to land a job at a nonprofit organization -- volunteering, education, creating a network of professional contacts, showing a willingness to start at an entry level -- so your situation is puzzling, says Michael Wyland, a fund-raising and management consultant in Sioux Falls, S.D., who works with nonprofit groups. The problem might be that you're applying for hotly contested entry-level jobs at large and well-established charities, he says. "Depending on your managerial experience, smaller nonprofits and new nonprofits might be very willing to place you in top management today."

Since you say that you are a mature worker making a career change, it's also possible that there's something in your presentation that's hurting your chances at landing a job, says Sally E. James, executive director of Career Encores, a Los Angeles nonprofit organization that helps people over age 50 find employment. One common pitfall: You might not be talking up your ideas and enthusiasm enough. Older workers "were brought up to be super modest, they often wait to be asked about their ideas, but they really have to be a salesperson," says Ms. James. Another common problem: Your experience could make the person who's hiring applicants nervous. Some people "will feel insecure about their own jobs when faced with experienced, committed people exuding a strong desire to succeed in their new profession." says Mr. Wyland. The AARP offers two free online publications that might be helpful: "Changing Careers Without Starting From Scratch" and "Handling Difficult Job Interviews."

It's also possible that your situation could have nothing to do with your presentations or your qualifications. "Overqualified" is a common euphemism that's often used to cover up age discrimination, says Ms. James. If you suspect that this is happening, you might want to get in touch with one of the myriad government or private organizations that are designed to help older workers. You can find out what's available in your area by doing a search for your city's resources on the federal Eldercare Locator Web site or by calling its hotline, (800) 677-1116, which is available weekdays, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.Also take a look at the AARP's online publication, "Recognize Age Discrimination in Employment."

Q. Is there is a way to learn Raiser's Edge online? I want to enhance my prospects for a first job.