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Features Column 4 Dancing with the Dynamic Duo: Moving from a fundraising to a communications position

Greetings Cathy,
Currently I am a generalist fundraiser for a nonprofit in northern New Jersey. I do everything from walk-a-thons and galas to writing grant proposals to making personal solicitations. I'd like to move into communications for nonprofit organizations: developing marketing tools, newsletters, and websites. I enjoy writing very much, and I think I'd excel in more creative design work. What type of educational and career track could get me there?

Many thanks,
Candice in New Jersey

In contrast to the challenges our previous job seeker may face in moving into her first management position, you can get ready for some relatively smooth sailing. One of the advantages of being a job seeker in the nonprofit sector is that many organizations are relatively open to staff shifting their areas of focus. Furthermore, the transition from development to communications can be a particularly easy one to make because they are really two sides of the same coin. Indeed, in many organizations, the development and communication functions are merged into one position not only to cut costs, but also because there are so many links between the skill sets that each requires and the outcomes that each is working to achieve.

In terms of skills, the biggest link is that both necessitate the ability to distill large amounts of information and then succinctly express the most important points with an engaging, sometimes visual flair. Furthermore, communication materials are very often the stuff that fundraising dreams are made of! With funding tighter than ever, nonprofits need marketing materials that set them apart, including websites and other collateral materials, and they also need someone who understands the direct links between raising money and communicating with supporters and potential funders. Although you may not (or may not want to) end up playing a formal fundraising role in your new job, any organization that hires you will really be getting two for the price of one! So, know that if you're not interested in playing these two roles at the same time, it's important to be clear about that from the get-go so you don't end up feeling like you're doing something which may be a bargain to your employer, but isn't what YOU bargained for!

If you are interested in staying with your current organization, and they are open to the possibility of your shifting roles, you may want to design a couple of relatively simple communications materials to showcase your skills and demonstrate that you are just the communications cap-i-tain they may not have known they need! If you're looking to move to another organization, developing materials for a nonprofit you may be volunteering for will provide you with the beginnings of a portfolio, which can be very helpful.

I don't know what your level of expertise is with either web or other design, but having a solid foundation in both would certainly work to your advantage as you make the shift. There may be more design courses out there than there are job seekers. Well, maybe not, but the challenge is narrowing down the courses and finding the right ones for you. Many are quite expensive, technically focused, and more in-depth than you will likely need. I would recommend speaking to someone who is doing communications in an area of the sector that you're interested in working in and seeing what they recommend. I also would suggest buying a program like Photoshop or Illustrator and experimenting. This way, you will learn first-hand the kind of technical skills you need to build and then can find a course that suits your needs best.

The Support Center for Nonprofit Management periodically offers very affordable courses in website planning, but in the New York City area a good bet for a comprehensive and affordable dance card can be found at the Fund for the City of New York, which offers courses in Powerpoint, Pagemaker, and much more and NPower New York, which offers courses in website planning, Publisher, and Powerpoint. NPower New York is part of a national network of organizations in several states such as PA, MI, AZ, and WA to name a few. Additionally, techsoup.org, is a national organization that partners with such organizations as NPower to provide a wide range of technology consulting and training to nonprofits and their staff. Again, the Alliance for Nonprofit Management is another great national resource that can connect you to local technology providers and training. Finally, Continuing Education programs at local colleges and universities are also an option to learn some of the new dance steps, but they are often a pricey one. No matter which way you go, it sounds like you know quite a bit more than the two-step already, and I suspect that in a few months time, you will be doing the communications tango with the best of 'em!