Navigating Your Career in Philanthropy
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This document provides guidance for navigating a career in philanthropy. It discusses finding your passion and purpose to guide your career direction rather than a fixed destination. Self-reflection is key to understanding your motivations for pursuing philanthropy. There are many avenues for a career in philanthropy beyond just foundations, including corporate foundations, community foundations, academia, associations, consulting firms, and wealth management. Networking is important as most philanthropy jobs are not advertised. The document provides tips for networking, job searching, and interviewing for positions in the field.
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Navigating Your Career in Philanthropy
- 1. The Compass: Navigating Your Career in Philanthropy February 2014 Andrew Ho Network Developer, Global Philanthropy Council on Foundations
- 3. Directions Not Included • Finding your direction (not your destination): – – – – What is your passion? What is your purpose? What do you want out of a career? What’s driving you to pursue philanthropy as a career? • What Path? There are no established career paths in philanthropy, and yet there are more opportunities than ever – A fluid, dynamic, and growing field – A blurring of the sectors • Self-reflection is key. Take the time to do it. Talk to friends, mentors, loved ones. 3
- 5. Various Avenues for Philanthropy • • • • • Large Foundations Corporate Foundations Community Foundations Family Foundations / Family Offices Applied Research / Academia
- 6. Various Avenues for Philanthropy • Associations of Foundations – National – Regional – Affinity groups • Service Providers – Network for Good, GuideStar • Strategy consulting – FSG, Bridgespan, RPA, Arabella, TCC Group • Going the independent consultant route • Wealth management firms, family offices • Government, Multilateral institutions
- 7. “But I don’t know anyone!” (or nobody knows me)
- 8. That dreaded word, networking… – The 80% rule • 80% networking, 20% looking for & applying for jobs • Most jobs in philanthropy aren’t advertised – Whether extrovert or introvert, it takes practice 8
- 9. Mapping Your Networks – Foundations – Alumni of your university – Professional and personal contacts – Informational interviews • Geography is no limit now • Develop a system for follow up and follow through 9
- 10. A Networked Approach to Philanthropy Corporate Sector Academia Financial Services Media & Journalism Technology Multilateral Institutions Marketing Government Social Enterprises Law Nonprofit Human Services International Development
- 11. Tips for the Job Search – Build a custom resume for every application – Review your online presence – Use LinkedIn judiciously – Practice interviewing. Then practice some more. 11
- 12. “One of the things that I’ve learned to appreciate more as President is you are essentially a relay swimmer in a river full of rapids, and that river is history. You don’t start with a clean slate, and the things you start may not come to full fruition on your timetable. But you can move things forward. And sometimes the things that start small may turn out to be fairly significant.” -- President Obama
Editor's Notes
- Characteristics of a compass. A compass gives you a sense of which way you’re headed. A compass doesn’t give you exact directions like a map does. It doesn’t tell you how long it will take. It doesn’t tell you what you’ll encounter along the way. You may see your final destination off in the horizon, but as you go along, that destination may go out of sight. A compass will help you stay in the direction towards your destination.
- A difference maker? Complete utter devotion to a cause? Balancing your considerations of professional and personal.Self-reflection is key. Take the time to do it.
- NYC may be the capital of philanthropy and foundations, but it’s not the only place. SF, Minneapolis.
- Let’s start with the obvious.
- I’m excited by the Council’s new network approach because just as we all come into philanthropy from various disciplines and training, so the network that values philanthropy also cuts across sectors and industries. We are in a strategic position to connect people and ideas and bring greater value to our members and the philanthropic sector.
- A resume works better in a non-academic position. Custom resumes do demand more effort and time, but it’s worth it. Build a master resume with all your bullet points, and you can pick and choose which ones. Review or scrub your online presence and make sure people aren’t finding anything that you’re embarrassed to tell them about. You never know who might be checking you out. LinkedIn is great for keeping connections with people you’ve already met or established a relationship with. Making connections with a stranger is mostly a false notion.The key to being a great interviewer is to practice, practice, and practice. You need to know your answers cold so that it comes off naturally.
- Figure out what direction you want to set yourself in. Be open to how to get there, and how long it may take. The path may be not what you expect, but it will all be worth it. “One of the things that I’ve learned to appreciate more as President is you are essentially a relay swimmer in a river full of rapids, and that river is history.You don’t start with a clean slate, and the things you start may not come to full fruition on your timetable. But you can move things forward. And sometimes the things that start small may turn out to be fairly significant.So it is with any career in philanthropy.