Opinion: Looking for a Career in Development in 2011? Good Choice and Good Luck!
If you work in the nonprofit sector, it's no secret that entry-level jobs are disappearing, training funds for staff are drying up, salaries are static at best, benefits are status quo, and the profession is undergoing change and evaluation. Fundraising professionals are discovering they need to develop broader skill sets. A recent Chronicle of Philanthropy article noted that recruiters believe “people skills” alone no longer make a fundraiser successful. He or she must now possess entrepreneurial ability and spirit; have cross-cultural and generational knowledge; and be strategic, analytical and technologically astute.
Penelope Burk, a Chicago-based fundraising consultant, estimates that replacing a fundraiser costs from 65 percent to 83 percent of that individual’s annual salary. Burk believes turnover will increase as the economy improves. In her recent research, 48 percent of 1,200 development professionals surveyed said they would leave their current jobs for higher pay.
- Companies:
- Association of Fundraising Professionals
Duke Haddad, Ed.D., CFRE, is currently associate director of development, director of capital campaigns and director of corporate development for The Salvation Army Indiana Division in Indianapolis. He also serves as president of Duke Haddad and Associates LLC and is a freelance instructor for Nonprofit Web Advisor.
He has been a contributing author to NonProfit PRO since 2008.
He received his doctorate degree from West Virginia University with an emphasis on education administration plus a dissertation on donor characteristics. He received a master’s degree from Marshall University with an emphasis on public administration plus a thesis on annual fund analysis. He secured a bachelor’s degree (cum laude) with an emphasis on marketing/management. He has done post graduate work at the University of Louisville.      Â
Duke has received the Fundraising Executive of the Year Award, from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Indiana Chapter. He also was given the Outstanding West Virginian Award, Kentucky Colonel Award and Sagamore of the Wabash Award from the governors of West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana, respectively, for his many career contributions in the field of philanthropy. He has maintained a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) designation for three decades.
