Careers in Grantmaking
How many grantmaking jobs are available?
The number of jobs available in the grantmaking
field is limited. The field is small and turnover is light. Although there are more than
1,300
grantmaking organizations in Minnesota, approximately 80 percent of these
organizations have no paid staff. Paid
grantmaking jobs are heavily concentrated in corporations and larger foundations.
What types of jobs are available in
the grantmaking field?
Although titles and duties vary from organization
to organization, most grantmaking jobs fall into these main categories:
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Program Officer
Responsible for reviewing grant applications and making recommendations. This work
includes reading and evaluating proposals; visiting with prospective grantees; and writing
reports for the board. In larger foundations, program officers will often handle proposals
for one or a few subject areas, such as education or the arts.
-
Community Affairs
In some corporations, the people responsible for the company’s grantmaking
activities are part of a community affairs department. Community affairs personnel often
have additional duties beyond grantmaking, such as public relations or communications.
-
Grants Manager/Administrator
Responsible for the recordkeeping and administrative details of an
organization’s grantmaking process. This includes fulfilling requests for policies,
guidelines and applications; tracking grant proposals through the review process; and
handling correspondence with grant applicants.
-
Development/Donor Services Officer
Community and other public foundations often have development personnel who are
responsible for raising new funds for the foundation.
-
Consultant
Foundations will sometimes contract with consultants to help them with some of
their grantmaking tasks, both on a short- and long-term basis.
What are the pros and cons of
grantmaking work?
-
Pros
Grantmaking can offer an opportunity to do "socially important" work,
meet a broad range of people, use a variety of skills, and be intellectually challenged.
Work with foundations can also be fairly stable and recession-proof.
-
Cons
Grantmaking is one step removed from actually solving problems, can require long
hours, and can be emotionally wearing.
What resources are available to
aid my job search?
-
The MCF Jobs Page offers an online listing of current job
openings in Minnesota's grantmaking field, and has links to other online
jobs pages. The page is updated regularly.
-
The
Guide to Minnesota
Grantmakers, published by the Minnesota Council on Foundations, provides staffing and other information for the state’s largest
grantmakers.
-
National resources on grantmaking staff include
"The
Foundation Directory" and "The Foundation Directory Part 2," available from
The Foundation Center.
-
For staffing information on corporate foundations
and giving programs, consult the "National Directory of Corporate Giving"
and "Corporate Foundation Profiles" (both by The Foundation Center), "Corporate 500: A Directory of Corporate
Philanthropy" (Public Management Institute), and "Corporate Giving Directory"
(Taft Group).
-
Job listings can sometimes be found in
the
Chronicle of Philanthropy and
The NonProfit Times.
-
The Center for Nonprofit Management at the University of
St. Thomas offers a periodic course on nonprofit careers, called "Explore
Working for a Nonprofit or Philanthropic Organization." The course includes information on careers in
philanthropy. For more information, visit
www.stthomas.edu/cob/centers/nonprofit/default.html.
Many of these resources can be found at public libraries
and at Minnesota’s five
Foundation Center
Cooperating Collections.
Average* Minnesota
Grantmaker
Salaries
| Chief Executive Officer |
$144,600 |
| Senior Program Officer |
$88,100 |
| Program Officer |
$63,100 |
| Program Associate |
$46,900 |
| Program Assistant |
$37,400 |
| Donor Services Officer |
$66,200 |
| Grants Manager/Administrator |
$62,300 |
| Administrative Assistant |
$37,900 |
* Mean salaries.
Source: Council on Foundations for Minnesota Council on Foundations, 2006.
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