Hello all.  Fundraising/development is the new big field in museums.  Although lots of museums have had these types for a long time, the number of positions is increasing exponentially, due, in part, to the withdrawal of public funding from museums around the country (U.S. for sure!).  

This is a tricky field to enter.  When I was laid off almost 3 years ago, I decided that the hole in my resume was in fundraising, and I spent the better part of the first year trying to secure a job in development, with any kind of non-profit I could find.  We have all had some sort of experience in this--cultivating donors, writing grant proposals, or actually asking for money--and we've all supported our institution's fundraising efforts in myriad of ways, even if we were not quite aware of it.

However, people who do the hiring for development positions are usually looking for someone who has had direct fundraising experience--paid.  I was successful at getting interviews, but in most cases, I was passed over for a candidate that actually had paid experience.  That did not stop me from trying to further my education in this area--I volunteered to chair the annual fund at my daughter's school, wrote a grant proposal for an arts organization, took classes in fund development, and did what I could.  In the end it was not enough.

My observation is that most fundraisers start at the lowest levels, as membership clerks or development assistants, whose days are taken up with maintaining the donor database (not to dismiss this work--it is vitally important).  Do no delude yourself into thinking that you will step into a "Development Director" position anywere without other experience.

We all need to understand and be involved in fundraising.  It is the only way that our institutions will survive.  Learn all you can (it is a whole different world than curation) because in the end it will help you.

Best of luck.

Claudia Nicholson
Independent Curator, and soul-on-the-loose

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