Foundation Job Search

Nonprofit job seekers are often uncertain about what kind of advanced degree would be most useful to finding foundation jobs, said Brian Parker, director of public and nonprofit management program at Cainman University. For someone who retires from the company and moved to charity, say, a master's degree in public administration, it is very important - but not necessary. "You're in value because of their experience," he says.

If you still choose to go for his MPA, make sure you have chosen a program that reflects your career goals, Ms. McCormack said. Some M.P.A. programs are more of a target, he says, that may be useful in large nonprofit organizations, but if you're considering working for a small charity, make sure you go to a program that covers the nuts and bolts of management without profit. "In small nonprofits - those under $ 10 billion industry - you need to have a solid understanding of how the trains on time and how to pay for it," he says.

To work in management, an MBA is certainly applicable to nonprofit organizations the world, Ms. McCormack said, and is a valuable investment, in particular, a person entering the nonprofit sector, a company with no history.

Some charities in May seeking MBA candidates for certain jobs. For example, the Food Bank of New York City looking for the recruitment of MBA holders for the department of foreign affairs, said Kembo Johnson, spokesman for the group. Why staff must interact with business executives, on behalf of the charity, said, "an MBA helps in personal terms the issues that potential supporters in the world can understand and relate to."

To make its MBA more relevant to their future nonprofit leader, Ms. McCormack said, choosing a degree program that will allow you to have a concentration in management of nonprofit foundations, or at least allow take advantage of internships and other opportunities to connect classroom work with the nonprofit sector.

If you are interested in work-based, does not preclude the exercise of an advanced degree beyond the sphere of specific areas of the management of nonprofit organizations, said Mark E. Neithercut, Vice President of the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan in Detroit. During a grant institution, a degree in a field of specialization, such as environmental health or economic development can be assessed much more than an MBA or MPA in finding a foundation job opportunity.