Home Job Board Advertise Job Skills Blog

Philanthropy Associate Isn't Just a Job, It's a Way of Life

Most people know what philanthropy is. Just in case, it's the "practice of performing charitable or benevolent actions" according to Dictionary.com. Charitable associations in the United States are numerous and varied, and people who contribute greatly to these associations are known as Philanthropists. Philanthropy Associates are those who 'help' philanthropists, or who work on the inside of a non-profit or charitable organization. In essence, they are high-end administrative assistants. Their duties are varied; their responsibilities are often great. Their salaries are usually very good, about double in fact, what a typical secretary or admin assistant normally makes, often topping $50,000 a year. Needless to say, it's a good field to get into if you have the training and background for it, as well as the desire to do good works.

As a philanthropy associate, you would be expected to provide organizational support, manage calendars and travel plans for higher-ups, schedule conference calls, meetings, workshops, and other organizational activities, provide expense reports, organize and enter data, and a wide variety of other duties. Your days would be busy and full and perhaps even longer than the average workday at times. You might be expected to organize and attend evening or weekend functions or fund-raising events. In other words, you might have to take the job home with you at times.

If you choose this career path, you might need to be good at handling stress, multi-tasking, prioritizing, and working well under pressure. You would need to be an ace on all administrative computer functions (such as graphing and spreadsheet programs), have excellent verbal and grammar skills, and dress and act professionally at all times. A sense of humor often helps in positions such as this, so it wouldn't hurt to be able to laugh things off. If you're the type to get your feelings hurt easily, this isn't the job for you. Often in busy, high-stress situations, bosses take out their frustrations on their assistants, and as a philanthropy associate, this would mean you get the brunt of the anger at times, as well as the blame for anything gone wrong.

Last but not least, if you want to be a philanthropy associate, you need to know the organization you work for through and through. You need to know who the Director and Associate Directors are (most likely, you'll be working directly under them anyway) and the names and titles of anyone else in the organization you'd report to or work with. Know the focus of the organization, its goals, and what its main source of funding is. Be familiar with the group's practices, as well it's infrastructure. If you know and understand the organization, your job will be easier from day one.