DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR: Job Applicant

DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR: ROLE-PLAYING SCRIPT FOR JOB APPLICANT,
Ms Schindler, Clark University, SPRING 2008

It is Spring, 2008, and you are graduating with a Management Major, Ethics and Public Policy Minor and a 3.5 GPA from Clark University.

You became interested in community service early in junior high and high school through school trips to build homes for Habitat for Humanity and through your volunteer work at Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women.

You choose Clark University because of its mission to produce imaginative and contributing citizens, and the student and faculty involvement in community based activities on campus. While there, you continued to work with Rosie’s Place serving as the college representative to their board and fund raising coordinator for their Safe and Sound Spring Gala for three years, helping to secure corporate sponsors and other donated materials to their largest fund raising event. You also helped women in the micro enterprise coop learn about money management and investing. You have done two paid internships with them as well.

Your parents are financial planners, and you have worked in their office every summer helping clients and learning about sound investing. You are particularly interested in stocks, securities and endowments and how organizations can raise funds this way.

Your professors and advisors at Clark recognized and encouraged your passion for working in the non profit sector. They suggested the Ethics and Public Policy courses, but also helped you understand that that good works cannot be accomplished if sound management and a secure financial base do not support them. Your management major helped you understand how business works in today's fast-moving globally focused economy. You learned that for non-profit organizations to survive in today’s economic climate, they need to be run as a business.

You also volunteered with the YWCA of Central MASS on many of their fund raising events. Your work with Rosie’s Place and the YWCA has made it clear that you want to work with poor and homeless women and children when you graduate.

You couldn’t believe your luck when you got a call from a board member at Rosie’s Place letting you know they are hiring a Development Coordinator. She even volunteered to write a letter of recommendation for you. You immediately got an interview with Ms. Suarez, the Development Director, and she offered you the job. This job was made for you. It brings all your experience, your education and your passions together, and at a place you love. She asked you to come back today just to settle a couple details like salary, benefits and a starting date and then sign a contract.

You have worked at Rosie’s Place enough and know that fundraising is essential. The organization relies solely on private support and does not accept local, state or federal funding. The Development Coordinator’s responsibilities will be to prospect and secure additional funding sources, widen the Founders Circle [$1000.00 donors] and coordinate special events. The Coordinator will provide organizational support and record keeping for the department and must be proficient with the organization’s funding software. She must also be comfortable with both clients and potential donors, and represent the organization professionally.

You’ve done your homework. Www.wageproject.org tells you that a Development Coordinator position has a salary range of $33,000 to $44,000 with a median salary of $38,000. The benefits package for this position is worth another $18,000. You determined that your target salary is $40,000 which you firmly believe is fair, given your impressive work and volunteer experience, your excellent education and history with Rosie’s Place. You’ll be productive day one!

You know that living in the Boston will be expensive. You have hefty student loans to pay off. Transportation in Boston and travel back home will be expensive, and you want to enjoy the night life the city offers. You’ve done your budget and know the minimum salary you can possibly accept is $36,000 and that would mean living VERY modestly.

You have the last appointment of the day. Ms. Suarez must leave in 15 minutes to attend a corporate fundraising event. Can you and Ms. Suarez come to an agreement about a starting salary which you can accept? Can you get her to agree to your target salary figure? Will she offer an acceptable benefits package?

Make notes on what you consider your persuasive points. Decide the sequence in which you will present these points. Make notes about the language you will use. Make notes about likely objections she may raise and what you will say.

Use every minute of that time to get her to your target salary. This your chance to start out with the salary you’re worth at the place you really want to be. Remember, $40,000 is what you’ve determined you deserve doing this job!

Go for it!