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A Development Officer’s
Perspective
Editor’s
note: Christine Sturm Kirk is a full-time law student at the
University of Memphis School of Law and a part-time editorial
staff member at The Sharpe Group. Before entering law school,
Christine worked in non-profit development and public relations
for more than 10 years, including positions at the American
University, The National Center for Children and Families, and the
Baddour Center.
Two
and a half years ago, my husband and I both decided to pursue
major changes in our careers. For me, the decision was to take a
hiatus from my work as a nonprofit development officer and return
to the life of a student. I had worked in nonprofit development
and administration for more than 10 years and had always
considered it a privilege to serve my community and work in a
profession that I loved. Still, I had been considering attending
law school for several years, and, with some all-too-serious
doubts lingering in the back of my mind, I resigned from my
position as Director of Development and entered the law school
class of 2004.
Back
to school
Some
people claim that they have always known that they wanted to be a
lawyer. I am not one of those people. The decision to attend law
school was a long, gradual process for me. During my career as a
development officer, I, like many in the development field, found
myself spending more and more time with donors who were not only
interested in making immediate, outright gifts to their charitable
interests, but also wanted to make gifts as part of their
long-range financial and estate planning. As a result, I also
spent more and more time meeting with donors’ attorneys and
learning about charitable giving techniques and related tax law
issues.
My
interactions with estate planning attorneys who had little
knowledge of charitable giving and seemingly less interest in
philanthropic purposes frustrated me. I began to think that maybe
I could serve donors better as an attorney than I could as a
development officer.
Lessons
learned
Now
entering my third, and final, year of law school, I can honestly
say I have enjoyed law school and will never regret the time and
other resources I have invested in this endeavor. Law school is
intellectually stimulating, personally challenging, and a nice
change of pace from working 70-80 hour weeks! In law school I have
been able to hone my oral and written communication skills, become
more methodical in solving problems, and become a more effective
advocate for people and causes in which I believe. As a result of
the law school experience, I feel I will be better equipped in
some ways to serve donors with their gift planning needs than
before.
On
the other hand, I have also learned that law school should not be
considered as a prerequisite for success in planned giving or
other aspects of nonprofit development work. Law school will not
necessarily help me become a better development officer.
Development work is first and foremost a “people business.”
While many lawyers enjoy working with people and helping people
through significant events in their lives, law school does not
really prepare anyone to be a good listener, an empathetic friend,
or a thoughtful advisor. No amount of technical understanding
garnered in law school can compensate for an inability to
understand and empathize with the needs and concerns of donors.
Development
officers, like lawyers, must be comfortable speaking with people
about what may be very personal and confidential matters—such as
family relationships, finances, and their own mortality.
Development officers should be at least somewhat familiar with the
basic legal implications of those matters, but it is far more
important to understand the personal needs, desires, and goals of
donors. Law school cannot and does not teach you those skills.
That comes with practice and is built on personal satisfaction
derived from helping people make gifts as they also meet
significant and sometimes difficult challenges in their lives.
In
the end, I believe that my legal education will make me a better,
more competent, and more capable development officer. But I have
also come to believe that a legal education is not necessary to be
successful in major and planned gift development. If anything, I
believe that prior experience as a development officer may
ultimately help practicing attorneys be more service oriented,
empathetic, and better able to articulate complex matters in a
readily understandable way. I am also finding that the two career
paths are remarkably similar—exciting, meaningful, and
rewarding—and I look forward to using what I have learned over
the past three years to help nonprofits and their donors meet
their goals in mutually rewarding ways.
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