For my October blog, I thought I'd share with you guys a recent blog I wrote for the Foundation Center's New York blog.
Here is the link to the FCNY blog if you're interested in checking it out.
And the links to my last two blog posts: Blog 1 (about a survey on nonprofit orgs and Facebook usage) and Blog 2 (about the Millennium Villages Project for Blog Action Day 2011).
Here you go!
Learning All That You Can – Recommendations from a Recent College Grad
Jack Kerouac once said, "You'd be surprised how little I knew even up to yesterday."
All through college, I kept this little pearl of wisdom in my back pocket. With every class I took, every book I read, and every research opportunity I embarked on, I reminded myself that there was always something more to learn, always another perspective or different angle.
Why did I feel the need to remind myself of this? Because I graduated from a prestigious high school, ready to attend Princeton University, thinking how smart I was and how much I knew. And all it took was 10 minutes in the first class I ever sat in at Princeton before that was completely shattered! My fellowship at the Foundation Center has also been an education in expanding perspective beyond what I think I know.
Sure, I had experience in the nonprofit sector before the Foundation Center. I tutored at a charter school; I did some community organizing; I worked at a foundation…In short, I thought I knew about the nonprofit sector. And just like my first class at Princeton, that rosy image too was shattered on day 1 of my job, July 25, 2011. There were so many acronyms, organization names, people's names, new terms, and so on floating around the office, and I had no idea what they were talking about.
But here I was at the Foundation Center, with access to great free and fee-based training about the foundation and nonprofit sectors – and I didn't even need to step outside the building to attend! And believe me, since my extremely confusing day 1, I have signed up for a myriad of courses.
Taking the in-house classes rivals any other training for people starting out in the nonprofit sector and for those transitioning from the for-profit sector. You can't beat the opportunity to be taught the ins-and-outs of a field – your field – by an experienced professional. This is especially true for new nonprofit professionals, who, like me, find themselves trying to absorb as much information as possible to get oriented to the demands of a new career.
The Foundation Center's newly launched seminar, Starting a Career in Nonprofit Fundraising, will be held on Friday, November 4, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. With this seminar and with guidance from veteran development professionals, you will learn what it takes to build a fulfilling and successful career in nonprofit fundraising, understand the roles and responsibilities of fundraisers, and get insight into the various opportunities and career paths available in the field. Our instructors will share their career experiences and insights with you, making for a great learning experience! Plus, attendees get bonuses, like templates of career planning worksheets, a $50 gift certificate toward another full-day grantseeker training course, and a complimentary one-week subscription to the Foundation Directory Online Professional, the comprehensive database of U.S. foundations and their recent grants.
Register today, before the course fills. And if you're interested in viewing our full calendar of courses and special events, click here.
Natasha Benacerraf
Nonprofit Services Fellow
Foundation Center-New York
All through college, I kept this little pearl of wisdom in my back pocket. With every class I took, every book I read, and every research opportunity I embarked on, I reminded myself that there was always something more to learn, always another perspective or different angle.
Why did I feel the need to remind myself of this? Because I graduated from a prestigious high school, ready to attend Princeton University, thinking how smart I was and how much I knew. And all it took was 10 minutes in the first class I ever sat in at Princeton before that was completely shattered! My fellowship at the Foundation Center has also been an education in expanding perspective beyond what I think I know.
Sure, I had experience in the nonprofit sector before the Foundation Center. I tutored at a charter school; I did some community organizing; I worked at a foundation…In short, I thought I knew about the nonprofit sector. And just like my first class at Princeton, that rosy image too was shattered on day 1 of my job, July 25, 2011. There were so many acronyms, organization names, people's names, new terms, and so on floating around the office, and I had no idea what they were talking about.
But here I was at the Foundation Center, with access to great free and fee-based training about the foundation and nonprofit sectors – and I didn't even need to step outside the building to attend! And believe me, since my extremely confusing day 1, I have signed up for a myriad of courses.
Taking the in-house classes rivals any other training for people starting out in the nonprofit sector and for those transitioning from the for-profit sector. You can't beat the opportunity to be taught the ins-and-outs of a field – your field – by an experienced professional. This is especially true for new nonprofit professionals, who, like me, find themselves trying to absorb as much information as possible to get oriented to the demands of a new career.
The Foundation Center's newly launched seminar, Starting a Career in Nonprofit Fundraising, will be held on Friday, November 4, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. With this seminar and with guidance from veteran development professionals, you will learn what it takes to build a fulfilling and successful career in nonprofit fundraising, understand the roles and responsibilities of fundraisers, and get insight into the various opportunities and career paths available in the field. Our instructors will share their career experiences and insights with you, making for a great learning experience! Plus, attendees get bonuses, like templates of career planning worksheets, a $50 gift certificate toward another full-day grantseeker training course, and a complimentary one-week subscription to the Foundation Directory Online Professional, the comprehensive database of U.S. foundations and their recent grants.
Register today, before the course fills. And if you're interested in viewing our full calendar of courses and special events, click here.
Natasha Benacerraf
Nonprofit Services Fellow
Foundation Center-New York
1 comment:
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