Staffing & Human Resources

As more and more nonprofits are stepping up training of fundraisers, they are finding low-cost yet effective ways to improve the skills of their staff members.

At Berea College, in Kentucky, for example, Bill Laramee, vice president for alumni and college relations, says a monthlong course he teaches about philanthropy helped train and recruit several fundraisers, including two development officers who now work on Berea’s annual fund. The course, consisting of daily classes, covers the philosophical underpinnings of charity and ethical issues related to fundraising.

Infogroup announced that Gretchen Littlefield has been named to the Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation’s (DMANF) Advisory Council for the 2011-2013 term that begins July 1. Littlefield is the only incoming member from the private sector.

In addition to serving a two year term, Littlefield will become co-chair of DMANF’s Government Affairs Committee. In this capacity, she will serve as an advocate for nonprofits on Capitol Hill and advance the legislative interests of the fundraising community. Littlefield drives the overall management, strategic planning, and growth of Infogroup’s offerings to the nonprofit, political and federal government sectors.

Grizzard Communications Group announced that it has hired Lori Connolly as vice president of research and analytics. Connolly will be responsible for research and analytics strategy development for multichannel fundraising on behalf of a variety of clients.

Michel Roy has been elected as the new general secretary of Caritas, the Catholic Church’s confederation of charitable and development agencies. The 56-year-old Frenchman was voted in by a majority of delegates at the organization’s general assembly in Rome.

Roy has 30 years experience working for Secours Catholique in France. He began by working for the diocesan office in Paris in 1981. He is a father of two children and is an alumnus of the Sorbonne University in Paris, graduating in economics and oriental languages.

Grizzard Communications Group announced that it has hired Karen E. Gleason as group vice president and senior strategist. Gleason will be responsible for leadership on national accounts and developing strategies for multichannel fundraising for a variety of clients.

Blue Avocado and the Tom Battin Awards announced their updated list of the Best Nonprofit Job Sites. This year's Tom Battin Awards winners are:

• Best all-around: Idealist
• Best nonprofit site: Opportunity Knocks
• Best commercial site: Simply Hired
• Best international: Devex

These 12 strategies aren't the only things I'd do to transform my donor-development office. They may not even be the most urgent things I'd do, or even the most important. But they are the things I'd do that I think would have the most lasting impact. They would make the most difference to converting my imaginary donor-development department from the under-funded, misunderstood appendage to the fundraising function that I found on joining the organization into the finely honed, high-
earning core activity that I'd like to leave behind when, in the fullness of time, I move on to pastures new (you have to indulge me a little here, in this fantasy). Anyway, here we go.

Customer relationship marketing agency Merkle has named Steve LaValle executive vice president of client and advisory services. The move underscores the company's emphasis on a consultative, strategically led approach to helping clients build and sustain profitable customer relationships.

LaValle brings more than 24 years of experience in direct marketing and CRM consulting to his new role. Prior to joining Merkle, he spent eight years with IBM, most recently as Global Leader, Business Analytics and Optimization Strategy Services.

Findings from the 2011 national Nonprofit Employment Trends Survey conducted jointly by Nonprofit HR Solutions and the Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research (University of San Diego) indicate that 60 percent of the nonprofit organizations in this years survey plan to hire in 2011 even though nearly one quarter of the organizations in this year’s survey trimmed staff in 2010. Findings also revealed that turnover remains low within nonprofit organizations.

According to a new report released by Commongood Careers and Level Playing Field Institute, nonprofit employees perceive that their employers value building diverse and inclusive organizations. However, their employers are doing little to back up that claim.

The report, titled The Voice of Nonprofit Talent: Perceptions of Diversity in the Workplace, is the culmination of a nationwide survey of over 1,600 nonprofit professionals.