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Monday, April 1, 2013

Ageism in a Time of Crisis!?

The heading is both a statement and a question, as I have increasingly been stumped by what I perceive to be hiring practices by non-profit organizations focused on the momentary bottom line rather than on the long range potential for increased revenue.

What, you may ask, does this have to do with "ageism"?

Whether you see it or not, there is a definite link between choosing to hire individuals at the early stages of their career - therefore young and still gaining experience - and the pay scale institutions are willing to offer, all the while requiring and expecting these hires to perform at senior level experience. In very few professional fields do experience, and the attributes of credibility, socio-cultural diplomacy and psychological intuition carry  more weight than in fund raising; and they get honed over many years of rejections, misses and successes, of time spent in the trenches, with sleeves rolled up stuffing envelopes, and celebratory moments for hard won achievements.

Non-profit Boards, search committees and HR directors who truly understand what it is they are seeking to accomplish for their organizations, are not only willing but even excited to commit the money and time needed to bring on board to occupy the leadership role individuals that have a strategic understanding, combined with the experience and depth of knowledge of fund raising best practices. These individuals are, most likely, of the baby-boomer generation; and because they have years - oftentimes more than one decade - of experience under their belts, the pay scale where they're positioned is obviously much higher, leading to being passed over in hiring for ED or Director positions by short-sighted decision makers. However, no one admits to this form of discrimination, using as feedback the generic "it was not the right fit."  Unfortunately for the the organizations, neither is the inexperienced fund raiser who was thrown in a senior position. Both parties soon find out that despite the non-profit's money saving hiring strategy, their partnership "was not a good fit."

My mother always said:  You get what you pay for...


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