Meet-A-FLiP: Jenn Goldstone

Future Leaders in Philanthropy (FLiP): Tell me a little about your background – where did you go to school, what did you major in, and where do you work now?

Jenn Goldstone (JG): I went to Columbia College (class of 1995), Columbia University. I majored in English Literature and now work as director of member services at the Jewish Funders Network.

FLiP: How did you get involved in the philanthropic sector? What jobs have you had?

JG: I started in non-profit after ten years in TV as a producer for ABC News. Upon leaving ABC, I interviewed for a number of development jobs, including the Steinhardt Foundation and Outward Bound. As it happened, the VP of Development at Outward Bound's brother is a former political reporter for NBC News, so he "got" how the skills that make a television producer are directly transferable to development work - including research, booking, shoot production, and more obviously, writing. I started there as Director of Institutional Support and then was offered a position upon the consolidation of Outward Bound's regional programs as National Director of Foundation Relations. I took this transitional state to move over to Outward Bound's public school reform program, Expeditionary Learning Schools Outward Bound, as Director of Marketing and Communications.

Following my personal interest in public school reform proved to be a great fit and I loved this job, until I had to make a difficult choice. I have a now 17 month old and at the time of my maternity leave, my job was an hour and a half commute each way, five days a week. I really wanted to be home and work part-time. During my maternity leave, I was randomly contacted by the Steinhardt Foundation, who had held on to my resume from years earlier, about a Director of Development job at a non-profit on whose board their Executive Director sat. Called The Curriculum Initiative, they do Jewish identity building for independent high school students. They had only enough budget to hire for three days a week, and no office space for me. Since I wanted to work part-time from home I parted ways with Outward Bound and entered the Jewish communal world. From here, when it became clear that I needed to go back to work full-time out of the house, I decided to stay in the Jewish world but was eager to move to the foundation side from the development field.

FLiP: I know a lot of our readers either have transitioned from fundraising to grantmaking, or would like to. How has the transition been for you?

JG: I have really enjoyed the transition. I enjoy not having a concrete development goal hanging over my head, but rather have bigger picture organizational goals and plans that I must fulfill. It is much more satisfying to have a diverse portfolio of objectives rather than one ultimate need, to keep the lights on.

FLiP: Now that you are on the other side of the fence, is there anything you know now you would have liked to know as a fundraiser?

JG: I recently heard a statistic from someone who was presenting a piece of foundation marketed software-- according to The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, 11% of each grant is being spent on administrative costs for reporting on the program. As a development director the first thing I would do when I got a new job would be to refine, update and improve the boiler plate proposals and reporting. It is ok to cut and paste; it is even desired. Too many non-profit professionals are re-inventing the wheel every time and it is a waste - boiler plate is the way to go, then add customization - foundations don't mind.

Also, being that I am in a network of philanthropists rather than a foundation (JFN does not do much, if any, "direct" grantmaking), I am impressed by the quality and humanity of foundation staff. When I was in development, they seemed like lofty, slightly scary figures on the other side, whose support for my organization would make or break my budget, deeply affecting my goal attainment. Now I realize they are accessible, warm people, who have their own job requirements and operate towards goals that are just as demanding as those of development folks. It has really humanized this part of the world for me. It also has shown me that I might have been more successful connecting as a person rather than treating them like holy gatekeepers.

FLiP: Do you have any advice for fundraisers who would like to make the switch to the grantmaking side?

JG: I found it very hard to switch and this job was a lucky opportunity. The job listings on the Council on Foundations website were a great resource and your regional grantmakers association website is good too. The key thing for me was finding a job that served members - including research, marketing and donor relations skills. Through my job search I learned that I don't think I would have been able to get a program officer job without an advanced degree in a foundation's particular funding area. But who knows, as a former journalist, I am skilled at becoming an instant expert and given the right hiring contact, maybe I could have sold myself to them. I think that a smaller family foundation might have been interested in me as a development professional looking to jump the fence, but at the larger foundations, expertise in a certain program area is desired.