Talent Market

Talent Market's mission is to promote liberty by providing talent for critical roles within the free-market nonprofit sector

  • SEND US YOUR RESUME
  • CANDIDATES
    • APPLY FOR YOUR DREAM JOB
    • JOB OPENINGS
    • SIGN UP FOR E-NEWSLETTER
    • CANDIDATE FAQ
  • CLIENTS
    • NEED HELP WITH A SEARCH?
    • OUTREACH
    • GEOGRAPHY & VIRTUAL WORK
    • TIPS FOR HIRING MANAGERS
    • CLIENT LIST
  • RESOURCES
    • ADVICE
      • TALENT TIPS
      • INTERVIEWING TIPS
      • RESUME TIPS
      • PREPARING YOUR RESUME & COVER LETTER
      • CONSIDERING THE NONPROFIT SECTOR?
      • CONSIDERING A CAREER IN FUNDRAISING?
      • ADVICE FOR ATTORNEYS
      • JOB HUNTING RESOURCES
    • INTERNSHIPS, CLERKSHIPS, & FELLOWSHIPS
    • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
      • STUDENTS & RECENT GRADUATES
      • MID-CAREER
      • ATTORNEYS
    • AWARDS
      • AWARD WINNERS
    • FREE-MARKET NONPROFIT DIRECTORY
    • FREE-MARKET NONPROFIT MAP
  • ABOUT
    • SUPPORT
    • SIGN UP FOR E-NEWSLETTER
    • OUR TEAM
    • ADVISORY COUNCIL
    • PARTNERSHIP WITH AMERICA’S FUTURE
    • SUCCESS
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • CONTACT

Talent Tip #144: The F Word

April 19, 2022

I love the F word.

I use it frequently, in fact. I say it in front of my clients and candidates…in front of mature audiences and young professionals….even kids. Heck, I say it in front of my mother-in-law. I’m shameless about it.

No matter when or where I use it, it never fails to raise eyebrows.

I don’t think people are offended by it; they just don’t think about it that often.  But they should.  Because it’s absolutely critical to everything we do here in the free-market universe.

And that’s why you’ll hear me blurting out “FUNDRAISING” every day and twice on Sunday.

Fundraising has been and likely will always be Talent Market’s greatest talent need. On any given day, about a third of our searches are development-focused. And as I write this, it’s even higher: of Talent Market’s 50+ current searches, more than 20 are in development.

And that’s why I want everyone to embrace the F word as much as I do.

Specifically, I want young professionals who haven’t yet decided on a career to strongly consider fundraising.

  • It’s one of the most diverse fields in the liberty movement. Development roles can focus on relationship building with major donors or foundations, writing, research, management, strategy, data analysis, events, campaigns, estate planning, direct mail, corporate relations, or all of the above! There are an F-load of options!
  • If you love free-market ideas, fundraising will give you a chance to be engaged with these ideas. A good fundraiser needs to understand free-market principles and be able to talk about them, write about them, and connect with people who share our appreciation of these principles.
  • If you’re good at fundraising, you’ll have plenty of job opportunities to consider throughout your career. See our openings list for proof.

I also want free-market nonprofits to consider a few key items related to fundraising talent, especially in this market.

  • If you are hiring and see a candidate you like, you need to act very quickly. If you don’t snatch up that talented development officer, one of the other bazillion organizations hiring will.
  • Think about unconventional candidates. Do you really need someone with 5 years of experience fundraising for freedom? Or would you consider an individual with transferable skills who is eager to join the liberty movement?
  • Treat candidates well during the hiring process. We recently had a candidate drop out of the running for a development opening because she wasn’t pleased with how the organization treated her and she knew she had myriad other options to consider. Sure enough, another nonprofit hired her within days.
  • Treat your existing development staff well. It’s much easier to keep them than to hire.
  • Consider a development track for your organization’s internship program. If your free-market organization hosts interns, be sure that some of them are assigned to your fundraising team and make sure all of them are exposed to fundraising and learn about its importance in our world. If we don’t develop the next generation of fundraisers, who will?

Finally, I want everyone reading this to do a few things for me.

  • Encourage young professionals to consider development as a career path. Many recent graduates are thinking about a career in policy because it’s the most obvious path (I was one of those!). But they probably have no idea that there are far more openings in development, nor do they understand just how many different types of opportunities are available within the fundraising realm. If we don’t open their eyes to this, who will?
  • Hug a fundraiser today. Do you know someone in fundraising? Go hug them, give them a buzz, shoot them a text, or drop them a line right now and thank them for what they do to advance liberty.
  • Finally, let’s all say the F word with a little more frequency. It’s a word worthy of repeating. Fundraisers keep the lights on in the nonprofit world. Let’s face it, without fundraisers, we’re all…..doomed. 😉 What did you think I was going to say?

Keyword Search

Category Search

Talent Tips Archive Search

SEND US YOUR RESUME

If you want us to keep you in mind for opportunities, send us your resume so we have all the details that will help us help you.

About Us

Claire Kittle Dixon
Executive Director

Claire runs the day-to-day operations of Talent Market, manages searches for clients, and oversees the organization’s fundraising communications, technology, administration, and cat-herding efforts…
Read more

 

Katy Gambella
Director of Outreach

Katy oversees Talent Market’s outreach to young professionals and manages the outreach team. She also manages searches and executes outreach directly herself…
Read more

Stephanie Keaveney
Senior Manager of Outreach
Stephanie splits her time between managing talent searches for free-market nonprofits, maintaing Talent Market’s social media presence, and engaging in outreach to young professionals interested in liberty-oriented careers…
Read more

Bailey Drouant
Project Manager
Bailey assists free-market nonprofits with their hiring needs by helping them manage the search process from start to finish…
Read more

Savannah Rupp
Project Manager
Savannah channels her expertise to manage searches for free-market nonprofits, ensuring they find the perfect match to drive their missions forward. She also supports Talent Market’s…
Read more

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Wait, You’re a Nonprofit?

Talent Market is a nonprofit. We’ll wait here while that sinks in. We know it’s a crazy concept, but it’s been working like a charm since 2009.

Talent Market’s mission is to promote liberty by providing talent for critical roles within the free-market nonprofit sector.

We provide consulting and recruiting services at no cost to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations that clearly and directly focus on advancing the principles of economic freedom, free enterprise, free trade, free speech, property rights, rule of law, and limited regulation. (We do not work with political organizations, organizations with mission statements that do not clearly advance free-market principles, organizations that focus on social issues, or organizations that have a focus outside of the United States. We are not a job board. ) 

Talent Market believes that the road to prosperity is paved with freedom and that the success of our movement hinges on the talent that will take us there.

Read more

Copyright ©2025 · Talent Market

Copyright © 2025 · AgentPress Pro On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in