Contact Information:
Name:
Mr. William Shorts

E-mail address:
bill_shorts@yahoo.com

Education Information
Undergraduate Major:
College of Arts and Sciences, French & Political Science

Degree Received:
BA

Graduation Year:
1987

Advanced Degrees:
Masters in Public Administration

Activities, student organizations, leadership roles, etc. in which I was involved at UT:
Phi Beta Kappa. Language Dorm (no longer exists). Poli. Sci. Society.

Job Information
Employer Name:
Hale Barnard Corporation

Employer Web Site:
www.halebarnard.org

Present Job Title:
Director of Development

Brief description of my job responsibilities, e.g. a typical week in my job:
Responsible for all fundraising, marketing, & PR for elder residential/services organization. Responsible for events, newsletter, annual appeals, grants, database management, some volunteer coordination, and web page management.

Suggestions I would give to undergraduate students with regard to courses, internships, and other means of preparation for my career field:
Public administration, concentration in non-profit management.

My career path in getting to this position:
After an extremely brief career in local government management, I went to Washington, DC and ran a fundraising effort for The National Symphony Orchestra. From there, I did public policy and lobbying fundraising for a variety of groups. After this, I was Assistant Director of the Annual Fund for Georgetown University. From there, I ran all in-bound and out-bound sales and fundraising efforts for The Philadelphia Orchestra and all other presenting arts entities at The Philadelphia Academy of Music. After this, I ran subscription sales and fundraising campaigns for The New York City Opera at Lincoln Center. After a year, I was recruited by The Walnut Street Theatre, the country's oldest and most subscribed, to do the same work for them. This brought me back to Philadelphia. After two years there, I moved to Boston and since then I have worked mostly contractually, for a variety of groups, mostly in the arts, and my work has taken me to various cities for a ! few weeks at a time to set up campaigns and the like. Since August 2003, I have served in the capacity of Director of Development for Hale Barnard Services for Older People in Boston.,

Other advice for students interested in gaining entry into and pursuing a career in this field:

You must know how to WRITE. Your writing must be both grammatically sound and concise. Somehow you must be both poetic and compelling in your writing. Also, you must know how to carry yourself in social settings. While not all fundraising is soliciting large gifts, much of it is. I suggest for those of you in Knoxville, that you find a way to mix and mingle with some of Knoxville's "upper crust," whether through volunteering to work fundraising events in the area, or doing what I did -- dating somebody who had family in those circles!

Seriously, your ability to engage in meaningful conversation with would-be donors, and your understanding of and ability to convey the importance of the mission and purpose of whatever organization or cause you represent, are vital. More importantly -- putting those two things together is critical to your success.

Keep abreast of events by going to this site: http://community.knoxville.com/

Note that a career in non-profit fundraising is terrific. You will meet a variety of very interesting people, attend very fun events, and do a great deal of help for your community.

Good luck.,