Look Here! Attracting and Developing the Next Generation of Nonprofit Leaders

In 1999, Brookings Institution Press published what it described as a "groundbreaking profile of the public service profession," THE NEW PUBLIC SERVICE by Paul C. Light. And groundbreaking it is. What Light documents is a remarkable generational shift in public service. No longer are graduates with ambitions to serve the public good settling into decades-long government positions. Rather, they are preparing for and expecting mobile careers, serving public interests by "bouncing back-and-forth" between positions in government, nonprofit agencies, and/or private firms. Responding to this shift, Light offered this advice to the nonprofit sector and its funders: Unlike government, which has always had more than enough managers to fill any middle- or upper-level opening, or the private sector, which has always had enough money to skim the cream for the talent it needs from other sectors, nonprofit agencies are notoriously flat organizations. Without painting the entire sector with a broad brush, it seems reasonable to suggest that funders pay increased attention to the nonprofit talent pool. Whatever the line of work, if nonprofits are to survive and flourish in the current environment of tight budgets and increased competition, they must have a stable corps of talented leaders. The Forbes Funds has heeded Light's suggestion. With the generous support of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, The Forbes Funds, in 2001, launched a multi-year applied research project: "LOOK HERE! Attracting and Retaining the Next Generation of Nonprofit Leaders." The resultant findings and recommendations are presented in brief in this journal.