fundraising manager

program manager

fundraiser

development manager

front end manager

Alzheimers Association

When I took this job, I was told by nonprofit leaders in Chicago that the Association had a really bad reputation among nonprofits. However, I believed in the cause and was passionate about it and my work. The executive management is very flawed, however, and as a result the turnover rate is very high. Executives do not support the staff but enable incompetent state and regional leaders. It is really bizarre because it is unnecessary and counter to the success of the organization. The Association also does not encourage or promote diversity. It claims it does, but none of its actions back those words. It is very white and has no desire to change that. There is also a culture of fear, which prevented others who had worked there longer from speaking out honestly about problems that existed out of fear of being terminated. Multiple staff members repeatedly expressed their deep fears openly outside of the presence of executive management. When I left, the other Chicago national nonprofit leaders who had warned me about the Association reminded me that they had told me the national Association is known for being, at best, very dysfunctional. Because the cause is so important, it is very problematic that the organization is so flawed. It became apparent that some state and regional leaders try to create issues in order to justify their own existence and cover up their own incompetence, and that behavior is supported by the national office. It is a culture that protects bad executive management at the expense of good employees, which is why the turnover rate is so high. Also, they pay the top leadership high private sector-level salaries for less-than-top-level work while keeping the salaries of others as low as possible.

Working for the Alzheimer's Association was a very positive experience.  In my situation, management was very hands-off and allowed us to thrive on our own.  This did lead to some problems at times as there was often a disconnect between what we were doing at a local level and what the organization as a whole was doing.  This was compounded by the fact that many of those who were in development at the time did not live in our area - so we were soliciting funds through relationships that did not exist (or were loose at best). Management was always willing to take your call, but were often unwilling or unable to do anything about the situation.   This, I'm told, is changing. If so, it would a great benefit. A cohesive mission is always better than a bunch of local branches trying to stay under the radar.  

Overall the organization was great.  The focus was, and will always be, on ending Alzheimer's.  Working here means that you must buy into this mission, have a passion for it, and desire more than anything for an end to the disease.  Without this, you will not thrive. If you are going to work here, it helps to have been personally impacted by the disease.  This will be your drive and you might just burn out without knowing the real reason you get up to fight the disease each day.  The company was facing some major changes at the time of my employment, which ultimately ended my position.  While I understand that these things do happen in the non-profit world, it would have been nice to have had my position transition into something else.  I would definitely work with the group again - however, I would have a little caution over the permanence of the position and the support you will have on the local level.  Every branch is different, some folks had great offices, others were miserable.  Apply if you have the passion to apply, but be sure to get to know the culture of the office/team that you are going to serve in.  It can make all the difference here.

If you are not prepared to suck up to leadership and inflate their egos then this is not the job for you.  Toxic culture is encouraged, and is a real life version of mean girls.  Staff will lie to get others in trouble and when multiple staff go to the ED or HR to report it is swept under the rug by them and HR.  Region 8 this is pointed at you. Staff in development are talked down to continually by leadership that has never even managed their own walk.  Money is wasted continually.  If you have a concern they are quick to pair you with a rep from HR who will have a wonderful time belittling you with passive aggressive remarks that will have you questioning your morals and integrity, I’m assuming that gaslighting 101 is a course that must be offered to them.  Just don’t do it, no matter how desperate you are for a job.  Yes it is a wonderful cause, but let’s be real.  Most of those walk dollars are simply going to cover the salaries of the walk positions.  So let’s say a walk raised 150k and their are 3 positions in that office, and each is paid at least 40k that means that only  30k is going towards the “mission”.   To me that is not a good return on my investment.  Programs leadership is a joke.  Get it together HJ and revamp your leadership.  You could be a great organization but not with the leadership that is currently in place.  But hey if your sadistic enjoy torturing your employees, and lording over them with the threats of job loss then you may be a perfect fit for management.  The mission is no longer about helping people it is about data mining and harassing people to the point of driving them away.  The people with this disease are the true victims because you waste so much money it is simply driving you farther away from finding a cure

Management will micromanage you to the point of criticizing how clear your desk is.  Their philosophy on employees is Theory X - they assume employees are not motivated and slack off.  All work is tracked and reported on in complex detail in multiple places, along with written narratives and plans to improve, to the point of duplicated efforts.  This stems from management's lack of trust in staff.

Staying late and working well over your weeks hours is expected, but ask to leave early in a pinch and you are made to feel bad about it and/or use your vacation time.  Of course, management can come and go as they please.  They make empty promises to help and support you.  They are not role models and wouldn't be able to handle the environment and expectations they set for the front line staff.

Any venting or sharing of stressors is frowned upon and closely monitored.  You are literally told to exit the workplace and keep your feelings to yourself, as to not spread negativity.  If you are on the other end trying to cheer up another co-worker who is in need, you are seen as feeding into what they see as a problem.

They see and are keenly aware of the negativity, but cannot seem to understand it stems from the top.  Their thought process is basically "if only we had better/tougher employees who could handle the work."  They don't mind when people leave because their thought process is, as I was told in my interview, that they need to weed out the weak ones.

It is basically a twisted form of workplace Darwinism fueled by emotional abuse.  More than a dozen staff have left in roughly the last year.  There is no longevity in this chapter because few are willing to stick around for more than a few years.  Stay away!

The Alzheimer's Association, though small, is a fast-paced non-profit, if you are the right kind of person looking for a challenge. 

Though the agency underwent some changes in the last few years, the progress being made is incredible.  If you can show up and do your job to the best of your abilities, this is a rewarding place to be. Though occasionally your hours can be extended beyond a normal working day, your time is compensated if you can manage your workload. They made this very clear in the interview process, as they are working to build a team of people ready to take on the challenges. 

Though management was also working through some growing pains, they allowed room for employees to voice their opinions and make alterations to things as the entire team grew together. Management knew their teams were constantly working hard, so things like "early release" on Fridays in the summertime, early release before Holidays, food at meetings, and team bonding activities, were all perks to the time being put in during the week by staff. Compensation was also higher than your ordinary non-profit. They see the work that the staff is doing, and the level they would like to see their staff achieve, and provide accurate compensation for it. 


This was a very fast-paced environment that did see significant turn over in the last few years, but if you are someone who can show up to work, do your job to the best of your abilities, and have a positive attitude, this could be a phenomenal place to create something wonderful and be part of a great team.

I loved working on the mission to support plwds and their caregivers. These individuals desperately need our support but it was so hard to tell caregivers to rest when you cant use your own pto. When youre being pressured to pick up additional holiday shifts. When you have 15 days of pto but no one will approve it, or worse they say itll be okay never approve it and the week before your vacation tell you you need to now work. 

Management stopped caring about the constituents a long time ago. They also stopped caring about their employees. When I started they did catered meals on holidays. They do not anymore. They expect you to change your schedule because they fire an entire crew without a plan to replace them. They also fiscally mismanage money where a second mass layoff occurred without notice. 

The work is too hard for how unappreciated you are. The team leads, directors and associate directors only care to improve how many calls are answered. To push fundraising for the walk. To force a framework that was even proven to not show any improvement over the regular call flow. 

So why do they force it? Because the new ceo only cares about research even at the expense of the people doing the work and receiving the “support”. They wont approve your pto so you’ll just have weeks banked then theyll pressure you to work overnight or weekends but wont approve your pto so your mental health suffers. 



Having been personally affected by a close family member with Alzheimer's, I was excited and eager to hit the ground running and help other families maneuver Alzheimer's and other dementia. Little did I know how quickly I would realize my hands were tied and my only job was to be a cog in the never-ending fundraising wheel: full of unrealistic expectations, co-workers fighting for their piece, ineffective and unqualified development directors, executive directors with no leadership ability, regional directors covering up for their hires and a WEST lead who never took the time to meet employees below director positions. It was a dysfunctional toxic environment where employees cried on a daily basis and were filled with anxiety. Recent development lay-offs eliminated some ineffective mid-management, but many remain. These lay-offs also eliminated many program staff - the people needed to effectively work WITH FAMILIES and in the communities. Favoritism across the organization - in all areas. Horrible place to work. No accountability to donors and I would not trust the organization with a penny of my money. They no longer care about the mission. It's all about the money.

The most enjoyable part of the job is the daily interaction with the staff here.  The organization stands for a good cause.  Both management and co-workers are a wonderful group of people to work with.  

A typical day at work for me includes quickly responding to e-mails, checking the mail, putting deposits together, preparing deposit details and sending to accountant, entering constituent and gift information in Raiser's Edge, executing mail merges to generate thank you and acknowledgement letters, maintain paper files for batch reports and donations, attend leadership team meetings, staff meetings, and/or webinars, allocate expenses to budget line items, submit invoices for payment, print and mail checks, maintain file of paid invoices and check stubs, maintain HR files, submit payroll info to payroll vendor, maintain employee leave spreadsheet, provide customer service to donors, maintain constituent and gift database, assist with events, order office and kitchen supplies, prepare for off-site meetings, schedule IT and maintenance on office equipment, perform basic IT functions, supervisor one employee, provide HR and administrative assistance to all employees; report directly to President & CEO

The hardest part of this job is getting everything done that needs to be done in a day, but the good thing is that everyone here is very understanding and in the same boat that I'm in.

Daily Algorithm
•Solve software and hardware problems for 35 staff members in chapter headquarters and six remote offices covering three states.
•Filling in for IT manager, troubleshoot all system issues and determine appropriate contactor for solution within budgetary restraints.
•Manage weekly website updates and coordinate quarterly e-Newsletter design and distribution.
•Manage and maintain graphic files, including logos and photos for close to 25 annual chapter events. This includes five to ten sponsors for each event.
•Assist Marketing team with brainstorming, marketing and advertising strategies.

I learned to manage and multitask in order to complete projects. I also developed knowledge in multi-media and public relations which help me to understand depth of graphic design and how to create content that will attract the respective audience.

Management is very easy to work with and works hard to help us achieve our goals.

My co-worker (like management) are also pleasant and works as a good unit when projects are in need of completion.

The hardest part of my job is not being allowed to utilize my skills to make a difference in the company.

The most enjoyable part of the job is the stressor free atmosphere which allows productive in the office.

Management is terrible and clueless about how to run the association. Its a helpline that forces everyone to implement a Solution-Focused model. Since when does one therapy model work for everyone? Why is a therapy model used on the help line and then told to tell callers were not a therapist. Team Leads/ Senior Agents literally get paid way more than a Care Consultant for doing nothing. They review calls and give ridiculous feedback. Sadly, most have no clinical experience and don't even know how to take a call. If you want to be micromanaged this is the place to work. Job is repetitive, answering nonstop calls all day. Literally, it's a customer service call center try to force Care Consultants to use an evidence-based therapy model they have made changes to force and make it work. Management is oblivious to the high turnover rate and never makes changes to better things always for the worse. Its always extremely busy and management will send ridiculous messages "good job managing the queue" but not take any calls. They give bad PTO for a noon-profit, no mental health or sick days are given or personal days, PTO is never approved, no work or life balance. This job will burn you out and deteriorate your mental health. Leaving this job 3 months ago has been the decision I have ever made for myself. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Fundraising manager 165 salaries reported	$61,251 per year
Program manager 20 salaries reported	$61,625 per year
Fundraiser 42 salaries reported	$84,457 per year
Development manager 6 salaries reported	$50,833 per year
Front end manager 1 salary reported	$62,500 per year

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