USD Magazine, Fall 2003

Paige Harrington shows visitors around at the Coronado Historical Society, which promotes the community's art, architecture and history.

"In the last couple of years with the downturn in the economy, fund raising has become more difficult and smaller places have a harder rime fighting for dollars," says Harringron, a 2002 USD graduate with a master's degree in history. "Ir's harder to get and keep qualified staff with less money to spend on payroll." The New Rules There are more than 6,000 nonprofit groups operating in San Diego County, many run by dedicated men and women who have strong beliefs that aren't always matched by their practical skills. These managers have found that a new set of rules applies to their jobs.

says Mitchell, 43 . "Ir's good to get the expertise to feel comfortable wearing some of those hats you don't normally wear." The two-year program has exploded in popularity, this year turning away applicants for the fall class, for which 40 people applied and 25 were accepted. The current crop of students work in nonprofit agencies as varied as Catholic Charities, the San Diego Opera and the San Diego Center for the Blind. Paige Harrington, executive director for the Coronado Historical Society, was one of the lucky ones accepted into the Fall 2003 class. She says she needs plenty of help when it comes to raising money, and hopes the pro– gram will teach her the necessary techniques.

level positions. Kelly Mitchell, development director of San Diego Crew Classic, which sponsors an annual rowing race each year on Mission Bay, enrolled in the inaugural class even though she has 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She says the courses have better equipped her to tackle almost every aspect of her job. "In a lot of nonprofits you have to wear many hats, like doing budgets and fund rais– ing as well as law and strategic planning,"