Manager Of The Garden Patrons Program 

(Female, Age 24) from Long Island City, NY

This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 24 who works as a Manager Of The Garden Patrons Program in Long Island City, NY. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.

At a Glance

Current Job

Basic data on your current job

Job Title Manager Of The Garden Patrons Program
Salary $49,000
Other Compensation None Set
Hours/Week
Company Size (not answered)
Location Long Island City, NY
Years Experience 3 years

Career Ratings

Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)

Years in Career 0
Education (not answered)
Income Rating 0 / 10
Interest Rating 0 / 10
Work-Life Rating 0 / 10
Fulfilment Rating 0 / 10

Current job Q&A

Describe the type of organization you work for.
The New York Botanical Garden is a museum of plants, an educational institution, and a scientific research organization. Founded in 1891 and now a National Historic Landmark, it is one of the greatest botanical gardens in the world and the largest in any city in the United States, distinguished by the beauty of its diverse landscape and extensive collections and gardens, as well as by the scope and excellence of its programs in horticulture, education, and science.

Describe your job role and responsibilities.
The Manager of the Garden Patrons Program manages daily fundraising activities including stewardship and cultivation of Garden Patrons; composition of letters ; and maintenance of donor files. Responsibilities include cultivation of current and potential donors through mail, e-mail, and phone solicitation; preparation of proposals, reports, letters, and other materials; review of prospect lists and donor profiles to target potential donors; coordination of donor tours, committee meetings and other special events; and tracking of gifts and budgets.

Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
4 weeks paid vacation, 10 sick days, 401k, Aetna health and dental insurance, pre-tax transit benefits, paid holidays.

Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
Great benefits, although the salary is low.

Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes- there is constant collaboration between co workers at the Garden. We’re lucky to have a great group of people here, so working as a team is quite rewarding.

Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes

Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes

Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.

Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 5
Benefits: 3
Hours: 8
Co-Workers: 7
Supervisors: 4
Job Title: 6
Level of Responsibility: 2
The Actual Work: 1

A day in the life of…

Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:

5am to 6am
6am to 7am
7am to 8am
8am to 9am
9am to 10am Get into the office, read email from woman who wants to join the Patrons Program. Call her back and leave a message with my name, title, and phone number. Catch up on emails. Mail an acknowledgment letter.
10am to 11am Work on getting together a mailing list for an invitation. The invitation is to a holiday event at the Garden. I have to run a program through Raiser’s Edge, which is our database with names, addresses, and membership info.
11am to 12pm Wrote acknowledgment letters to people who renewed their memberships in the Patrons program.
12pm to 1pm Lunch!
1pm to 2pm Wrote and formatted an email to current Patrons about a new exhibit at the Garden and how they could get tickets for free. Made a list of current email addresses.
2pm to 3pm Meeting with my supervisors about holiday work schedules.
3pm to 4pm Wrote more acknowledgment letters. Wrote a solicitation letter to an important donor, asking him to upgrade his gift.
4pm to 5pm Spoke to the lady I called earlier in the morning. She gave me her credit card number to join the Patrons Program. Success! Leave work at 5.
5pm to 6pm
6pm to 7pm
7pm to 8pm
8pm to 9pm
9pm to 10pm
10pm to 11pm
11pm to 12am

Table of Contents

How you got your job

How did you get your current job?
Networking – I met with the President of the Garden and he sent me right to Human Resources.

What was the application process?
Resume, cover letter.

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
I had one scheduled interview with two people at the Garden.

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
‘- What is your 5-year plan? Why do you want to work for the Garden? What were some of your greatest challenges?

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Although I wasn’t prepared with hard experience, they definitely guided me though the learning process.

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
No formal training, just trial by error. Honestly, I was a little under qualified for the position, so I had to learn by doing, mostly.

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Getting prepared to think creatively and analyze effectively was the cornerstone of my liberal arts education–and that definitely has helped me out here.

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
I didn’t have much internship experience in this field, but interning certainly helped me learn how to be an employee.

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Network! Anyone who works in a not-for-profit organization can get your resume into the right hands. Also it would help to go on the organization’s website–often times jobs are listed there. Idealist.org is also a good source for job openings.

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
The ideal candidate must have excellent oral and written communication skills; and proficiency with Microsoft Word and Excel. Must be detail-oriented, highly organized, a self-motivated team player; and have the ability to handle multiple tasks, think strategically, and interact with all levels of staff, volunteers, donors, and the public.

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
A bachelors degree is a must. Development experience certainly wouldn’t hurt, but isn’t necessary.

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Be open to constructive criticism. Each not-for-profit cultural institution has a “way of doing things” — i.e. a certain “style” that one has to learn and get used to.

Long-term career plans

Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes – I feel that the Garden and this work are good fits for me.

What are your current career goals?
I would like to continue moving up the ladder within the institution.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?

Prior work history

Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:

Title Length Salary Description
Prior Job 1 Intern Summer none I was an intern for a Senator from Montana. My duties were mostly administrative–phones, stuffing envelopes, organizing mail.
Prior Job 2 Research Aide summer none I worked for a Professor in the English Department at Williams College. I helped with documenting primary sources, and organization of her research.

Educational background

Please list your educational background:

High School GPA:3.5

GPA School Degree
College (Undergraduate)
or Technical/Vocational
3.5 Williams College B.A, English
Graduate or Professional
(Masters or Doctorate)

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