I make sure the press and general community know about the great programs and services the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan offers. And I support fundraising by making donors, sponsors and volunteers aware of how they can help.

EDUCATION | Bachelors Degree in Marketing

HOW TO GET STARTED | Internships and volunteer work are the best ways to get started. Most non-profits are always looking for volunteers. You'll find volunteer opportunities posted on the organization website or online volunteer networks (like www.volunteermatch.org). It's good to be a multi-tasker since smaller non-profits may not be able to hire a full-time communications role. Flexibility is a big plus. And a Marketing or Communications degree certainly doesn't hurt.

MUST HAVE TRAITS | Must love to talk. You meet so many different people, so you also need great social skills for building rapport. It helps to have a fairly good memory to recall statistics and facts when talking about the organization and a particular disease. And since there are so many things going on at once, you need good organization skills to be able to prioritize and make sure nothing gets left behind.

how I got started | I had internships in college that really helped me get my foot in the door. I saw an ad in the paper for NKFM, checked it out online and sent my resume. I had three interviews. They didn't have a communications manager role at the time, so I hired in as a project coordinator and worked my way up.

why this job?| I like to talk...a lot...so it's natural that I've always been interested in communications and marketing. But it was a post college internship in Vice President Gore's press office that really opened my eyes to the power of words. I learned how to put words together in a way that connects with people and motivates them to take action. It's a skill that comes in handy now that my job is to promote programs, services and fundraising events for the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan.

why I love this job!| At the end of every day, I know I left the world at a better point than when it started. Even if I'm just writing press releases or crunching numbers for grant reports, I know that in the big picture of things I'm doing good for so many people. Especially when we get the call from a nurse that one of our dialysis patients got a kidney or we get a thank you email from someone we helped with the drug bank - it reinforces that what we're doing is really helping improve someone's life rather than just someone's bottom line.

my typical day| The part I like most about my job is that there is no typical day - I wear a lot of different hats. I'll check my email and return phone calls first thing in the morning, but it's pretty random after that. I switch from a media phone call, to talking with someone about a program, to reviewing a grant, to a meeting about the next fundraiser.

what they are | There are many. One of the biggest is getting the media exposure and coverage we need on a tight advertising budget. We're very conscious about spending the bulk of our donated money directly on programs and services - which doesn't leave much leftover for advertising. We have to be creative with pitching and crafting our message to get radio stations and newspapers to cover our programs and services for free. So we'll include touching personal stories and fun public service announcements. Another challenge is that in order to get the best stories possible, I'm often all over the map trying to dig up the latest statistics and tracking down physicians and patients for reporters to interview.

all about growth | Non-profits aren't at the top of the pay scale - you shouldn't expect to be paid the same as your peers at a for-profit company. When I started, the Kidney Foundation was relatively small and there wasn't a position above me. But I focused on bringing the value of communications to the forefront. Now I've moved up into a position I created and hired my replacement. If you do something well you can make your own way. But there's definitely that trade-off between making a corporate salary and feeling like you make a difference every day.

my website| http://www.nkfm.org