Heather Darling, 29

As a development officer at St. Petersburg’s renowned Dali Museum, Heather Darling has a job that flies in the face of logic: getting people to hand over money for nothing in return.

Well, maybe not “nothing” in the strictest sense of the term, but the return on investment from a charitable gift to a nonprofit arts institution like the Dali Museum is, of course, highly subjective. “People are motivated to give for different reasons,” Darling says. “And I do think they get something in return.”

That “something” could be any number of things, including furthering the region's image as an top arts destination, but it doesn’t make Darling’s job any easier. She says turning a “no” into a “yes” takes finely honed relationship-building skills and a long-term outlook.