Director of Parent Giving & Engagement

Overview

Woodberry Forest School seeks an experienced and energetic advancement professional to cultivate parent engagement in support of the school’s strategic imperatives. The Director of Parent Giving and Engagement reports to the Assistant Headmaster for External Affairs and is a member of the school’s senior Development team.

Woodberry Forest School is a leading independent boarding school for boys in grades nine through twelve, and one of the only all-boys, all-boarding schools in the United States. Nestled on 1,200 picturesque acres in Madison County, Virginia, and located near both Charlottesville, VA and Washington, DC. The school enrolls around 400 students from the United States and beyond, and has been committed to shaping the lives of young men since 1889.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and implement Woodberry’s giving and engagement programs with parents, grandparents, past parents, and friends in support of the school’s strategic plan and mission statement.

• Develop strategies to optimize financial support through three primary channels: annual fund giving, Senior Parent Gift initiative, and capital gifts.

• Create and collaborate on opportunities for campus programming and support relating to parents, past parent, and grandparent communities.

• Work collaboratively within a passionate 14-person development team and our broader faculty to design and execute on-campus events such as Parents’ Weekends, Grandparents Day, Senior Parent Gift Dedications and others as directed by the Assistant Headmaster for External Affairs.

Specifically:

• Plan and execute the Senior Parent Gift annually in support of the graduating class. You will recruit and identify parent volunteers, identify a focus project that aligns with the school’s strategic plan, develop and execute a mini-campaign strategy to deliver on its goals, report progress to the internal team and Board of Trustees, and design and deliver a celebratory dedication each spring.

• Manage the annual fund giving program for current parents through volunteer recruitment, committee coordination, external marketing and education, and strategic outreach.

• Oversee grandparent and past parent annual fund giving, as well as capital giving.

• Identify, research, and cultivate major gift prospects, traveling as needed to do so.

• Manage a portfolio of approximately (75) prospects by qualifying new prospects and building relationships that support the school’s mission.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with at least three years of fundraising experience, including a record of accomplishment in annual giving and/or major gift work.

• Knowledge of the independent school and/or university environment preferred. Experience managing data-driven workflow is also beneficial.

• Superior interpersonal, written and verbal communications skills.

• Highly organized and able to manage and prioritize multiple and competing projects on an on-going basis.

• Self starter with the ability to work independently as well as with a team.

• Experience in developing and implementing strategies for achieving operating goals.

• Ability to listen carefully and understand constituents’ needs while proactively responding to those needs in a consistent and timely manner.

• Strong problem-solving skills combined with a collaborative approach.

• Solid knowledge of Microsoft Office and Google Suite.

• Able to exercise confidentiality and discretion.

• Ability and willingness to travel including overnight travel.

• Periodic weekend and evening work required.

WOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL IS AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER