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http://www.westridge.org | Westridge School
Pasadena, California
has appointed
Rick Wilson
as
Director of Advancement | The School
Located in an idyllic park-like setting in a quiet, residential neighborhood in west Pasadena, California, Westridge School is an independent day school for college-bound girls. With an enrollment of approximately 500 students in grades four through 12, Westridge’s fundamental purpose is to develop girls’ intellectual and creative powers and their unique qualities as individuals. Equally essential to the school is its commitment to be a community that reflects and values diversity, respects individual differences, and responds to a changing, dynamic world. Westridge strives to develop young women whose joy in learning, personal ideals, commitment to ethical action, social and environmental responsibility, courage and compassion will lead them to meaningful lives as contributing citizens of a global community.
In the early 1900s, two mothers, concerned that there was no school for their daughters on the west side of Pasadena, persuaded Mary Lowther Ranney, a noted architect and teacher, to begin a school for girls in her home on the “west ridge” of town. When initial enrollment quickly exceeded expectations, Miss Ranney found a larger home at 324 Madeline Drive and opened the school with 21 students in 1913. The Tudor classroom building at 324 Madeline remains the heart of Westridge’s 9.5-acre tree-covered campus. Upon Miss Ranney’s retirement in 1936, a group of parents purchased the school and chartered it as a nonprofit institution with a board of trustees.
Through the years, Westridge has grown and expanded both physically and in the quality and scope of its program. In addition to the campus improvements, the school has fostered and supported social and academic progress, including landmarks such as a financial aid program implemented in 1937, summer school classes in 1949, and in the 1960s, a plan encouraging enrollment of students of color, who now comprise one-third of the student body. The following two decades saw a broadening of the athletic program, and during the 1990s, computer technology was integrated into academic life, performing and fine arts received a new emphasis, and campus expansion continued in support of the institution’s overall development. As Westridge approaches its centennial, the school will celebrate a memorable history and the significant accomplishments of the past while remaining innovative and flexible to respond to the challenges of the future. Most important, and at the core of the school’s ethos since its inception, all programs will continue to be based on a fundamental belief in the value of single-sex education.
The Opportunity
Westridge School has an operating budget of $13 million and is in strong financial condition. The school’s Annual Fund raised $860,000 last year, and the current endowment is $15 million. With the installation of Elizabeth McGregor as the eleventh Head of School on September 2 of this year, the Westridge community is filled with energy and excitement about the opportunity to capitalize on the solid foundation left by the 18-year tenure of Fran Norris Scoble. As the school approaches its centennial celebration, a new Director of Advancement is being sought to partner with the Head of School, the Board of Trustees, and the parent and alumnae communities in building a comprehensive advancement office.
While there is a high level of parent participation in the Annual Fund, fundraising practices and results have historically been somewhat modest and focused on a few major donors. Nevertheless, the school’s leadership is confident that there is the capacity, interest, and commitment necessary among Westridge constituencies to set new standards and achieve considerable results. Specific goals within the school’s advancement office include completing the $13-million Campaign for a Green Future (toward which approximately $10 million has already been raised), developing and implementing a strategy for significant growth in the Annual Fund, and establishing additional fundraising and communication initiatives that are representative of an institution of the caliber of Westridge. The Director of Advancement will play a key role in the life of the school while continuing to advance the overall professional growth of its advancement program.
Responsibilities
Reporting to the Head of School and as a member of the Westridge Leadership Team, the school’s senior administrative group, the Director of Advancement will be responsible for formulating and implementing goals, strategies, and programs to generate gifts for current use, capital projects and endowment. He or she will collaborate with the Head of School and the Board of Trustees on key fundraising initiatives and will lead and manage a team of six professional and administrative staff members responsible for annual giving, leadership giving, capital campaign efforts, alumnae and parent relations, communications, and marketing.
Specific duties will include, but are not limited to, the following:
Providing Vision
Establishing and executing strategies to raise funds for Westridge, including educating its various constituencies about the need for philanthropy in support of independent schools and encouraging current donors to increase their financial support of the school.
Building a comprehensive advancement office through developing or strengthening key initiatives, such as Annual Giving, Major Gifts, Capital and Endowment Campaigns, Alumnae Programs, Planned Giving, Corporate Giving, Foundation Grants, Marketing, and Communications.
Creating and employing a communications strategy that includes print and electronic publications for both internal and external communities in order to communicate effectively and consistently the school’s mission, activities, community-building endeavors, advancement initiatives, and short- and long-term needs.
Collaboration with the School Community
Supporting volunteers leading development projects, including coordinating and managing such efforts as necessary.
Coaching and mentoring the Head of School and Development Committee members on development activities and otherwise facilitating their involvement in fundraising.
Cultivating relationships with key community members to make the school a priority among their philanthropic giving.
Partnering with the Head and other members of the senior leadership team to define and achieve the current and long-range objectives of Westridge.
Management of the Department
Guiding day-to-day advancement activities to ensure the department functions smoothly.
Building the department’s infrastructure by leading and mentoring the present staff, determining the optimal organizational structure, and making certain that information systems, processes, and procedures are efficient and effective, thereby optimizing donor research and identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship as part of a comprehensive institutional advancement program.
Participating in strategic planning, budgeting, business planning, and administrative aspects of the institution in concert with the Head of School, the Board, and other members of the Westridge Leadership Team. Candidate Qualities
Leadership
An individual who sees the “big picture” and is able to envision ambitious goals and to develop and articulate strategies to achieve them.
An unpretentious and service-oriented executive who projects a compelling personal presence and whose knowledge, experience and dedication to the mission of Westridge inspire the confidence of others.
A strategic thinker whose vision and pragmatism allow him or her to anticipate future needs and modify the school’s advancement plan accordingly.
An executive who projects team spirit and has the ability to organize, energize, focus, and empower others in pursuit of a mission executed through a well-developed action plan.
A manager who brings a creative, positive, and disciplined approach to all projects and challenges.
Experience
At least ten years of experience leading and managing a successful advancement department, ideally in an independent school.
A track record of significant personal involvement in annual and major gift programs, including cultivation and direct solicitation; multi-million dollar capital and endowment campaigns; planned giving; foundation grants; alumni relations; special events; and marketing and communications with both print and web-based media.
Background staffing, mentoring, and coaching volunteers and the Head of School and laying the groundwork for their successful solicitation of large gifts.
A history of leading a diverse group of professionals in a collaborative style that creates enthusiasm and an expectation of success.
Experience recruiting, training, motivating, and working with volunteers in leadership roles.
Background building and transforming advancement programs to make them more successful.
Skills and Knowledge
Broad and deep knowledge of both general fundraising principles and the myriad components that comprise a successful independent school advancement program.
Skilled in assessing existing fundraising strategies, creating plans to strengthen areas of need, and building new programs as required to increase overall financial support for the institution.
Understanding of marketing, public relations, and communications, and how they integrate successfully with fundraising.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills that allow one to move comfortably in a wide variety of social settings, to forge solid personal relationships with major donors, and to engender in various constituencies a sense of common purpose.
Strong analytical skills coupled with computer and internet literacy, including the ability to use technology to maximize donor research, gift processing, stewardship, and marketing and communications.
Able to recognize, recruit, and mentor a talented staff and dedicated volunteers.
Personal Traits
A person of unquestioned honesty and integrity who deals with others in an open and straightforward fashion.
A good listener who is intuitive, perceptive, and insightful into the needs and motivations of donors.
A practical and pragmatic person who is focused on results.
One who is positive and upbeat, with a good sense of humor.
A warm and compassionate individual who takes a genuine interest in others while still exercising discipline and accountability.
An accessible and approachable “people person” who is excited about being part of the daily life of a school community.
A diligent and well-organized person who is flexible and handles unexpected challenges with grace.
An executive who is poised and polished when interacting with people of power, influence, and wealth.
One who fully supports the mission of Westridge both to educate and to nurture the character formation of young women. Other Considerations
Compensation: Commensurate with capability, experience, and prevailing market trends
Location: Pasadena, California
Travel: Light to moderate
Education: Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s or other advanced degrees a plus
| | Updated: May 13, 2010 |
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