Responsibilities of a School's Development Department

Development can be defined as building a sustainable support base for a school’s Christ-centered mission through strong relationships with individuals, foundations, churches, and others to provide prayer support, funding, volunteerism, and goodwill. Optimal advancement of the school’s mission occurs when the fund development activities take place in the context of schoolwide relationship building with prospective parents, current parents, donors, volunteers, alumni, and the community. Thus, schools should consider the following list of responsibilities as
strategic mission-development activities.

Purpose: To orchestrate the identification, cultivation, and nurturance of relationships in support of the school’s mission.

1. Relationship to the Board

• Act as an expert development resource to the board.
• Participate in the board’s institutional advancement activities (including the development committee).
• Facilitate board member involvement in fund-development programs, including major gifts, planned giving, capital projects, and others.
• Participate with the board and the head of school in formulating organizational fund-raising policies and long-range advancement goals.

2. Relationship to the Administration

• Report directly to the head of school.
• Partner with the head of school in donor cultivation, acting as strategist and facilitator.
• Maintain effective working relationships with the school leadership team, including staff and faculty.

3. Fund Development

• Plan, organize, and promote all programs in light of biblical principles for stewardship and fund-raising.
• Enlist and train key volunteer leaders (including the board) in seeking support for the school.
• Establish and oversee a database to track all relationships, such as those involving donations, pledges, alumni, and prospective students.
• Plan, implement, and promote an annual fund through various means of solicitation, including online giving.
• Plan, implement, and promote capital campaigns as approved by the board.
• Plan, implement, and promote deferred giving as the fund-development program matures.
• Oversee the stewardship of gifts of cash, appreciated assets, in-kind gifts, and others; this includes giving donors appropriate acknowledgment, receipting, and recognition.
• Prepare, in conjunction with the head of school, the advancement budgets, which include fund development, public relations, and admissions.
• Provide spiritual leadership to garner prayer support, and conduct all advancement activities in adherence to biblical stewardship principles.

4. Public Relations

• Promote the school through the development of appropriate marketing tools, including advertising, brochures, and website.
• Inform internal constituency of all institutional advancement activities.
• Plan, promote, and implement programs to build strong relationships with churches, corporations, and foundations in the community.
• Assist the head of school in promoting a comprehensive brand for the school.
• Cultivate appropriate media attention to the school.
• Cultivate strong alumni relationships through communications and annual activities.

5. Recruitment and Retention of Students

• Plan, promote, and implement a mission-driven student recruitment and admissions program.
• Coordinate a cross-department effort to draw and keep mission-appropriate students.

6. Personal Characteristics

• Be committed to Christian schooling.
• Exhibit excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Preferably have a bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, or financial systems.
• Be a self-starter.
• Be a person who is motivated by challenges.
• Have a strong Christian testimony, and be spiritually mature.