Goal
The Westview School seeks an enthusiastic and experienced Development Director to oversee all fundraising activities including executing fundraising events, identifying grant opportunities, cultivating major gifts, executing capital campaigns, and developing recurring givers. A successful candidate will work closely with the Head of School and Board of Trustees. In addition, the Development Director will collaborate with team members to generate financial resources for The Westview School each year.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations, or related field – Required
- Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE) Certification - Preferred
- At least 5 years of experience in development and fundraising, including donor cultivation, annual giving programs, and corporate or foundation solicitations
Skills/Knowledge
- Exceptional oral and written communication skills
- Knowledge of grant writing
- Event planning experience
- Extremely detail-oriented
- High degree of personal integrity
- Strong time-management skills to be able to efficiently meet expected weekly deadlines
- Emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills
- Must be a collaborative team player
- Must have the ability to stay calm under pressure
- Able to create spreadsheets, graphs, presentations, and other documents
- Able to write reports, presentations, blogs, essays, as needed
- Must be able to review, create, edit, decipher, and utilize financial reports on a regular basis
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute the annual strategic fundraising plan
- Raise funds to support implementation of the current 3-year strategic plan, which may include a capital expansion and capital campaign
- Evaluate events on a yearly basis looking for areas to maximize return and meaningfully steward volunteers and donors
- Enthusiastically promote the work of The Westview School to potential donors (corporations, foundations, individuals, community partners)
- Oversee the logistics and coordination of all initiatives, including costs and deliverables, timelines, scheduling, reservations, communication for Westview Fund, Fundraising Luncheon, and any other events and projects as determined within the annual fundraising plan
- Ability to fulfill tasks with minimal guidance or supervision
- Provide leadership in community relations
- Provide regular fundraising metrics to the Head of School and Board of Trustees
- Provide excellent donor appreciation and stewardship at all levels
- Collaborates closely with the Head of School and Business Office to ensure the prompt and thoughtful delivery of gift acknowledgements.
- Develop and oversee the departmental budget in consultation with the Business Office to reconcile income and expenses
- Build a culture of philanthropy within The Westview School community
- Research major gift donor prospects and create compelling proposals for consideration
- Track and evaluate fundraising metrics
- Responsible for confidential and time-sensitive material. Ensure data related to event prospects, sponsors, and donors is accurate and recorded, as needed.
- Manage the donor database
- Identify and steward prospective donors
- Utilize fundraising and marketing platforms, including online tools
- Identify prospective grants, write proposals, and manage grant awards and reports
- Stay up to date on fundraising trends and best practices
- Create regular solicitation material content as needed
- Participate in the life of the school, where appropriate and relevant to the priorities of the development, admissions, and communication departments’ priorities
- Other responsibilities as assigned
If interested, please submit a resume to Candi Pettit at: cpettit@westviewschool.org.
About Us
The Westview School is the premier school for children with autism in the greater Houston area. The mission of The Westview School is to provide a unique, specialized learning environment offering outstanding educational and social opportunities for children on the autism spectrum.
Belief Statement
The Westview School believes that when children with autism are educated in a nurturing and supportive environment, they learn, grow, and develop a strong sense of self and an appreciation for others.
Vision Statement
The vision of The Westview School is to provide a learning environment that is sensitive to the social, emotional, and academic needs of children with autism to ensure that they have opportunities to reach their full potential.