Steering the Development Office - Advice for Heads, Part II
Assessing capital campaign readiness, tips for heads wearing their development officer hat, and the role of trustees as philanthropic leaders
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Steering the Development Office - Advice for Heads of School, Part II
The vast majority of heads aren’t fundraisers before they become heads. But it’s a major expectation of the job. I invited Hilary Wirtz to discuss advice she’d give to a new head but I think it’s also generally helpful to all heads. In part one, linked here, we discuss how to both evaluate and get your hands around steering this function as the head of school.
Today in part two, we discuss the head’s role as a member of the development team as well as capital campaign readiness and the role of trustees as philanthropic leaders.
As TOOS has quite a few new subscribers since part one was published this winter, below is the previously published introduction to the interview with Hilary.
I hadn’t thought much about development and fundraising in a long time. It’s very distinct from other areas of school life, which is part of the magic and part of the complexity. And it was an adjustment when I first came in as head to demystify it, understand what metrics were meaningful and then simultaneously be a good boss to the department, a good partner to the Chief Development Officer and a good team member. It’s tricky and I’m not sure I ever mastered it, but there were moments of great satisfaction along the way. Philanthropy can be very personal and very meaningful, putting a leader in touch with the highest aspirations of an organization.
And sometimes the best meal in the world was a pile of fries and a cocktail at 11PM with a few team members, debriefing, after buzzing around an event for hours, watching everyone else devour the wine and delightful bite sized appetizers while you’re busy updating them about all the exciting events at school. :)
It was so much fun to talk with Hilary Wirtz on this topic. She’s a deeply experienced, mission-driven fundraiser and she’s recently founded Sparktegic, a consulting firm dedicated to collaborating with schools and organizations to optimize their development operations. With a focus on data-driven insights, Sparktegic works with key leaders and development teams to assess opportunity and programmatic efficiency, ensuring that organizations make strategic, informed decisions that align with their mission and goals.
Here’s her bio: With over 20 years of fundraising experience at all levels in independent schools and higher education, Hilary brings her expertise to non-profit organizations to help them achieve their philanthropic goals. Hilary has worked at Harvard University, Milton Academy, Concord Academy, and the New England Conservatory of Music along with volunteer roles at numerous organizations. With experience in nearly every aspect of non-profit fundraising – from the annual fund to campaign planning, team management and leadership development – her passion for this work comes through her ability to pair a data driven mindset with a strategic skill set. Along with her professional experience, she lives with her family at a New England boarding school where her husband is a head of school.
JF
So what do you see as the role of the head of school as part of the development office?
HW
Ultimately, the head is the chief relationship manager in many ways. And they are also the chief storyteller. They communicate the vision. They share impact. They ask for investment. Ultimately, they’re the voice of the institution, but they are also a relationship manager, whether it's with your faculty, with your development director, with your new kindergarten parent, with your 50th reunion alum. And I think the storyteller piece is key, being that visionary leader and storyteller for the institution.
JF
“The voice of the institution, chief storyteller and chief relationship manager” - that really sums it up! And that really relates to recent work I've been doing with crisis communications. One question I keep getting is, what policy can we put on the website that will manage parent expectations around the school publishing statements on national or world events?
What I'm realizing is that schools need to frame it as part of parent communications and constituent management. It's one piece of it. It’s communicating empathy when the world is tough. So you can't take that one piece out and put it over here and say, if it's got anything to do with “X” then no comment. You can’t manage relationships through policy.
HW
One of the biggest elements of being a relationship manager in development or in general, is listening. That is key. And that just plays right into what you were saying about being empathetic. You have to hear the person, whether they're upset or they're happy. You can't promote your vision or ask for investment without listening first.