Vice President of College Advancement, then-Lord Fairfax Community College (now named Laurel Ridge Community College); Executive Director, Lord Fairfax Community College Educational Foundation Inc. (Associate Professor Rank), Middletown and Fauquier, Virginia
Responsibilities:
- Led College advertising, alumni affairs, Foundation Board activities, fundraising, grants, governmental relations, marketing, public relations, publications, special events and Web site
- Reported directly to the president and served on College Cabinet
- Identified unmet needs and opportunities; researched, facilitated and developed viable solutions; interpreted and influenced College vision and priorities
- Identified private and public sources of funding; identified, cultivated, solicited and recognized current and prospective donors; served as liaison between the LFCC Educational Foundation Board and the College; established and maintained credibility; planned and coordinated special events; developed proposals; developed mutually-beneficial relationships and partnerships
- Organized and managed the Office of College Advancement and LFCC Educational Foundation Inc.; led, managed and motivated 12 full-time and part-time employees; managed investments; managed donor and financial management systems; managed budgets and office resources; fostered own and others’ personal and professional development; ensured regulatory compliance; negotiated agreements and contracts; facilitated institutionalization of change
Major Accomplishments (under my leadership):
Accreditation
Received no recommendations related to the Office of College Advancement and LFCC Educational Foundation Inc. after the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools on-site visit in October 2007
Alumni Affairs
- Developed an alumni relations plan
- Planned alumni reunion events
- Established an alumni scholarship
Board Relations
- Reinvigorated the LFCC Educational Foundation
- Reorganized and recruited new members to the Foundation Board
- Educated and trained Foundation Board in philanthropic endeavors
- Established fundraising teams among Foundation Board members
- Developed an online toolkit for Foundation Board members
Enrollment Management
- Developed and implemented student recruitment and employee recruitment plans, helping to increase student enrollment and the number of qualified part-time instructors
- Initiated and served on a committee to recruit students from underrepresented populations
File and Record Management
- Transformed incomplete, inaccurate and disarrayed Foundation financial records
- Upgraded and enhanced the donor database
- Developed a system to organize, purge and maintain confidential print donor files
- Coordinated an update of alumni records (including names and mailing addresses)
Fundraising
- Developed and implemented a comprehensive development program
- Raised more than $1.2 million in 2007
- Achieved 94 percent of the fundraising goal in 2008 despite a challenging economy
- Raised almost $3 million since January 2005
- Established more than 100 new funds (scholarship and non-scholarship funds) since January 2005
- Instituted online giving
- Re-introduced planned giving
- Developed a grants program
- Strengthened relationships with current donors, developed relationships with new donors and mended relationships with lapsed donors
Photography
- Developed an online archive of photographs
- Significantly enhanced the College’s library of photographs
Policies, Procedures and Systems
- Wrote, developed and implemented plans, policies, procedures, processes and/or forms for advertising, alumni affairs, Foundation Board activities, fundraising, grants, governmental relations, marketing, public relations, publications, special events and Web site
- Implemented a new financial management system for the Foundation, allowing for greater accuracy, transparency and accountability
Public Relations and Marketing
- Centralized the College’s advertising, public relations and marketing efforts, resulting in strategic, focused, targeted and streamlined efforts and less waste and duplication of effort
- Developed and implemented the College’s first-ever long-range public relations/marketing plan and crisis communication plan
- Developed a media relations program that garnered frequent, positive coverage of LFCC in print, broadcast and online media
- Developed and implemented a public awareness campaign about the Foundation
- Developed a comprehensive communication and style guide
- Developed a marketing plan template to assist LFCC employees in marketing their events and programs
Publications and Printing
- Developed hundreds of professionally written and designed publications (including newsletters, annual reports, brochures and advertisements) in support of the College’s strategic goals
- Developed a suite of Foundation publications
- Developed a visual identity standards manual to ensure branding consistency through colors, fonts and logo usage
- Developed a thorough editing process, including proofing and approval steps to ensure the professionalism of publications
- Improved the effectiveness, efficiency and productivity of the Printing Services Office
Scholarships
- Increased the number of scholarships awarded
- Converted the manual scholarship application and award process to an online one, resulting in a less time-consuming and less labor-intensive process
Social Media Marketing
Developed Facebook pages to communicate with alumni and donors
Special Events
- Planned numerous special events to inform the community of the College’s mission, including graduation ceremonies, alumni events, events to honor elected officials and employee events
- Planned donor cultivation, solicitation and recognition events
Web Sites and Intranet
- Revamped the College Web site, designed and built a back-end content management system and moved the Web site to an external server with a guaranteed 100-percent up-time
- Created the Foundation Web site
- Re-designed, reorganized and re-developed the College intranet