St. Elizabeth Catholic Academy located in Ozone Park, Queens NY is seeking dynamic candidates for the position of Director of Advancement.
Governance and Leadership
Strategic Planning: The advancement director will play a leading role in working with the board of directors, committees and key stakeholders in regards to analyzing our strategic plans. The advancement director will use the most current available data and resources to identify areas of concern and, if necessary, will revise the plan with responsible parties to address these issues and improve sustainability.
Board of Directors: The advancement director will work collaboratively with Board of Directors through the development committee. The advancement director will work to make sure the board chair is well supported to advance development efforts.
Finance and Development
Financial Strategic Plan and Annual Budget: The advancement director will participate in the creation and adoption of a three-year financial plan and updated annually to ensure the financial stability of our school. The plan will assist the advancement director in crafting a comprehensive development plan to augment academy revenue.
Development Strategic Plan: The advancement director will help create, support and implement a broader development strategic plan to support families in need, enhance academic excellence and nurture after school programs.
Endowments: The advancement director along with our board will actively support the efforts of Futures in Education to provide increased funding for tuition assistance and school initiatives. At present, we have two endowments with Futures in Education that we will help continue to grow, led by our advancement director.
Alumni: The advancement director along with the alumni committee will strengthen our alumni relationships and potential giving. The advancement director will help oversee our alumni ambassador and representative program, in support of alumni by class and to potentially donate. Our advancement director will serve as the frontline of communications between the school and our alumni by disseminating valuable information about new and exciting initiatives. Our advancement director will continue St. Elizabeth Catholic Academy’s rich legacy of philanthropy by encouraging alumni to give to our school and parish. The director will conduct an annual appeal and support reunions, and will collaborate with the Catholic Alumni Partnership (CAP) and will participate in the development training opportunities provided by the Diocese and/or Catholic Foundation.
Grants. Grants are an excellent way for our school to raise funds and our advancement director will lead all grant writing efforts. A majority of grants are made to fund specific projects and require some compliance and reporting of that project, which the director will provide. There are also grants for student in financial need, and our advancement director will tell their stories to the grant sponsor.
Sponsorships: A sponsorship is a cash and/or in-kind fee paid to our school in return for access to the commercial potential from our community of students, parents, alumni and partners. The advancement director will target and work with corporations in order to obtain sponsorships.
Fundraising: The advancement director oversees the Fundraising Programs Committee, which consists of the ongoing programs that raise money for our school. Programs we offer or will plan to potentially offer under the supervision of the advancement director include: card parties, reunions, chocolate sales, walk-a-thons, International Day, and bingo night.
Relationships: A comprehensive advancement plan (development and marketing) flows from the cultivation of right relationships with all of the greater community. The advancement director, collaborating with both the development and marketing committees, the principal and the Board of Directors have as their responsibility the nurturing of beneficial and mutual relationships with the parish, business, civic and philanthropic communities within the greater Ozone Park area.
Enrollment and Marketing
Our goal is to strongly position and communicate St. Elizabeth Catholic Academy as a preeminent Catholic elementary school in Ozone Park, Queens. Furthermore, we aim to capture the attention of individuals and/or communities in its surrounding zones as well as possible partnerships to aid in building a strong foundation for the growth lead by our principal, marketing committee and advancement director. Finally, we will communicate and inform the key constituents of St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Academy about our school by leveraging existing events, forums, and communication vehicles as well as developing new channels overseen by our principal.
Marketing Plan: Both our advancement director and principal will unite with the marketing committee to update and implement our marketing plan. In order to maximize effectiveness and clarity, marketing and branding messaging across our school’s various marketing platforms (digital, newsletters, etc.) will be presented to all constituencies in a “single minded” manner and delivered with one voice under the supervision of our principal. Specific marketing resources will be identified and committed to fund an integrated marketing communications program with the goal of branding St. Elizabeth Catholic Academy to support recruitment activities under our principal. Our marketing committee will work collaboratively with the principal, advancement director and the diocesan marketing consultants to increase effective enrollment and marketing efforts.
Traditional and Social Media: Our principal will oversee our use of technology for recruitment, marketing and communication with all constituencies. This includes our website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram. Creating and frequently maintaining a social media presence for a school raises the potential for outreach and establishes an online community that our principal will
oversee. Our principal and advancement director will both represent our school in dealing with the media. We have received positive attention for our innovative programs from media outlets including The New York Times, CBS, NY1, ABC, and CNN, which has gotten our partners excited about what’s happening at our Academy. Our marketing subcommittee and principal will lead efforts in creating our school brochure.
Enrollment of New Students: Referrals have been the historically largest driver of enrollment. Our principal will engage, inform, manage and motivate the efforts of our parents and students to be continually involved in recruitment and retention efforts. Our principal and advancement director will work with our parish to actively encourage parents to consider enrolling their children in our school. Our advancement director will serve as a leading advocate in enrolling students with external community members and leading organizations including: real estate offices, daycare centers, local restaurants, business and nonprofit leaders.
Catering to Cultural Needs of our Community: Our advancement director will identify and develop relationships with leaders in the predominant cultural community(ies) in the area to enlist their support and assistance in increasing the number of families from that community who would consider enrolling in a Catholic school. Peer to peer outreach will be emphasized through “Madrinas” supported by the principal.
Please submit resume and cover letter to Karen S. Suero c/o Search Committee karen@karenssuero.com.