Viewpoint School

Senior Director of Major Gifts

Deerfield Associates has been retained by Viewpoint School, located in Calabasas, California, to conduct a national search for a Senior Director of Major Gifts.

Viewpoint School

Viewpoint School is an independent, coeducational school, with students enrolled from Transitional Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade. The school has a current enrollment of 1200.

Viewpoint School seeks a qualified professional for the role of Senior Director of Major Gifts to join our experienced, creative, and inclusive team during our 60th Anniversary year. The individual is a key member of the team, responsible for raising more than $1 million annually in designated funds from current parents, alumni, parents of alumni, and grandparents, as well as managing a Major Gifts Officer.

The Senior Director of Major Gifts will oversee the planning and implementation of the individual giving program, which includes the Head of School Circles ($25k-$100k), Leaders’ Circle ($10k+), and the Patriots’ Circle ($5K) as well as the alumni and planned giving program. The Director has a defined portfolio of 150 prospects of alumni, parents of alumni, and current parents. The individual will work closely with the Director of Special Events and Director of the Viewpoint Fund to develop compelling programming and unique events for the stewardship, cultivation, and upgrading of Viewpoint Fund donors.

In addition, the Director manages the Class Gift program and the launch of the Young Alumni Patron Circle. The individual will also oversee a small but growing annual giving and lower-level donors and young alumni program, with the goal of improving donor acquisition and retention as well as upgrading donors through moves management. There is tremendous opportunity to develop a robust alumni program. The opportunity is available immediately and will be filled following a comprehensive national search and the candidate of choice identified.

Viewpoint School

The Opportunity

The ideal candidate will be an entrepreneurial, energetic, goal-oriented development professional with demonstrated experience and a proven track record of managing both major gifts and lower-level annual giving programs, with experience in alumni engagement. The individual will be an exceptional communicator in verbal, written, and presentation forms with excellent interpersonal skills to work collaboratively and across a very large K-12 independent school. The individual will be highly organized and adept at prioritizing and managing multiple projects simultaneously in a busy, fast-paced office. The individual is a team player who should be able to work independently and collaboratively to advise and set strategy for best practices in donor acquisition/retention and moves management. To learn more about Viewpoint School please visit www.viewpoint.org

Reporting to the Assistant Head of School for External Affairs, the Director is part of an advancement team that raises over $3 million annually for general operating support, designated giving to arts, athletics, STEM, faculty professional development, and financial aid as well as restricted funds for special projects. The position will also supervise the Major Gifts Officer.

Responsibilities

The Senior Director of Major Gifts is responsible for raising more than $1 million annually in individual designated gifts with a goal toward significantly growing the program and donor pipeline in the next 1-3 years as the School enters a major capital campaign. Major responsibilities include:

Manage the stewardship, cultivation, and solicitation of the Leaders’ Circles and Head of School Circles
Manage a portfolio of approximately 150 donors and prospects, developing individualized strategies for cultivation, stewardship, and solicitation to match donors and prospects’ interests with organizational fundraising needs
Work closely with the Director of the Viewpoint Fund to coordinate prospect review meetings to identify, qualify, and prioritize prospects through research and screening
Create robust moves management strategy to cultivate and upgrade mid-level donors to upgrade their giving
Provide support to senior staff, AHOS of External Affairs, and HOS in preparation for solicitation or stewardship opportunities, including concise briefing materials in advance of meetings
Produce compelling, high-level, personalized project proposals, reports, correspondence, solicitations, email appeals, and other materials as needed
Develop and implement an integrated multi-channel annual schedule of appeals to current, recent, and lapsed lower-level supporters who are highly qualified prospects (email, social media, direct mail, personalized letters, etc.)
Work closely with Communications and Marketing team to develop an aggressive growth-oriented digital and print marketing campaign to acquire new donors
Develop and implement ambitious five-year planned giving campaign to dovetail with larger campaign
Continue to identify and research qualified prospects from the existing 1,800 solicitable alumni; Prepare short profiles on 25+ alumni prospects annually
Secure and conduct 70+ meetings annually (2 meeting a week)
Launch and manage a young alumni patron program; steward young alumni for future leadership positions; identify and secure young alumni co-chairs and other leadership opportunities
Ensure donors receive timely and accurate acknowledgements and reports
Oversee program budget ensuring revenue targets are reached and expenses managed with a focus on ROI
Other responsibilities as assigned

Education and Work Experience

Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
Second language preferred
7-10 years of experience in fundraising with a focus on membership and annual giving, alumni engagement, major gifts, and prospect research; experience in planned giving preferred

Skill Sets

Exceptional communication and solicitation skills, both verbal and written
Highly organized and detail oriented with a demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and projects, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment
Excellent interpersonal skills with a collaborative approach to work with staff at all organizational levels, as well as board members
Results-oriented with ability to analyze data and create high-level reports for staff and board
Ability to deliver exceptional customer service via all channels (phone, email, in-person, etc.)
Highly-skilled and trained in Microsoft Office Suite including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel; database experience required (Raiser’s Edge preferred)
Team player with a can-do attitude and willingness to help others
Ability to work weekends and evenings for events, when needed

https://www.viewpoint.org/about/mission-and-philosophy

“Viewpoint is focused on preparing students for their future, a future for them is filled with possibilities. Some organizations are focused on making a better world for our children, we’re focused on making better children for our world.” MARK MCKEE, HEAD OF SCHOOL

Maureen Nash, Assistant Head of School for External Affairs

Maureen is an innovative strategist and fundraiser who has led over $75 million in campaigns across the education and cultural sectors. Maureen was appointed as the Assistant Head of School for External Affairs at Viewpoint School in the winter of 2021.

At The New York Public Library, Maureen oversaw the major gifts, planned giving, and special events departments. She has also held roles in external affairs, major gifts, development, and grantmaking at the Museum of Arts and Design, Frick Collection, Itzhak Perlman Music Program, Whitney Museum of American Art, and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. As a Board Director of the French Heritage Society, she raises funds and makes grants in support of its mission to preserve, restore, and promote French architectural heritage. Maureen is also a published academic and teaches graduate courses on international philanthropy and challenges in the nonprofit sector.

Mark McKee, Head of School

Our Viewpoint

Viewpoint School is committed to creating exceptional readiness for extraordinary futures by cultivating the critical skillset, courageous mindset, and resilient identity of each individual student. Founded in 1961, with a legacy of academic distinction and college preparedness, the School’s scenic 40-acre campus in Calabasas, California provides students in grades TK-12 with an ideal setting to grow and learn, where each Viewpoint student is known, respected, and included. Viewpoint is a school where “tradition connects us and innovation propels us.”

As Viewpoint celebrates 60 years of service to our community, we are building on six decades of excellence and rededicating ourselves to the ideals and drivers of exceptional future readiness.

Academic Depth
Inspired Leadership
Global Citizenship
Resilient Identity

Our values of Love, Honor, Excellence, Imagination, and Optimism – are forged in a tight-knit campus family where each individual student is known, respected, and included. Our promise is that every child experiences a powerful sense of belonging.

Our Viewpoint

Walk on our campus and you will feel it—a caring community that inspires, supports and challenges you, so that you may be your best. Our teachers and staff know our students and teach in and out of the classroom as mentors who understand children, teens and families. Explore our programs and you will find endless ways to engage in new and favorite activities and subjects, a breadth of offerings to challenge you and develop your talents and passions. Step into our classrooms and learn about our community, and you will find traditions that bind us together.

Our website is an invitation to learn more about our School and the amazing opportunities found here. We look forward to meeting you when you visit our beautiful canyon to explore our campus and programs, to see and imagine how we fulfill our World Ready promise. www.viewpoint.org

Our Viewpoint History

In Viewpoint School’s first year, 1961, it occupied leased facilities in Encino, California and enrolled 24 students. Mrs. Thelma Sitton was the school’s first principal. The school’s enrollment and recognition grew. Portions of the campus moved west and for several years shared space with a church on Platt Avenue in Woodland Hills. For the 1965–66 school year, Viewpoint moved grades 6, 7, and 8 to its current location in Calabasas, constructing its first building (3 trailers) there. A permanent lower school building followed on shortly thereafter.
History through the Decades

As enrollment increased in the 1960s and 1970s, Viewpoint included additional grades to meet demand and Viewpoint graduated its first senior class in 1982. This year, construction was also begun on Viewpoint’s second academic building. Art O’Leary served as headmaster of Viewpoint from 1980 to 1986. Dr. Robert J. Dworkoski began his term on O’Leary’s retirement in 1986.

In 2005, Viewpoint opened a third building in the first phase of the School’s Master Plan. A new athletic field was completed in 2007, a library in 2009, and a new 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m2) arts and athletics facility was completed fall 2011. It includes state-of-the-art classrooms, science labs, and art studios. The Paul Family Athletic Center features a 900-seat gymnasium for volleyball and basketball, as well as additional space for a fitness center, locker rooms, and coaches’ offices.^[3] In February 2015, the School opened the 4,100 square-foot Balaban-Webster Team Center to further enhance the School’s athletic facilities.

In June 2014, after 28 years as Headmaster, Dr. Dworkoski moved into the role of President of the Viewpoint Educational Foundation. During the 2014–15 school year, Paul Rosenbaum served as Interim Head of School. As of June 2015, Mark McKee is Head of School.

Mark McKee prioritized creating a growth-oriented faculty culture that led to the creation of a teacher-driven growth model, robust support for professional development, and upgrades to the technology infrastructure—all in the service of supporting teachers and enhancing the student experience. Under Mark McKee’s leadership, enrollment increased to 1,236 in 2019.

In addition, Mark McKee strategically focused on the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion as central to our mission, program, and community. He was instrumental in launching the Parent Partnership for Diversity and Inclusion, a subgroup of our parent volunteer organization. In November 2020, Viewpoint’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted to create a DEI Task Force that undertakes the important work of assessing our community climate and programs to ensure belonging, inclusion, and equity.

Viewpoint is proud of our diversity, our families from 70 countries who represent such a rich tapestry of religion, ethnicity, race, gender and sexual orientation, background, language, and culture. These times call on us to come together, as we all have a role and a stake in making Viewpoint ever better. In the past six years, Viewpoint has doubled the percentage of employees/faculty who are people of color.

At the beginning of the global pandemic in March, 2020, Mark McKee mobilized his leadership team to train teachers to provide online instruction. Viewpoint School has been a trailblazer in COVID-19 testing and the implementation of safety protocols. Our COVID-19 task force includes two medical experts and continues to meet regularly to keep our community informed of the stats of the virus in real time.

In 2021, Viewpoint School rolled out a refreshed Mission, Vision, and Values and visual identity, which was 18 months in the making. This declaration further defines who we are and puts an exclamation on where we stand. This vital statement serves as a “North Star” to current and future community members, providing steady guidance in an uncertain world. The ideals of creating “exceptional readiness for extraordinary futures by cultivating the critical skillset, courageous mindset, and resilient identity of EACH individual Viewpoint student” resonates with the Board of Trustees, in a school where tradition connects us and innovation propels us.

Viewpoint School Benefits

The Viewpoint School offers a dynamic and supportive work environment, competitive salaries and a generous benefits package including a retirement plan, paid vacations and medical insurance. The Viewpoint School is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Candidates from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply and will be welcomed into a community that celebrates the uniqueness of each faculty, staff and student member. Employee Benefit brochure

Contact Information

To explore this superb career opportunity on a highly confidential basis please send your resume and letter of interest along with a list of 4 references (which will only be contacted if mutual interest is determined) to:

Doug Cooney, Executive Search Consultant, DEERFIELD ASSOCIATES Executive Search, Inc.
572 Washington Street, Suite 15, Wellesley, MA 02482 Telephone: 781-237-2800.
Email: jobs@deerfieldassociates.com