Vermont Academy Offers a Leadership Position in Advancement Director of the Vermont Academy Fund
Vermont Academy P.O. Box 500 Saxtons River, Vermont 05154 www.vermontacademy.org Director of the Vermont Academy Fund
Vermont Academy seeks an experienced annual fund professional to serve as the Director of the Vermont Academy Fund. e Director reports to the Director of Advancement and works closely with the Head of School, Director of Marketing and Communications, Associate Director of Advancement for Engagement, Advancement Coordinator, Trustee Chairman of the Development and Constituency Relations Committee, and alumni and parent volunteers. He or she will be responsible for proactively creating, leading and coordinating all aspects of successfully asking for and receiving gis from trustees, alumni, current parents, parents of alumni, faculty and friends.
e Director’s primary responsibility is the strategic execution and management of e Vermont Academy Fund, a comprehensive annual giving program that includes an unrestricted component supporting operations, a parent auction and a senior class parents’ gi. e director will develop an implementation plan that encompasses communication and solicitation strategies involving personal visitations, email, direct mail, phone and volunteer engagement, all focused on growing annual support for the Academy in both dollars and donors. e director will focus on total dollars, percentage participation in constituency groups, consistency of giving and average gi size.
In addition, the director will foster the continued implementation of best practices in the supporting areas of gi processing, data management and donor relations assuring clean data, ease of access to information and timely donor stewardship. Importantly, the Director of the Vermont Academy Fund must have a keen appreciation for the foundation of the Fund as the enabling component of successful leadership, planned and estate solicitation programs.
Compensation will be commensurate with experience and abilities. e Director of the Vermont Academy Fund qualifies for faculty benefits. However, the school cannot provide campus housing.
Key initiatives include: • Assemble strategic and tactical plans for achieving annual Vermont Academy Fund goals. • Build fact-based plans using historical data and research. • Focus on effective communication and solicitation activities for each constituency segment identified as having potential for greatest growth; formulate and execute a communications program supporting and promoting annual participation. • Coordinate Fund solicitations with reunion planning and other specialty constituents such as trustees and Alumni Association Council members in an appropriate and effective fashion. • Create, develop and execute a highly effective and sustainable cadre of volunteers, including trustees, class representatives, young alumni, faculty/staff, parents and alumni parents. • Manage a prospect pool of donors and volunteers with annual goals for personal visits and outcomes. • Work effectively with the Director of Advancement, Head of School, Trustee volunteers and campaign leadership to gain strong participation in the Fund and build strategies to move donors to higher giving levels. • With strong support from the Advancement Coordinator, manage development services that include gi processing, data entry, report generation, donor stewardship and all aspects of Raiser’s Edge soware.
Qualifications • A bachelor’s degree is required • A minimum of 3 to 5 years of professional annual fund experience, preferably in an independent school with regional, national and international constituencies. • Proven experience in devising, implementing and managing a comprehensive solicitation program. • Ability to accurately assess key fundraising challenges, objectively consider characteristics that distinguish Vermont Academy’s constituencies and creatively devise solutions for success. • Experience in the application of technology in marketing for advancement; knowledge of website and social media applications. • Demonstrated record for developing and maintaining productive working relationships within a diverse constituency. • Proven experience working collaboratively with volunteers at all levels. • Outstanding communication skills: writing, editing and speaking. • Strong advocate for intra-office communications. • Planning, implementation and time-management skills for completing tasks and achieving goals within defined periods of time. • Sound judgment and effective interpersonal skills. • Smart, outgoing, personable and collegial; networks actively and listens carefully. • Ability to work independently and as part of a team. • Highly motivated for success; committed to give the time the position demands; willingness to work nights and weekends, whenever needed. • Ability to travel. To Apply By email, send a letter of interest, resume/CV and writing sample to James A. (Jay) Gundy, III, Director of Advancement, at jgundy@vermonta- cademy.org. ose with the strongest credentials will be asked to submit a list of references with contact information.
Please note: All inquiries are considered confidential. ere are no internal candidates for this important position and no preferred external candidates.
Vermont Academy is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and thus encourages all qualified candidates to apply. Vermont Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, national and ethnic origin or age.
Vermont Academy Fund History e Vermont Academy Fund is the annual full constituency fund raising program. e 2012-2013 results for unrestricted gis were impressive including a 9% increase in cash and a 25% increase in donors that included a 33% increase in alumni donors. Constituents with accurate contact information include 3846 alumni, 272 current parents and 1844 parents of alumni. Participation remains a challenge and an opportunity as we seek to increase dollars and donors in future funds.
e 2008 annual fund was the high-water mark; a record fund that produced $700,749 from 1009 donors. e economic downturn signifi- cantly affected Fund results in dollars and donors. e 2010 fund stands out as a deep trough bringing in $459,526 from 627 donors that repre- sented a 37% donor decline and 34% dollar decline form 2008. e greatest erosion of alumni donors was in the sub-$100 gi category. With tallies still below the 2008 record, the 2012 and 2013 results show the recovery continues. In the short term, our goal is to increase the fund dollars by 10% annually and return to record funds as quickly as possible.
Vermont Academy Founded in 1876, Vermont Academy is a co-educational, college preparatory boarding and day school located on a 450-acre campus nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains adjacent to the Village of Saxtons River. Our students are constantly challenged in the classrooms, on the athletic fields, and in the community as a whole. We believe in setting the bar high while securing a safety net to catch those who fall short of their goals. It is in the effort of trying where growth is made, and our faculty and staff are devoted to fostering a “try and try again” approach to success.
Head of School Sean P. Brennan was appointed the sixteenth Head of School at Vermont Academy in the summer of 2009. His teaching, coaching and adminis- trative career in independent schools spans more than two decades. Sean came to Vermont Academy from the Brunswick School in Greenwich, Connecticut where he served as the Academic Dean, English teacher and head football coach. Prior to Brunswick, Sean chaired the English Department at Salisbury School, taught English and worked in admissions at Hotchkiss, and began his career teaching English and coaching at Millbrook.
A Hartford, Connecticut native, Sean graduated from Middlebury College and received his master’s degree from Middlebury’s Breadloaf School of English. Sean’s wife, Wendy, is also a career educator. A Dartmouth alumna with master’s degrees from the Harvard School of Education and Breadloaf, Wendy taught English at Hotchkiss and Greenwich Academy for a combined 21 years before coming to Vermont Academy. Wendy teaches English and assists in college advising.
Director of Advancement James A. (Jay) Gundy, III came to Vermont Academy in 2012. His advancement and admissions career in independent schools and universities spans four decades and includes positions at the University of Virginia, Cornell University, the Hill School (PA) and Western Reserve Academy (OH). His 19 years at Hill included the transition to coeducation, the school’s largest building program and the first comprehensive fundraising campaign in the school's 150-year history which raised $85.5 million. At the University of Virginia, he worked on components of the recently completed $3 billion campaign as a Vice President for the Darden Graduate Business School Foundation and later the Alumni Association Foundation.
Advancement Staff In preparation for a comprehensive campaign at Vermont Academy, Jay is building a skilled “boutique” advancement team that is lean, special- ized and excellent. Currently, five professionals compose the advancement team: Director of Advancement, Director of the Vermont Academy Fund, Associate Director of Advancement for Engagement, Director of Marketing and Communications and Advancement Coordinator. While there are no immediate plans to increase the staff, it is likely one or two members may be added in preparation for the campaign. Student Profile Intentionally small in size, Vermont Academy is primarily boarding in nature with a total of 232 students that include 172 boarders and 60 day students. Typically, students come to Vermont Academy from 22 states, but the vast majority of domestic students come from within a 250-mile radius that includes Burlington, Vermont to the north; the New York metropolitan area to the south; and Boston and Cape Cod to the east. e I-91 corridor that intersects with I-84, I-95 and the Massachusetts Turnpike influences enrollments. Metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York are of particular strategic importance to the school, along with the states of New Hampshire and Vermont. Interna- tional student enrollments are limited to 30% of the population. Currently, 60 international students from 13 countries compose 28% of the student body coming primarily from China, Canada, Spain and South Korea with fewer from Mexico and Germany.
Compact and closely-knit, we see the potential and value of every student and prepare them to thrive in college and life. We believe each mem- ber of the Vermont Academy community: • is important, has worth and dignity, and is viewed as an asset; • acts with the highest level of honesty and integrity; • will grow and develop, and is given the opportunity to do so here; • seeks and gives help when appropriate; • strives to achieve high and reasonable standards in the pursuit of personal excellence; • cultivates strengths and seeks to overcome challenges; • embraces personal and direct interaction to address issues and resolve differences; • considers the impact of their actions on both the immediate and world community for the benefit of present and future generations.
Academics and Athletics Vermont Academy has always embraced the concept of having students actively participate in a class as opposed to passive learning. If a student is positively engaged and participating either verbally or physically in class, real learning takes place. Whether it is building and programming a robot in physics or tapping maple trees in late winter to retrieve sap, our students use their hands while stimulating their minds. is is a model that crosses all disciplines and has been adopted by all departments. e English students practice public speaking, the language learners put on skits in the target language, and history students participate in state-wide competitions where they defend their research in front of a panel of judges. Every year we consciously explore the possibilities that lie beyond the classroom and work with students in more progressive methods that encourage and stimulate different types of learners.
e curriculum includes Advanced Placement, honors and advanced-level classes. In particular, the Science Center offers advanced physics courses as well as robotics, electricity and magnetism, architecture and engineering, environmental science, advanced biology and biochemistry. Foreign language courses include five levels of French and Spanish as well as a broad array of language opportunities through a partnership with Middlebury Interactive.
e visual and performing arts are prominent at Vermont Academy. Music offerings include theory, music appreciation, electronic music, vocal and jazz ensembles, private lesson program, concerts, cabarets, coffee houses and festivals. ree theater productions annually showcase our stu- dents’ work in both acting and technical theater. Dance instruction includes ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, African and modern. Visual arts opportu- nities include painting, drawing, pottery, 3-D art, portfolio development, filmmaking, photography and digital studio.
In addition, our impressive array of athletic offerings and outdoors programs focuses on experiential education. We offer 23 competitive sports. Our varsity and junior varsity athletic teams compete weekly against teams from all around New England. Many sports highlight our location in northern New England. On campus, our ski hill is busy in the winter with skiers practicing jumps; our trails are full of runners, bikers, and Nordic racers. Ski and snowboard athletes practice and compete at Okemo and Bromley. In addition, men’s and women’s crew is expanding rapidly, competing at the Head of the Charles and throughout New England. Also, we offer horseback riding at Winchester Stables and out- door challenges in hiking, rock-climbing, kayaking, canoeing and camping.
Faculty and Staff Vermont Academy teachers positively engage our students requiring them to actively participate both in and out of the classroom. Our goal is to develop active, life-long learners. Our student-centered philosophy is clear: go first to the students. e faculty is composed of: • 37 teaching members • 40% with advanced degrees • 6:1 student to teacher ratio • 10 student average per class section • 100+ classes offered • 83% teach, coach and live in dormitories (triple threats) • 5-6 advisees per advisor; meet 4 times per week
Faculty development goals include increasing the student population to 270 by 2020; increase classroom enrollment to 12 students per section; increase those holding graduate degrees to 50% or more; and increase triple threats to 90%. Facilities While the 450 acre campus is sizeable, the main building complex is compact, clustered around Long Walk, a central walkway that links most of the buildings. Facilities include: • 9 dormitories located on campus and at the edge of the village • Dining room complex that includes a main dining area, lounge, meeting room, student center and book store • Library and learning center • 350-seat performing arts center • Art, pottery and digital filmmaking/photography studios • Observatory with high-powered telescope • Athletic facility that contains a basketball court, dance studio with Harlequin hard-wood sprung floor, fitness center, climbing wall and locker rooms. • An indoor ice hockey rink • Winter Snow Park on campus for skiing, snowboarding, and jumping with adjacent ski lodge • 6 playing fields and 2 practice fields • 6 tennis courts • Indoor and outdoor ropes courses • 20 kilometers of trails for cross-country running, skiing, snowshoeing, and walks • Several non-dormitory faculty residences on and adjacent to the campus Plans for a new academic center with a significant STEM component are underway with the architect selection process nearing completion.
Distinguishing Pillars Vermont Academy is most readily distinguished by the combination and interaction of four program pillars: learning skills, global citizenship, writing and speaking across the curriculum, and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics.).
e Vermont Academy Learning Center is a dynamic combination of professionals and services whose primary goal is to support the aca- demic development of our students. To say that all students learn differently is not a judgment of ability or potential, but instead an acknowl- edgement that many bright young men and women – when introduced to academic coaching, content-specific tutoring, and the appropriate accommodations – can reach a level of personal achievement that they were not previously able to attain or perhaps did not think possible to attain.
e Writing and Speaking Across the Curriculum (WSAC) Program works to enhance students' writing and speaking skills both inside and outside of the classroom. We recognize that our students need to be able to communicate effectively through writing and speaking no matter what field they enter as adults. As a result we place great emphasis on developing these skills in every discipline. WSAC also includes greater opportunities for students to publish their writing in school publications and other venues, as well as chances to share their writing and speak publicly before the community at all-school meetings. An additional central element of the program is the Writing Center which offers one-on-one tutoring sessions with peer and faculty tutors to help students improve as writers.
e development of global citizens is enhanced through the Spain trimester and Belize spring break programs. Our Spain program allows students to spend a trimester living and learning in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. In this program, students continue their Vermont Academy curriculum while furthering their knowledge of Spain and Europe through experiential learning with trips to Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Florence, and areas of the Galician region. Plans are in motion to establish similar campuses in Chile and China. e Belize Program offers students an opportunity to immerse themselves in this cultural and biological hotspot. Hands-on lessons in tropical ecology, the ancient Mayan world and current sustainability issues present a life changing journey for budding scientists and emerging global citizens.
Vermont Academy's Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics initiative (STEM) seeks to enhance mathematics and science education for every students at the Academy and inspire those students who which to explore these curricula at the highest level possible. ese objectives promote the application of these disciplines in contemporary design and problem-solving processes. Importantly, this program in- cludes focus in the areas of writing, presentation, and competition as well helping our students to become more confident and independent learners while gaining practice in the cooperative process of solving problems.
Saxtons River, Vermont and the Surrounding Area Saxtons River is an incorporated village in the town of Rockingham in Windham County, Vermont. e population was 565 at the 2010 cen- sus (not including Vermont Academy students). e Saxtons River Village Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. It covers 270 acres and is roughly bounded by Burk Hill and Belleview Roads, Oak Street, the Saxtons River, and Westminster West Road. e district comprises 133 contributing and 22 non-contributing buildings including examples of Greek revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne architectural styles. Educational options for faculty children include e Windham Northeast Supervisory Union District that encompasses the following schools: Bellows Falls Union High School, Bellows Falls Middle School, Central Elementary, Saxtons River Elementary (located immediately adjacent to the Vermont Academy Campus), Westminster Center School, Westminster West Elementary, Athens-Graon Elementary, and the WNESU Early Education Centers. Independent middle lower and middle school options include the Grammar School in Putney, Vermont. Bus service is available for students living in Saxtons River.
Just five miles from Interstate 91, Bellows Falls and the Connecticut River, Saxtons River residents have easy access to shopping, recreation, services and entertainment in Walpole and Keene, New Hampshire as well as Brattleboro, Vermont.
Vermont's rugged hills and magnificent landscape offer tremendous year round outdoor recreational opportunities. Vermont is legendary to skiers and winter enthusiasts. In addition to the 20 kilometers of trails for cross-country running, skiing, snowshoeing, and walks on the Ver- mont Academy campus, the region abounds with ski venues including Okemo (where the ski teams compete), Stratton, Mount Snow, Magic Mountain, Bromley and Killington. ere are many golf courses at the ski resorts and elsewhere. Mountain and road biking, hiking, camping and distance running are also popular Vermont sports.
For more information about Vermont Academy, please visit www.vermontacademy.org.