Career Center

Friends Community School (FCS) is a progressive co-ed Quaker K-8 day school serving a diverse student body from the greater Washington, D.C. area. FCS offers a challenging curriculum imbued with strong values of equality, integrity, community, environmental stewardship, simplicity, and peaceful conflict resolution, rooted in our Quaker heritage. Faculty and staff are highly engaged and enjoy flexibility, autonomy, and creativity. FCS’s LEED-certified building is situated on 17 acres surrounded by Greenbelt National Park, nine minutes from the University of Maryland, College Park, and thirty minutes from Washington, D.C.

FCS seeks a Director of  Advancement to provide leadership for the advancement program as it creates a vibrant culture of philanthropy at Friends Community School. This position is focused on strengthening engagement and giving among the Board of Trustees, the parent body, former students and parents, faculty and staff.  The Director of Advancement reports to the Head of School and partners with the Director of Major Gifts who is a direct report. 

Responsibilities include:

• Overseeing the Annual Fund and organizing and managing two major giving days during the academic year.
• Managing major gift solicitation, prospect identification, cultivation and solicitation.
• Overseeing data collection of donor information and processing pledges and gifts using Raiser's Edge database, generating and sending weekly reports for accounting.
• Preparing acknowledgments of gifts.
• Researching and analyzing prospects in the immediate school community and beyond for gift cultivation.
• Providing timely reports to Head of School and the Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees as to the progress towards goals and deadlines.
• Preparing and publishing the annual report.
• Coordinating the school volunteerism efforts and training, and partnering with the Parent Association and parent volunteers for major school fundraisers such as the annual auction, Fall Fair, and Grandfriends’ Day.
• Strengthening FCS’s relationship with alumni and alumni parents and developing alumni programming. 
• Enhancing existing relationships with current parents while building new relationships, systems, and programs that elevate the generosity and resources of the community. 
• Managing fundraising data software and database management software and maintaining accurate records and files.
• Nurturing and maintaining a highly collaborative relationship with the Head of School, the Clerk of the Board, the Advancement Committee, and individual board members and supporting them in their fundraising responsibilities, and accompanying them on donor visits when appropriate. 
• Appreciating Quaker values and practices and ensuring they are reflected in strategy, programming, and fundraising.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree required, a master’s degree preferred
• Five plus years in the nonprofit sector and in fundraising, experience in educational settings a plus
• Independent school experience preferred
• Proven success in directly soliciting and securing charitable gifts
• A strategic thinker and problem solver
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong organizational skills
• Strong interpersonal and cultural competency skills and an ability to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds
• Ability to maintain confidentiality 
• Extensive knowledge and experience with fundraising data software and database management software such as Blackbaud and Raiser's Edge

To Apply

Please send a cover letter, resume, and the names and contact information of three professional references to Angela G. Garcia, Head of School, at angelag@friendscommunityschool.org. This position comes with benefits. 

FCS is committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive educational community and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, gender, gender identity, color, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.