Yeshiva Sanity: Job Opening in Fundraising

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Job Opening in Fundraising

Development Directors/Associates have been hired by Moriah, BPY and Noam, and now Yavneh is following suit (see job opening announcement below). I don't know if anyone has done any study to determine if the additional revenue brought in by the Development team exceeds the costs of hiring them. I also don't know if this has anything to this has anything to do with the funding offered by the UJA-Federation/Avi Chai Foundation. As reported in a Jewish Week article, in order to qualify for funding from their program, a school must have “an experienced professional development director who works more than half time for the school on development and has previously managed a successful strategic development campaign.”

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Yavneh Academy, a modern orthodox yeshiva in Paramus NJ, is seeking to fill the position of Development Associate. This position is part time (20hr/week) and is the first such position at our institution. Projected start date is on or around August 1, 2012.
The associate reports to the Executive Director and the Development Committee. He/she will assist our fundraising programs, developing relationships and creating internal processes.
A detailed job spec is available upon request.
Please send resume and salary requirements to jkirchner@yavnehacademy.org
NO PHONE CALLS.

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Guest · 667 weeks ago

These positions more than pay for themselves.

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ann · 667 weeks ago

A full time school development director in BC makes approx $100K, depending on the school. If they're any good, they will well pay for themselves.

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easy question · 667 weeks ago

if someone does not raise more funds that the previous several years / additional avenues and programs of funding and far exceed their salary in fundraising, they will NOT be there year 2. Simple math. how many schools reach out to alumni, alumni parents to keep them involved, etc? These people have ways to tap resources OTHER than usual suspect -the parent body. Good for Yavneh.

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realist · 667 weeks ago

YD: Why is it that you disaparage almost every effort by the legacy schools, while at the same time praising everything done by Heatid? This blog is slowly becoming a clone of Chumpy's rag sheet.

1 reply · active 667 weeks ago

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Guest · 667 weeks ago

you read my mind. There are so many things that He'atid is doing that the Legacy's would be bashed for. Its insane the double standard in this town.

The legacies are trying to cut costs, while He'atid is all about spend spend spend.

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Miami Al · 667 weeks ago

Sounds like a secretarial/clerical position. A serious fundraiser is a more than full time position, it's a serious sales position. Sounds like they need someone in an administrative role to coordinate everything.

Doesn't sound like a bad move,

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Teaneck Parent · 667 weeks ago

YD,

Running a school is like running a business: just because you do "A" and "B", doesn't necessarilly mean that C will follow as in a science experiment. Just because you do (or don't) hire a development director, it doesn't mean you will or won't make money. It's worth a shot. They have obviously done their due dligence and think it will pay off over time.

What will some study done by the UJA or the OU prove about hiring a development director? Absolutely nothing.

Kudos to Yavneh for trying to address the problem.

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JS (hello) · 667 weeks ago

The schools need to be run more professionally and more effectively. To the extent this is a step in that direction, I wish them success.

There seems to be a bit of schizophrenia over wanting costs to be as low as possible and wanting a professionally run, competent school.

My only concern is that a lot of these grants and fundraising opportunities (as well as the organizations funding them and the ones set up to "study" the problem of yeshiva tuition) are just a big game. Money transfers hands with tremendous overhead costs, very little tangible gains, and not addressing any real problems. For example, look at all these stupid "video competitions" to win a grant.

There's not a lot of thought into the nuts and bolts of the education itself and how that education is provided. You can't really address the costs of yeshiva education unless you have a clear idea of why you even exist and what you're trying to provide. The de facto nature of yeshiva education prevents this kind of serious discussion.

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Isaac Shalev · 667 weeks ago

Raising funds is hard work, and it's work that very few people want to do. Why insult them by calling them professional Schnorrers? Disparaging the people who do the work of sustaining our institutions, who help keep tuition down by finding other sources of support, and who spend their days as advocates for the schools we identify as critical to our future is both shortsighted and mean.

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BIAS · 667 weeks ago

He'Atid is opening up a preschool next year, yet has an exec director on site, principal, educational consultant and blended learning consultant on payroll. At that rate, when K - 8, they may have double admins than any existing yeshiva [sure, if people donate 2-3 million a year, your tuition may stay flat or modestly increase]. If the yeshivas that have been around paint their walls or raise money, they are fleecing our community's members. Can we please have impartial, unbias posts?

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Yeshiva_Dad 69p · 667 weeks ago

I seem to have offended a lot of people with the word Shnorrer. I'll take that off. I wasn't trying to disparage anyone or any school I was just raising questions about whether or not it was worth the money & what prompted the schools to all add this position within the last few years.

I have questioned He'atid's finances before (see the 2nd post in the archives) and I continue to do so.

Bias - I don't believe those consultants are on the payroll. They are paid as consultants, by the hour. And they don't have an executive director on site either. Ora's title is "Director of Business and Operations." So the only admins are her and Rabbi Gralla. We'll see if they can keep payroll down as they grow. If they start hiring excessively I will be the first to criticize them.

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BIAS · 667 weeks ago

Are we going to split hairs with 1099 vs. w-2? Director of Business and Operations is not an admin? When 9 teachers are completely lost with the "system" in week #4, and they have video conferences with the hybrid consultant, or fly her in for 1-2 weeks, who cares if she is being paid via w-2 or 1099? It is a COST and part of budget. The fact she works for others as well does little in calculating number of professionals being paid for a PK - 1 program with NO classroom involvement. I am not anti-He'Atid or any yeshiva. Jury is still out on how He'Atid will perform. But we must say it like it is.

1 reply · active 667 weeks ago

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Yeshiva_Dad 69p · 667 weeks ago

Point is not the 1099. Point is its not a full time job. Not sure how much in total they are being paid per year but its much less than a full time admin & the number of hours they have to work every year should go down as they get their methods down pat.

Director of Business is certainly an admin but that is only 2 admins for a school with 120 or so kids.
-YD

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Miami Al · 667 weeks ago

120 Students should require 6 teachers at a 20:1 ratio, or 8 teachers at a 15:1 ratio.

Admins don't manage students, they manage teachers.

That is a 3:1 or 4:1 staff:management ratio... that's management heavy.

That said, I don't see how you can do a school without two admins, educational and business/operations. The question is, when they grow to 600 students, are they still @ 2 admins, have they grown to 4 admins (2 assistants to those 2), or are they at 8 like most day schools, a dean, 2 principals at high school and elementary, an early childhood principal, an operations person, and an admissions person.

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Guest · 667 weeks ago

I actually think they NEED a 3rd admin - an early childhood director.

Minimum of 100 of those kids are at the EC level, an age that Rabbi Gralla has no experience whatsoever with. He is leaving up to the teachers to tell him what they need/want and the teachers will not have adequate support for dealing with EC specific issues. Its bottom up instead of top down.

Parents don't seem to care because Rabbi Gralla is such a great guy, which he is. But that still doesn't make him qualified to create and implement an early childhood program.

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conservativescifi · 667 weeks ago

Back to the Development Director, my synagogue has hired Development Directors and they are expressly told that the first year, they should make their salary in "additional" fundraising above what we already get. In the second year, they should significantly exceed their salary, preferably doubling it.

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