Small School? No Problem
Written By: Ben Charter - JFSG Associate
As a retired head of a small school, I remember well that my administrative plate was full of various tasks with very little help or support staff. The possibility of having a director of development would be a luxury that our budget did not allow. Our strategic plans were full of ideas, needs and dreams but no funds to implement. The school really did need additional classrooms, but living day by day and year by year on tuition and event fund-raising was the norm, and classroom space was only a dream. We had hit a wall with nowhere to go.
Until hope became reality. After having been introduced to the J.F. Smith Group, it changed everything. At first it seemed impossible that our small school community could realize a financial goal that would lead to having the classroom space we desired (and needed!). The first thing I noticed about the J.F. Smith personnel was the contagious confidence they exhibited and the assurance that dreams could be reality. This contagious attitude was just what we needed to get us moving.
After agreeing to initiate the feasibility study, the entire process began to wake up our community and stakeholders. Slowly but surely the project and the possibility of having more classrooms developed like a polaroid picture.
After the feasibility study, the campaign began and so did the fun. Watching a seasoned group of fund-raising management professionals take the results of the feasibility study and develop the campaign was exciting. Later we realized that along the way, the J.F. Smith Group had also trained us for continuing fund-raising and laid the groundwork for future school development.
Many of us worked hard with a steep learning curve but the rewards were worth it: a new classroom building with no debt. Five years later another feasibility study and campaign provided a much larger building with a gym, office suite, 10 more classrooms, and a music suite. Our small school grew and prospered under the leadership of the J.F. Smith Group; the community had developed a culture of giving.
It has been a pleasure to watch numerous other small schools develop similarly under the guidance of the J.F. Smith Group.
Dr. Ben Character is retired Headmaster of Faith Christian School in Anniston, Alabama. During his tenure, the school conducted two successful campaigns led by the J.F. Smith Group. Since retiring, he has worked with the J.F. Smith for 10 years, conducting feasibility studies and helping many schools.
