By Haleigh Miller ’12, News Section Editor, and Caroline Gentile ’13, News Editor

When Eric Foushee took over the Cincinnati Country Day School Development Office this summer, he discovered a newly transformed department. During the previous three years, former Director of Strategic Planning and Development Jane Simon Fritz ’78 had completely revamped the CCDS development program, which had not been strong in promoting good bonds with alumni and the community. Development is vital to the success of a small school because tuition does not actually cover the cost of an education. However, over the past four years, CCDS has reinvented the department. The notable effects are already beginning, and will continue, to

make a difference in covering the cost of educating enrolled students.

If CCDS charged the full cost of an education, Mr. Foushee estimated that the tuition would be between $25,000 to $30,000 a year per student.

“Whether or not you’ve paid full freight on your tuition, everybody receives some sort of gift from alum and parent investment,” said Mr. Foushee. This deduction is made possible by the funds given to the school through efforts of the development office.

The biggest task of the Development Office, and perhaps the most misunderstood or overlooked, is the cultivation of relations within the network of the school. Mrs. Fritz, Mr. Foushee, and Head of School Robert Macrae all agree that development runs deeper than simply aggregating enough money to keep the school open. While funding is certainly the ultimate goal of development when boiled down to the bare bones, significantly more complicated issues are involved in development. Development ensures that the school builds strong relationships that will allow it to continue to operate as it does now, and, as Dr. Macrae explained, figuring out how “we preserve that gift, how [we] leave the campsite, [the school,] better than we found it.”

Highly sought after as a development director, Mr. Foushee said he chose CCDS for both the professional growth and bigger scope his position allows him and the appeal of access to CCDS’s educational experience.

“I have four kids, so it’s a wonderful benefit that they can attend here,” he added. A strong belief in independent schools, and appreciation for the the wonderful community and energy he found at CCDS also prompted Mr. Foushee’s move.

Four years ago, the alumni were not very well connected with CCDS, and as a result, the development department at CCDS was struggling to perform at a high level. “There was a period when we just didn’t reach out to them enough. They didn’t feel that they were as valued. You really have to be disciplined in reaching the alumni, because that will make the school stronger,” Dr. Macrae said.

Then Mrs. Fritz became the Director of Strategic Planning and Development. “We set out to integrate development into the daily life of the school,” she said. “My goal was to discover what connects each person to Country Day, and then create the opportunity for them to get involved and make a difference by giving back. “ To accomplish this, she said the development office employed a multitude of strategies “with an emphasis on personal touch.”

“I’m deeply grateful for having the opportunity to create a strong foundation for development, and give back to the place I love most,” Mrs. Fritz said of her tenure as director.

Mr. Foushee plans to build on Mrs. Fritz’s developmental success. Primarily, he said he believes that the story of Country Day needs to be told “in a more robust manner that conveys its goals to the people, so they’re more willing to stretch and support it. Right now they’re not so willing because they think we don’t need [financial support].”

According to Mr. Foushee, the most important aspect of development is “bringing in the resources to meet current aims and future goals, and make connections to do that.”

Besides creating a more compelling story about CCDS, Mr. Foushee expressed a need to “continue to grow our annual giving.” He said the Annual Fund “works like the school checking account” and consists of the money the community gives each year to fund that year’s goals.

“This has the biggest room for growth from alumni,” commented Mr. Foushee. Another task on his priority list is to increase scholarship aid endowment to ensure CCDS attracts “the best and brightest students.”

When people think of development, the most common reaction is an immediate mental picture of private schools hounding wealthy alumni for checks with lots of zeroes that precede the decimal point. However, other than that, few students fully understand exactly what development is.

“I don’t really know what it is,” Ilana Habib ’11 said. “I think development is the evolution and expansion of the school, but I don’t really understand how it works or what it is. I don’t think any students do.”

At CCDS, the Development Office is the force behind the growth of the CCDS community which aids in funding the education of all 780 students attending the school. Objectively, this means its main goal is to raise money, but to Dr. Macrae, the most important part of development is “community building” and “helping connect the external and internal community.”

By external community, Dr. Macrae is referring to alumni, past parents,

and grandparents. “We really need to continue to build the community, as well as make sure [the external community] believe in what we’re doing,” he said. “We’re making a huge difference in the children’s lives and creating moral and ethical students who will then make a huge difference in the world.”

The most important external constituency reached through development is the alumni. Dr. Macrae elaborated, saying another goal of development is “to create habits for people so that they stay connected to CCDS.” These habits consist of continuing contact with the school, or the giving of small gifts, or just time. He said he believes that the earlier those habits are created, the more likely people are to stay connected.

When alumni are fresh out of school, the Development Office understands that they aren’t in a position to be writing enormous checks. However, by maintaining a connection with the school, the Development Office is forging stronger bonds with alumni that will help support the school in the coming years.

In addition to alumni, keeping former CCDS parents involved is imperative to developmental success. “Our biggest strength is that our current parents do quite well,” said Dr. Macrae. “Then all of a sudden, [their children] go off to college and they’re not [involved anymore]. ” So, a vital part of development is staying connected with parents after their children leave and keeping them involved in supporting the school. “That’s tricky,” commented Dr. Macrae, “because you want to do that for all the right and sincere reasons.”

For example, The Broadwell Series was established to unite the external community of the school with the internal community. “Alumni families were thrilled to be invited back to Country Day for events, tours, and visits to the classroom,” Mrs. Fritz said.

What makes the Development Office at CCDS special is how well it knows and appreciates CCDS.

“Mr. Foushee and Mrs. Fritz before him really understand the school,” Dr. Macrae said.

Photo courtesy of CCDS