Behind the Lashes

Name:  Michael Barret Jones
Birthdate:  July 26 (Leo)
Married to:  Kerry Ashforth
Father of Princess Clara and Sebastian
Brother of Cameron and Gary, son of Frazer F. Jones and Sandra Jane Schoy.

Favorite Color:  Emerald Green                     Favorite Novel:  A Prayer for Owen Meaney
Favorite Comic Strip:  Bloom County            Favorite Musical:  Follies
Favorite Bar: (tie) Excelsior, The Eagle, Rockbar -- all for different reasons!
Favorite Restaurant/Dinner:  A. O. C.            Favorite Restaurant/Brunch:  Take me somewhere to find out!

Graduate of The Lawrenceville School (cum laude) and Drew University (B. A., Theatre Arts and English)

Extensive training in directing for the stage.

Award winning conference presenter and teacher.

Fundraiser, Storyteller, Strategic Planner.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelbarretjones

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As Director of Development at Iris House, a Center for Women Living with HIV and two independent schools over the last seven years, I have often referred to myself as the Chief Storytelling Officer.  Telling the right story to the right people at the right time has always led to increased levels of support for the organization.  I firmly believe that there is nothing that cannot be achieved when committed, passionate people are willing to think creatively and apply a combination of solid technique and outside-the-box strategies.

That is to say, in quoting Gordon MacKenzie, that “Orville Wright did not have a pilot’s license.”

One of the deep passions in my life is the theatre.  The ability for an individual to stand on a stage and tell a story, share with an audience an emotional response and leave them wanting more has true magic in it.  That ephemeral experience, a moment of brilliance in the theatre, is exactly what we try to create in fundraising.  A performing artist develops an amazing array of skills that include discipline, communication, teamwork, resilience and creativity. 

Whether cultivating, soliciting or stewarding donors, an individual is still standing on a stage, sharing a story and hoping for the appropriate visceral response from their audience.  The two fields are directly connected, and it is by maximizing the donor experience, bringing them into the vision of the organization and providing that emotional jolt every theatergoer craves that a person well trained in theatre can leverage their skills in development.

For nearly twenty years, I have served arts, social justice and educational institutions in a wide range of senior-level capacities including:  fundraising, relationship management, marketing, copywriting and desktop publishing, event planning, and as a manager of paid and volunteer teams.  I am an award-winning conference presenter, and an active volunteer and board member for other non-profit organizations. 

My approach to this work has successfully built or rebuilt annual giving programs, strengthened donor connections and alumni relations, created individualized stewardship plans for top donors, and been rewarded with a number of significant foundation grants – rare creatures in the independent school world.  I have created magazines and web content; supervised teams of alumni, communications and event staff; and built volunteer networks to help reach further and deeper into our core constituencies.   While at The Cathedral School, I worked closely with consultants to do a feasibility study for what has been a successful capital campaign, and recently created and ran a strategic planning process with the alumni at Staten Island Academy to rebuild the formal alumni association that disbanded six years earlier.  As a senior administrator, my work has involved every aspect of the school’s program, and I’ve been very successful at collaboration and cooperation between administration and program staff (in this case, faculty.)

Though a strong background in traditional fundraising principles and practices is critical, it is also important not to rest simply on “the way it’s always been done.”  To that end, I attended The WOW! Institute in the summer of 2005 and was blown away by the way that contemporary business marketing techniques, as espoused by authors like Tom Peters and Seth Godin, can and should be used to inform our thinking and approaches to our donors and friends.  Based on my work as a participant at WOW!, I was invited to join their leadership team in 2006, and have returned each year to the Institute as a team leader and presenter.  In the summer of 2009, I was asked to join the faculty of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education’s (CASE) Summer Institute for Independent School Advancement, and was named a Faculty Star (based on participants’ conference evaluations) for integrated presentations of best practices and new thinking.

The “view from 30,000 feet” is also important, and serving on several non-profit boards and strategic planning committees is a fantastic way to complement and inform the work of a senior member of an administrative team.  I have always found that point of view helpful as a development professional in building relationships with trustees and helping to drive a strategic vision.  In these difficult economic times, it has also provided deep insights into the decision making process at the board level, and has been helpful in communicating up and down the chain of command.

My passions, skills, accomplishments and innovative approach to fundraising and constituent relations have served my organizations well.  The tools I have developed as a performing artist buffer and support my work as a fundraiser.  I look forward to building relationships, enhancing existing programs and working collaboratively to lead the charge in new ventures.