JENNY SARGENT

825B Shrader Street

San Francisco, CA 94117
805.215.8595 or 415.738.0655
jenny.irene.sargent@gmail.com

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
I am a highly organized and efficient worker, capable of supervising myself and others in stressful
situations with tight deadlines. I have excellent written and verbal communication skills and a
consistent record of meeting and exceeding ambitious fundraising goals during my five years in the
non- profit world, even in difficult economic climates. In addition to my development skills and
accomplishments, I am proficient in most office software including Microsoft Office and
Quickbooks and am comfortable working in both PC and Mac-based platforms.

EDUCATION
January 2005-May 2006
University of California at Berkeley
Bachelor of Arts, Linguistics, Graduated with Honors

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
September 2010-present
Portola & Excelsior Family Connections, Development & Grants Manager
Position Responsibilities & Accomplishments:
 Responsible for managing and coordinating all aspects of fundraising at Family Connections, an
organization with an annual operating budget of $2.1 million
 Responsible for researching and writing all grant proposals to private foundations, corporations,
and government agencies (over 60 proposals per year)
 Responsible for setting revenue goals with the Executive Director and creating an annual fund
development plan to achieve those goals
 Supervised and coordinated all aspects of the annual fundraising event in April 2011 including
the event committee; all press releases, promotions and marketing; attendee tracking and guest
lists; donations and corporate sponsorships; sponsor/donor acknowledgment; and vendor
coordination. My management successfully generated over $40,000 in revenue for and event
which had never brought in more than $8,000 in revenue.
 Successfully implemented the use of SalesForce to track mailings, solicitations and donations for
the organization. Family Connections now has a donor database with 3011 households and 434
organizations as a resource for donation requests. This database allows the organization to see
the direct results of its solicitation efforts and reach out in a more personalized way to donors
and participants when asking making donation asks.
 Implemented a new bi-annual individual donor campaign consisting of a newsletter mailed to
1000 households, email reminders and a personalized solicitation letter to each current
participant at the center.September 2006-July 2009

August 2009-April 2010

Freelance Grantwriter
During this period I worked as a freelance grant-writer and development consultant for SafeSLO,
the San Luis Obispo Symphony and a private company seeking government grant funding.

September 2006-July 2009

The San Luis Obispo Symphony, Development Director
 JENNY SARGENT
825B Shrader Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
805.215.8595 or 415.738.0655
jenny.irene.sargent@gmail.com

Position Responsibilities Accomplishments:

 Designed and implemented a $600,000 development plan each season (roughly half of the
organization's operating budget) and managed staff and board members to reach the set
fundraising and development goals
 Wrote over 30 grant proposals each year; I also aggressively sought new grant opportunities and
was able to secure funding from new grant making agencies such as the Irvine Foundation and
the California Arts Council
 Managed a group of over 200 regular volunteers throughout the season including recruitment,
training and scheduling
 Managed a portfolio of over 700 individual donors each season; coordinated solicitations
through mail, personal visits and phone calls; successfully encouraged many donors to increase
their gifts from season to season through strategic expansion of their involvement in the
organization and its mission
 Helped to create (and later maintain) a relational, Access-based donor database, greatly
increasing
both the amount of information we were able to track for each of our donors and patrons and
our ability to successfully utilize that information for better and more meaningful interactions
 Corporate sponsorships were a special area of success and during my time with the organization;
I was able to grow many of our larger sponsors by up to 50% through increasing their visibility
at events and in publications
 Managed four special fundraising events each season, including a black tie gala and auction,
annually bringing in over $100,000 in one evening; co-ordinated board and committee member
involvement to guarantee the events' presence and success in the community
 Coordinated donor stewardship through regular acknowledgement letters to individuals,
personalized corporate sponsorship packages and donor appreciation events
 During the economically challenging 2008/2009 season, area non-profits were reporting 15-20%
shortfalls against their fundraising and development budgets and up to 40% losses on their
special events. Through the careful coordinating of staff and community members, the
Symphony exceeded its special event goals for the year and reported only a 5% shortfall in
donations goal in relation to its budget for the season.

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
April-July 2010, France
Farm Intern
During this period I traveled extensively in France and working on vineyards and goat farms to
further my knowledge of the traditions of wine cheese-making in the south of France.

August 2009-January 2010

Hawaii Island Retreat, Garden Intern Coordinator
On a six-month trip to the Hawaiian Islands, I worked at an eco-retreat on the Big Island creating a
kitchen garden for the resort and organizing their volunteer farm worker program

References are available upon request.