RVCS Development Committee

The Development Committee met to review recent fundraising work and plan upcoming development activities. Members reported that the annual appeal mailing had a quick turnaround and was handled efficiently through volunteer addressing bundles; administrative staff support was noted as instrumental. The committee discussed expanding contact lists (adding grandparents and alumni — 2024 graduates were included this year), archiving appeal to-dos in BoardOnTrack, and holding a volunteer thank-you party hosted by Karen in January.

Planning for 2026 and near-term events featured several operational decisions and task assignments: start annual-appeal collateral in summer to allow thoughtful design and budgeting, identify new class captains earlier, and have annual fund chairs personally engage class captains. The group debated thank-you note administration (mass-produced community thank-yous plus personal notes while protecting donor privacy) and assigned Meg to order blank cards for children to decorate. The committee also discussed a read-a-thon — business sponsorship outreach (ER to contact prior sponsors), staff engagement (ER to meet with Laura and train Marianne on running the event), student rewards (suggestions included a dunk tank), and communication logistics (ER to create and maintain a sponsor spreadsheet and ensure materials are in the development folder). A longer-term idea of hosting a Grandfriends Day in classrooms was raised, including seeking staff support and contacting past organizers for lessons learned. No public comments were recorded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 PM.