Success Stories

San Diego Jewish Academy Visioning & Fundraising Support

About the work

Who they are...

San Diego Jewish Academy (SDJA) is a leading preschool-to-12th-grade center of learning that combines personalized, innovative education with Jewish values. SDJA emphasizes creativity, entrepreneurship, and real-world learning, fostering a connected campus where students thrive as contributors and leaders locally and globally.

Their Challenge

SDJA faced a pressing challenge in sustaining and growing its fundraising efforts following the conclusion of a large-scale campaign initiative in 2019 which invested in enhancing academic programming, increasing enrollment, retaining world-class teachers, and maintaining affordable tuition. With a change in the makeup of the parent body and major donors experiencing fatigue, SDJA needed to revitalize its approach to build a culture of philanthropy among parents, engage new constituents, maintain donor loyalty, and transition from multi-year transactional giving to relational annual fundraising.

"Evolve was an amazing support system. The Evolve team was more than a consulting firm, they were true partners and always went above and beyond to meet our transforming needs. They spent time doing a dive deep into our fundraising program, uncovering the biggest challenges, and helped to streamline and simplify our fundraising efforts to maximize impact and strengthen our culture of philanthropy. I am hopeful that our new approach will successfully transform our annual campaign and yield great results! Thank you!"

Rachel Jagolinzer, Director of Advancement

Key Deliverables & Results

Evolve provided strategic guidance and a comprehensive fundraising plan that boosted revenue and deepened donor engagement, enabling SDJA to accomplish the following:

  • Nearly doubled annual fundraising revenue from $450,000 to over $900,000 in the first year.
  • Strengthened their culture of philanthropy by increasing family participation, partnering with the parent association, and engaging alumni families and grandparents.
  • Developed a strategic vision to serve as a guide for fundraising strategy and messaging while connecting SDJA's mission with its funding priorities.
  • Built stronger donor relationships through a strategy focused on clearer, more consistent communications from school leadership.

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