Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

Job Announcement – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – Part-Time

Friends of the Conservatory at Volunteer Park — FOC 

The Friends of the Conservatory (FOC) was established in 1980 to promote and support the 100-year old Volunteer Park Conservatory. It has a thirty two-year history in advocating for the Conservatory and facilitating public participation and education. FOC is an innovative, evolving organization seeking an Executive Director who will assist FOC in a number of critical projects and achieving the next level in development and community participation.

The Executive Director will be a liaison between the FOC and Seattle Parks and Recreation and help to facilitate self-sustainability for the Conservatory.

In addition, the FOC is currently fundraising to complete the restoration of the Conservatory’s Seasonal and Cactus Houses with a goal of $3.5 million dollars. The Executive Director will oversee the capital campaign.

Individuals with fund raising, capital campaign, and non-profit experience are strongly urged to apply.

This is an excellent opportunity to make a highly-visible difference at one of Seattle’s most treasured landmarks!

Key Job Responsibilities:
• Strategic Leadership: Provide strong strategic leadership that adheres to core organizational values. Assist the Board in the development of the organization and its resources. Provide leadership in the development of new education programs.
• Fundraising: Increase FOC revenue through dynamic fundraising activities and grant writing, expanded membership base.
• Fiscal Management: In partnership with the Board provide and improve ongoing financial management planning and oversight.
• Community Development: Be the public face of FOC; present all programs, press releases and communication in a positive and timely manner. Serve as point of contact for media inquiries. Increase FOC e-marketing opportunities. Present and market FOC’s direction to the community, city government, and stakeholders.
• Oversee Day-to-Day Operations: Provide direction and support to staff and volunteers. Work with Administrative Executive to schedule docent tours, gift shop and plant sale volunteers. Keep Board informed and report monthly at Board meetings. Coordinate with Seattle Parks Department staff.

Desired Qualifications:
• Proven fundraising experience for non-profits
• Grant writing experience strongly preferred
• Experience managing and utilizing volunteer resources.
• Experience working with a wide range of people with conflicting demands
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office
• Strong communication skills; oral, written, electronic, and effective networking skills
• Financial management experience
• Experience working in an environment with limited supervision and effectively meeting expectations
• Ability to work some evenings and weekends.
• A passion for plants is a plus.

To Apply: send resume, salary requirements and cover letter to: ed@volunteerparkconservatory.org.

For questions, please contact FOC@volunteerparkconservatory.org 206.322.4112

Position will be open until filled.

Posted in FOC News Blog, News, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Conservatory Winter Update!

Saturday, November 26th, 2011

It’s that time of year again when the trees in Volunteer Park are putting on one final display of beauty before winter’s dormancy. While we may have been short-changed on a long, hot summer this year, the magnificent colors of the foliage seem to be trying to compensate and will not certainly disappoint anyone making the trip.

Volunteer Park’s crown jewel, the Conservatory watches proudly from the north, no doubt contemplating the final few weeks of being in the double-digits. 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the Conservatory in Volunteer Park which will be commemorated throughout the entire year through events and programs open to the public.

The Friends of the Conservatory, now in its 31st year of service, has had one of its most active years in recent memory. Our two plant sales in May and September were extremely successful; the Spring Sale was the most successful sale on record! The Education Committee sponsored the Urban Safari Summer Camp program for grade-school students received glowing praise from participants and parents and will be expanded next year. The summer also bore a series of open houses to remind the Capitol Hill neighborhood of the perhaps-overlooked treasure right in their backyards. Visitors were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour, live music, and a book signing with Sara Chapman, author of an extensive and beautiful book chronicling the Conservatory collection throughout the year: “Flowers of Volunteer Park Conservatory: Blooming Month by Month” (available for purchase in the Conservatory Gift Shop.)

At the end of October, the Conservatory gardeners surprised us with the first-annual Haunted Conservatory After-Hour Open in which the tropical paradise was transformed with spooky decorations, chilling special effects, treats for visitors, and a screening of “Little Shop of Horrors” in the cactus house. December brings our annual Holiday Open House including a very special treat in just time for the centennial; the Conservatory will be outfitted with thousands of energy-efficient LED bulbs which will shine bright starting in December and remain installed for the duration of 2012 to commemorate the festive occasion. The FOC Gift Shop, located in the Conservatory has had a remarkably successful year with October sales up 68% over the previous October, and overall sales are up 19% from last year!

We are hoping you can join us for the festivities in the New Year! The Centennial Committee has some terrific events planned throughout the entire year, and we look forward to sharing them with you! For information about upcoming events or to learn how you can get involved, contact foc@volunteerparkconservatory.org or call 206.322.4112.

Read more Conservatory updates in the FOC 2011 Fall/Winter Newsletter!

Posted in Community, FOC News Blog, News, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Welcome to the new Friends of the Conservatory Website!

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

First Blog!

One of the first duties I tackled when I first started volunteering for the Friends of the Conservatory was taking a stab at redesigning our organization’s website. Having served time as a web designer in the heady days of the dot-com ’90s I still had a little HTML up my sleeve and in 2007 launched version 2.3 of our website to the public. While the redesign modernized the look and feel of the initial site, the design remained static with little opportunity for interaction. Changes had to be manually edited and uploaded and which made it difficult to ensure timely publication, and also led to the possibility of stagnant content. As time passed, the redesign of the website showed signs of age. Unfortunately priorities had changed and my 20th century web design knowledge was no longer sufficient to implement the features every contemporary website should have.

In late 2010, my attention was drawn to the Seattle Central Community College Advanced Web Design 210 Class. Each year, students choose from several non-profit organizations and design (or redesign) a website as a class project. We applied for consideration and were chosen as one of the projects for the 2011 summer quarter.

Our capable team consisted of Reed Wacker, Laura Sammons, and Brian Kluck . The process was very straightforward; the team asked about our needs and goals, and where we envisioned the site going. With the Conservatory’s upcoming centennial, we wanted to update our look. We also had a strong desire to allow visitors to interact with the site, integrating social media and blogging. Most importantly, we wanted to allow for varied contributors and editors who will help make the site vibrant.

From static HTML to dynamic WordPress PHP, in just over two months, the redesign was complete. We are still learning the ropes of our new technologies, so please bear with us as we work out a few of the kinks.

We are hoping that version 3.0 of our site will be welcoming, useful and fun to visitors!

Please let us know how you like it!

 

 

Anthonio Mighuel Bishop Pettit
President, Friends of the Conservatory

Posted in Community, FOC News Blog, News | 3 Comments »