May 13, 2011
BERKELEY -
Darcy Heppenstall, an experienced fundraiser who has been an integral part of major philanthropic efforts at institutions of higher learning for more than a decade, has been named Chief Development Officer for Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of California, Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour announced Friday.
Since 2008, Heppenstall has worked for London Business School. Most recently, she served as Director of Advancement for the Americas. She was previously interim Co-director of Development and interim Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations. Heppenstall also spent seven years, from 2001-08, with the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University as Associate Director, and then Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations.
In her new role at Cal, Heppenstall will oversee all fundraising efforts, including the Bear Backer organization, and will be charged with creating and implementing a multiyear strategic plan in order to expand and steward the athletic department's donor base and increase giving participation levels to support Cal Athletics' 29-sport program. Heppenstall will begin her duties on Monday, June 6.
"Darcy is a strategic thinker and a proven fundraiser with the ability to collaborate across all areas of the campus," Barbour said. "Because so many of our donors also contribute to other parts of the University, Darcy's understanding of the importance of integrating resources and the role that campus University Relations plays in the success of campaigns will provide significant benefit to our department. She has a genuine interest in helping provide opportunities for our student-athletes to excel and appreciates the discipline necessary to achieve greatness both athletically and academically. Our development office has a broad set of objectives, from our Annual Fund to the Endowment Seating Program, planned giving and endowment generation, and I believe that Darcy has the ability to lead our staff in an exemplary fashion."
Heppenstall brings extensive direct fundraising experience, as well as a background in marketing, public relations and business development, to Cal. Over her fundraising career, she has engaged with university alumni, friends, corporations and foundations to solicit support for such areas as student scholarships, faculty support and capital projects, and unrestricted giving. She has also been a part of two multimillion dollar institutional campaigns.
"I am honored to be chosen to work with Cal Athletics as Chief Development Officer to build upon the great work that has been done to date by the Cal community," Heppenstall said. "I look forward to working strategically with Sandy Barbour and her team to make certain we focus on delivering outstanding stewardship while increasing the financial support for Cal Athletics in order to sustain and grow its programs. I am excited for the opportunity to support Cal's student-athletes, coaches and staff to help ensure they have every chance to succeed."
While with the London Business School, Heppenstall was a member of the senior management team within Advancement and engaged with alumni throughout the Americas in her position as Director of Advancement, the Americas. She worked with both faculty and administration to create giving opportunities to meet the needs of teaching and research and developed outreach programs to maximize corporate and individual engagement with the school. She also worked on behalf of alumni relations efforts, hosting faculty speaking opportunities throughout the Americas and fostering relationships with more than 25 regional alumni club leaders.
During her tenure at Stanford, Heppenstall coordinated and cultivated a broad array of relationships between the school's programs, faculty, students, and corporate and foundation executives. She also secured funding for scholarships and research, developed grant strategies and produced more than 50 "View from the Top" dean's speaker series events.
Prior to her move to higher education, Heppenstall was a senior strategic alliance manager for Excite at Home, a business development manager for Career Central, and a project manager and channel development program manager for Working Assets, Inc., in San Francisco.
Heppenstall worked for Resnick Communications in Philadelphia from 1997-99, as a senior account manager where she was responsible for coordinating public relations, advertising and marketing campaigns and she also served as a non-profit marketing consultant. From 1993-97, she served as founder and president of an environmental retail store that specialized in products made from recycled materials.
Heppenstall received her bachelor's degree from Philadelphia University and is currently an MBA candidate at the Presidio Graduate School. She gained a certificate from the Strategic Marketing Management Program from Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Education.
