Building our schools consultancy team

This summer, we are delighted to welcome two new consultants to the team at Gifted. Leisa Lavender and Antoinette Hage both come with a wealth of experience in fundraising for schools.

Leisa Lavender

Leisa joins us after serving as Director of Development at King’s College Taunton, where she led a successful capital campaign for a school sports hub and was responsible for legacy and annual income generation at King’s College and King’s Hall Preparatory School. Her success during her seven years with the School, was built on positively engaging with all members of the King’s family, along with exploring innovative technology and commercial practice that has had a lasting impact on the Development Office.

Until August 2017, Leisa was the South West Regional Vice President for Independent Development Professionals in Education (IDPE) and was a regular speaker at national conferences and regional meetings. Her commitment to championing professional standards and guiding volunteer leaders has also underpinned her trusteeship with Taunton Association for the Homeless and more recently, her fundraising advisory role to the Board of Belvoir Cricket and Countryside Trust.

“Leisa brings an extraordinary level of experience and insight to our senior consulting team,” says Gifted’s CEO, Andrew Day. “Alongside her specialist knowledge of the schools’ sector, she offers our clients superb organisational and strategic strengths, both of which were recognised in 2002 when Leisa was awarded her MBE for services as a British Army Officer.”

Antoinette Hage

Antoinette began fundraising in London’s private schools, focusing on projects to widen access and increase opportunities for talented young people from all walks of life. Working with Latymer Upper School and St Paul’s Girls’ School, she developed an excellent understanding of digital marketing and database management, moving on to oversee alumnae relations and playing a leading role in successful legacy and capital fundraising projects.

Since 2016, Antoinette has also been involved in campaigns and communications consulting for political parties in the UK and the USA. She has developed a diverse base of skills and knowledge in recruiting and managing volunteers, making her an ideal professional fundraising partner for one of the Girls Day School Trust’s flagship schools, Wimbledon High.

“When we engaged Antoinette to manage Wimbledon High School’s capital campaign, Project Ex Humilibus, we knew that her attention to detail, tenacity and experience in working with major donors would be vital to the success of the project,” says Gifted’s Chris Goldie.“Great campaign managers are not only efficient, but flexible and persistent in their approach. Antoinette has all of these qualities and is a fantastic addition to our consulting team at Gifted.”

If your organisation is about to tackle its next fundraising challenge and you’d like to know more about our consultancy services at Gifted, please get in touch with one of our directors.