1. APRIL ERIN FARRELL
440 Nautilus Street, La Jolla CA 92037 ♦ Phone: 917-573-4365 ♦ Email: aprilerinfarrell@gmail.com
Expertise
♦ Creation, Planning and Execution of new initiatives ♦ Board, Staff and Partner Cultivation and Management
♦ Fiscal Analysis and Budget Management ♦ Donor Relations
♦ Management and creation of large scale events ♦ Prospect Research, Member Acquisition and Graduation
Experience
♦Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 2012 to present
Senior Membership and Annual Giving Manager, March 2012 – present
In my current capacity I oversee and manage three primary areas: Membership, Special Events and Fundraisers and Annual
Appeals
Membership and Programming
• Managed the Museum’s 8 Membership Categories successfully, resulting in an overall increase of 30% in membership
households over the course of 3 & 1/2 years.
• Launched two new engagement programs for high levels of membership to increase awareness and interest
- The C.A.T (Contemporary Art Thing) Series for the Avant Garde young collectors group - a programing series that
provided ‘back-stage access’ to the arts through studio visits, collection visits, curatorial talks etc. The launch of this
series resulted in an increase in membership numbers by over 60%
- Architecture + Design: Meet the New San Diego is a series designed to engage donors at our higher level membership
groups of $1500 and $2500 who had shown static numbers for over 5 years. With the launch of the program we saw
the group grow by over 50% in a year and a half
• Launched a new community engagement program called the Field Trip Series which is open to both the public and members.
The series provided curated local and cross border adventures celebrating art, food and local culture. In three years we have
executed 10 almost entirely sold out trips to Mexico, Palm Springs, Los Angeles and San Diego, creating new revenue and
garnering new members and community interest.
• Spearheaded a new initiative to offer monthly membership to our constituents being the first to do so in San Diego and one
of the first Museums in the country to offer a monthly option.
• Launched the ‘Be an X’ marketing campaign to increase visibility of the Museums’ membership programs.
• Managed all branding and marketing of Membership Acquisition and Upgrade campaigns with the Museum’s
Communications and Design Teams
Special Events and Member Events
• Re-envisioned and re-launched our annual young patron’s gala Summer Solstice as The Spring Thing which resulted in an
increase from approximately 100 attendees to over 600, and over three years the event went from raising $7,000 to raising
$100,000 in 2015 an increase of 1329%
• Managed and executed 3 of the museums’ annual Monte Carlo galas raising helping to raise nearly $2 Million dollars while
seeing an increase of attendees and launching new fundraising opportunities like VIP Seating at the After Party.
• Managed and executed 2 of the museums’ biennial Art Auction fundraising galas raising $1.8 Million with the 2014 Art
Auction breaking the $1 Million mark for the first time in the Museums’ history
• Managed all Exhibition Opening Events
• Managed all VIP and Upper Level Dinners and events throughout the year from seating, to outreach, to menu planning and
décor decisions
Annual Appeals
• Completed an overhaul of the Museums Calendar and Fiscal Year fundraising campaigns to focus on smaller donors and
community engagement and outreach
- $13 on 13th – Make Friday the 13th the Museums’ Lucky Day in December of 2013 resulted in a 50% increase in
revenue and an 87% increase in the number of donors participating in 2012.
- 12 Reasons of the Season in December of 2014 resulted in a 35% increase in revenue over 2013 and raised the
most of any end of year appeal in the last 15 years on record.
- You Have a Stake in June of 2014 quadrupled revenue of the previous years’ Fiscal Year end campaign.
2. APRIL ERIN FARRELL
440 Nautilus Street, La Jolla CA 92037 ♦ Phone: 917-573-4365 ♦ Email: aprilerinfarrell@gmail.com
♦Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York, 2005 to 2012
Associate Director of Development: Membership, January 2010 – 2012
• Managed the Museum’s 11 Membership Categories successfully, resulting in a 20% increase in revenue and exceeding
annual budget goals and contributing 9% of the total annual net revenue for the Museum, through the creation and launch
of new membership programs, restructuring benefits packages, researching and cultivating new prospects and upgrading
existing members
• Through the creation of new initiatives and outreach over the last year and half, the Museum’s membership base has
increased by 2,000 individuals
• Managed the Museum’s Upper Level Travel Program, including all outside travel consultants, exceeding fundraising goals
through the successful execution of two International Trips and one Domestic trip
• Managed the launch of the Museum’s annual Young Patron’s Gala beginning with The PAPERBALL, and followed by
The METALBALL, and THE FLUORESCENTBALL resulting in exceeding targeted revenue goals by 40%, increasing
exposure to new audiences, growing the Young Patron’s membership subscription, and garnering extraordinary press
coverage including the New York Times
• Created, planned and executed all the Museum’s members programs including The Artists Studio Series, Architecture + Design
Evenings, launch of the Young Collector’s Wine and Design Series, all member Day Trips, and all Exhibition Opening
Receptions
• Developed the successful inaugural use of online social networks, eblasts and online ticketing for Museum events
• Successfully procured numerous In-kind donations for the Museum’s use at member events and fundraisers including
major liquor donations and artist works
• Implemented and cultivated new external partnerships and sponsorships with external groups and art fairs such as ArtLog,
The Fountain Art Fair, The Society
• Managed Membership staff including Museum Database department on average 5 individuals
• Responsible for writing all Member related entries for MADViews, as well as all member correspondence and solicitations
Event Management, 2005 – 2012
• Opening of the new Museum at 2 Columbus Circle
- Partnered with the Director and Manager of Special Events to map out the entire schedule of events for the
Museum’s launch at the new location
- Worked with the Director to manage all seating, invitation processes, creation of VIP lists
- Managed 15 staff and volunteers during the invitation mailing process
- Managed all lists associated with the 12 opening events
• Launch of the Young Patrons Annual Ball
- Partnered with the Director to create the event’s focus and structure
- Managed the event budget resulting in a profit 40% over goal
- Managed all event consultants and staff
- Procured and managed sponsor relationships such as Hugo Boss, Burberry, William Grant & Sons, LVMH etc
- Managed all aspects of the Event Auction, including artist solicitations, credit lines, installation design, catalog
design, sales and delivery
- Managed the design and production of the invitations, eblasts, press releases and all invitation and RSVP lists
• Manager of Visionaries! 2011
- Successfully managed the Museum’s largest annual fundraiser raising over $1 Million dollars and hosted 500
guests at a seated dinner
- Primary point of contact for all four honorees, liasing with Ogilvy and Mather to produce honorary videos
- Managed all event consultants and staff
- Oversaw all décor, auction, seating, design and production of the invitations, eblasts, press releases and all
invitation and RSVP lists
3. APRIL ERIN FARRELL
440 Nautilus Street, La Jolla CA 92037 ♦ Phone: 917-573-4365 ♦ Email: aprilerinfarrell@gmail.com
Executive Assistant to the Director & Board Secretary, 2005 – 2009
• Acted on behalf of the Director managing all museum administrative duties
• Coordinated the master work plan and schedule for 4 annual Board of Trustees meetings including all logistics,
seating, agenda creation, presentation creation and the assembly and writing of 80 page Board Report document.
• Responsible for all 7 Board of Trustees Committees
• Responsible for the election of all new Trustees
• Drafted all correspondence and other communication directed to the Board, on behalf of the Director
• Maintained stewardship of the Board by handling all individual requests
• Managed all Board of Trustee Dinners
• Responsible for all minutes at all Trustee related meetings
♦ Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York, 2002 - 2004
Executive Assistant to the Director
• Primary gatekeeper for the Director’s office, from requests for the Director to general museum inquiries
• Managed visits of key guests and dignitaries to view shows
• Managed Director’s Participation in external events
• Managed events hosted by Whitney Director’s Office, including supervising the Special Events Department
• Liaised with the Communications department to finalize all public remarks made by the Director
♦ British Telecom Ignite Solutions Sales Team, New York, New York, 2002
Executive Assistant to Vice President & Sales Team Support
• Provided executive support to the Vice President as well as the Sales Team of BT Ignites Solutions, an International
Telecommunications Service Provider
• Provided support to the Sales Team and the Vice President in reporting and document creation
• Reviewed and edited customer proposals
• Planned and executed team events
♦ The RTP Group Inc., Pasadena, California, 1999-2002
Project Manager
• Provided Project Managerial and Consulting services to Fortune 500 Companies
• Efficiently guaranteed operational efficiency and cost savings to clients
• Managed a broad range of client-based needs on a daily basis
• Created and implemented templates utilized by the company as well as the clients
• Generated high volume of Business, leading to extra revenue growth through strong Senior Management relationships
• Managed a nationwide telecommunications inventory for Universal Studios
• Produced a detailed account of nationwide telecom usage for Universal Studios resulting in annual savings of
approximately $2 Million dollars
♦ Whittier Family Foundations, Pasadena, California, 1998
Executive Assistant to the Director
• Processed all Grant applications and composed Grant contracts
• Assisted in Financial Reporting and Budget Construction
Education
• B/A International Communications, Pepperdine University, Calif.
• Pepperdine University London, England, Course Studies: British History and Art History