Development Report
Lorna Stoddart
I arrived at Winchester on 1st September
2008, having worked previously
as Director of Development at
The National Trust for Scotland.
I
had been fundraising for the preservation of
the many listed buildings in Scotland, and for
the Trust’s extensive education programme.
Not much change at Winchester, then.
Thankfully, much had been achieved by David
Fellowes (I, 1963-67) before I arrived in bringing
Winchester College Society and Development under
the same roof and working together as one team.
The structure that David put in place before my
arrival has played a significant part in our successes
over the years.
Since 2008 we have hosted 626 events and
welcomed over 39,000 guests. Through the Guilds
we have built a global community of people ready
and willing to welcome young OWs as they continue
with their education at universities in the UK,
US, HK and elsewhere in the world, or seek work
experience or advice in whichever career path they
want to follow. The Guilds represent the best of
Winchester in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong,
UK, and soon, in the USA. Parents are increasingly
involved in hosting events on our behalf, raising funds
to support bursaries, the Kingsgate Park Sports Centre,
and many other projects that would not happen
without their help.
Key to the role of keeping in contact with our
community has been the Win Coll Soc website,
which allows ticket-purchasing and financial
transactions to be managed and captured on our
database. Thankfully, it also allows preferences
44 The Wykeham Journal 2018
to be captured, so that we can communicate with
the Winchester community according to individual
wishes, and in compliance with the General Data
Protection Regulations which came in to force in
May 2018. We have updated our privacy statements
in line with the Information Commissioners’ advice,
so that we are transparent and open about what
we do with all the information captured on the
database. Life as a fundraiser has become even more
complicated because of the new regulations, but
thanks to the highly qualified and experienced
team in the Win Coll Soc department, management
of our database is in very good hands.
We responded to the feedback we received from
the feasibility study conducted before I arrived by
asking Matt Chapman at Contagious to make our
annual accounts readable and enjoyable, and it was his
suggestion that we invite a Guest Editor (to date this
role has been filled by an OW) to interview the people
who are at the heart of Winchester life. This has
opened up a whole new world to those who thought
they knew Winchester, and a veritable treasure chest
of ‘behind-the-scenes tours’ has made us more open
and accessible. We are incredibly grateful to our
10 guest editors who have spent so much time
interviewing, scribing the stories and bringing their
personalities to the pages of the Wykeham Journal.
I would like to offer you, our donors, party-
goers, committee members, and indeed all who
have contributed in any way, my profuse thanks.