By Samantha Breslow
Photo by Jordy Wagoner
| Assistant Dean for Development and External Relations for the School of Architecture for the last four years, Julie Hooper has constructed a career out of fundraising and creating financial opportunities for students, faculty and researchers . In recognition of her philanthropic efforts for the Austin and University communities, she was honored on January 26 as the 2010 Outstanding Fundraising Professional by the Greater Austin Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. |
Before settling in with the University of Texas, Hooper served several non-profit organizations. She was executive director of the Heritage Society of Austin, the executive director for the Colorado River Foundation, which focuses on building and operating environmental education programs on the lower Colorado River, and senior director of development and communications for Safe Place, a family violence shelter in Austin.
Prior to embarking on a career in philanthropy, Hooper experienced the gritty reality of child labor overseas. After earning a bachelor’s degree in history from Boston University and a master’s degree in historic preservation from The University of Georgia, Hooper returned to the Dallas area to work for a home textile import company for four years. The job required frequent travel to India for weeks at a time, which inevitably led to her dissatisfaction with the position.
“I saw things that bothered me, like children working in factories,” Hooper said. “It was great to meet that price point, I suppose, for a customer on a product being made in India; but ultimately, I don’t think I felt fulfilled, spiritually or otherwise.”
Her yearning for fulfillment led her to work with various non-profit organizations and eventually to her current position with the School of Architecture.
Her position primarily concentrates on the Capital Campaign, a University-wide plan to raise $3 billion to support the growing endeavors of the faculty, students, research and academic programs of the University. In order to achieve the campaign’s goals, Hooper and the architecture school hope to raise the daunting sum of $21.5 million from generous individuals, corporations and foundations by August 31, 2014. Using these funds to raise student scholarships is a high priority, she said. In addition, they are increasing emphasis on graduate student fellowships.
“Our enrollment has kind of shifted over the past few decades. When I meet with someone who graduated in the ‘50s they don’t even remember there being graduate students. Now a days, we have slightly more graduate students than undergraduate students [in the School of Architecture],” Hooper said. These fundraising efforts have already proven fruitful for the architecture school, with 108 students on academic scholarships and 86 on travel scholarships for the 2009-2010 school year.
Hooper is also responsible for bringing in new scholarships and fellowships and for connecting with donors of existing scholarships to ensure they are pleased with how the school is using their endowments.
“A good development officer’s role is to be a very good listener and really understand what drives somebody’s interests in the University and what they’re passionate about,” Hooper said. “When you can make a connection for them so they can make an investment that aligns with their passions, it’s a win-win.”
Photo by Jordy Wagoner
After four years of working with the University, Hooper describes her position as a dream job. “Everybody is driven by different things, but I feel driven by seeing the work I’m doing has a valuable end result,” she said. There is no greater feeling than watching the excitement generated between a scholarship donor and the students who are receiving the scholarships, she continued.
Outside of the University, Hooper donates her time and money to several local organizations. An ardent animal lover, Hooper is involved as a donor and supporter of the Animal Trustees of Austin. Additionally, she serves on the board of directors for the Sustainable Food Center of Austin, an organization that manages community gardens throughout the city, runs the Austin Farmers’ Market at the Triangle and downtown, and organizes “The Happy Kitchen” program that teaches healthy cooking classes free of charge in Spanish and English. Ronda Rutledge, the executive director of the Sustainable Food Center, works with Hooper biweekly as a part of the leadership team. “She is a mentor for our board on all things fundraising, and her involvement helps us advance our mission of strengthening the local food system and improving access to nutritious, affordable food,” Rutledge said. “She’s a lovely individual who gives great amounts of time and energy through her volunteer work at SFC. We are so thrilled to have her on our board.”
Hooper is also involved with the Association of Fundraising Professionals and started the AFP Mentoring Program in Austin a year and a half ago. The mentoring program matches development professionals who are more seasoned with individuals who are newer to the profession for a one year mentoring partnership. The goals of the mentoring program are to help support new development professionals in this field and help retain new people in the development and non-profit profession, Hooper said.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals is the organization that honored Hooper in January as the 2010 Outstanding Fundraising Professional at the 21st Philanthropy Day Luncheon. “Ten influential Central Texas heroes who give their time, talent and treasure to make our community a better place to live are honored each year,” said April Kerwin, the public relations and communications chair for Philanthropy Day. “The award for Outstanding Fundraising Professional is very meaningful, because it honors a fundraiser who is a model, mentor and a resource for other fundraising professionals.” Despite the prestige of the award, Hooper remains modest.
“There are so many talented people in Austin working and fundraising in philanthropy. Many of them are people that have mentored me, so I just felt really overwhelmed,” said Hooper.
Hooper’s humble and tireless attitude toward philanthropy mirrors her enthusiasm toward the mission of the University. “Every day I think about what else I can be doing to help the School of Architecture, because I truly believe in the mission of the school, the strength of an investment in the school and in the excellence of the University,” Hooper said. “Even though I didn’t attend UT, I’m a native Texan. I’ve lived in Austin longer in my adult life than anywhere else. This is my hometown; this is my hometown school, and I’m very proud of that.”