O'Connor will guide the daily operations of a 25 year-old organization committed to providing educational opportunities and choice for economically disadvantaged children residing in communities afflicted by failing public schools.
He also will create sound development initiatives for the organization as the Fund strives both to meet current requests for tuition assistance and prepare a strong foundation to address the ever-growing demand for financial aid for attendance at private and parochial elementary and secondary schools.
In commenting on the new appointment, Joseph J. Oakes, III, Board Chairman of the Scholarship Fund, said: "Gerry O'Connor's experience not only in fundraising, but also in creating key programs to enhance organizational development, make him a natural choice for Executive Director of the Fund His wide ranging development experience in public television and Catholic institutions will enable him to establish a greater profile and awareness of the goals of the Fund among many potential donor groups. Further, we believe he will be able to translate that awareness into wider participation by donors in our vision to provide young men and women in struggling communities with a quality education that blends strong character development and quality academics - key tools for a successful future."
Speaking about his new role as Executive Director, O'Connor said: "I am looking forward to this opportunity to help make available to all children the opportunity for the best education possible. Throughout my career, I have seen clearly that people involved in Catholic school education are committed to their mission, and that inner-city children who attend Catholic schools acquire the skills, character and determination required to be successful not only in school, but also in life.
"I'm proud that last year the Fund was able to make the dream of a Catholic school education a reality for some 2,000 children in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union counties. At the same time, however, we were not able to help more than 1,500 others who applied for scholarship assistance. My immediate goal is to enlist the support and commitment of new donors to the Fund so that we can say 'yes' to even more children and parents." Prior to joining The Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children, O'Connor served as Senior Vice President for Development of New Jersey Network Foundation (NJN), and was responsible for implementing the first major gift program for NJN members and viewers. He also developed an annual fundraising strategy to solicit significant contributions from a wide range of possible sources of income for the organization, and created and managed events and programs designed to acknowledge the critical role that members play in the success of the network. From 2001 through 2004, he served as Executive Vice President of Trinity Fund Raising Consultants, an organization that designs and manages capital campaigns and programs for Catholic institutions nationwide. Between 1989 and 2001, O'Connor served in a similar capacity with The Martin J. Moran Company, another nationally-recognized development consulting company specializing in assisting Catholic institutions in meeting capital and other development needs.
He holds a BS in Business Management from SUNY College at Old Westbury, NY, serves as a member of the Development Committee and Co-Chair of the Opportunity of a Lifetime capital campaign at Mt. St. Dominic Academy, Caldwell, and is the CYO Athletic Director of St. Joseph Parish, Maplewood, NJ, his home parish.
O'Connor, his wife, Jackie, and their four children, Ashley, Sarah, Emily and Thomas, live in Maplewood.
The mission of The Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children (SFIC) is to provide economically disadvantaged children with the opportunity for a quality, values based education in a safe environment by providing partial tuition scholarships to private and parochial schools located within the Archdiocese of Newark. Scholarships are need- based and are awarded without regard to race, religion or ethnicity to children of low-income families living in the urban communities.
Since 1983, the Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children has helped make the dream of a Catholic education, and a brighter future, possible for some 40,000 children. In the past four years, the Fund has made available more than $8 million in scholarship awards.
