This week the Member in the hotseat is: <\/strong>Sophie Borrillo McLellan, <\/span>Philanthropy Manager, <\/span>Caulfield Grammar School\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I started my career in the Arts sector, working in Development in Theatres for about 10 years. When I had my children, the 11pm Press Nights just didn\u2019t agree with the 5am wakeups, and so I began to look for other roles that I hoped I would find equal satisfaction in. Education hadn\u2019t crossed my radar until I came across a listing for The King\u2019s School, Worcester, (in the UK where I\u2019m from), and reading the specifications and responsibilities, I realised how much it aligned with all the aspects I adored about my role in the Theatre; enabling meaningful engagement and building on those relationships to create transformational opportunities. As Head of Alumni Relations at King’s, I had the pleasure of <\/span>maintaining Alumni relations that built and strengthened relationships between the School and its community of over 14,000 former pupils, parents, staff and donors in order to maximise Alumni interest in, and engagement with, the school and their philanthropic ambitions. It was a wonderful place to begin my journey in Education and set me up perfectly for my next career steps, as Development and Alumni Relations Manager for The Royal Grammar School Worcester, and on moving to Australia last year, in my current role at Caulfield Grammar School.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Without a doubt, every element of what excites me, is people. Whether I\u2019m carrying out the initial prospecting, meeting face-to-face, collaborating with colleagues, or working with donors, it is the uniqueness of people, finding out about them and building genuine relationships that go on to make an impact, it all really resonates with me! There are so many fascinating conversations happening around the psychology of giving, moving away from just asking <\/span>why<\/span><\/i>\u00a0people support, but moreover asking\u00a0<\/span>what kind of donor<\/span><\/i> supporters believe themselves to be. In the context of our schools this gives us huge potential with our donors; looking at Alumni in terms of their life-long relationship with us, at parents in the context of their potential to build communities, and in launching campaigns that people feel a sense of belonging and connection with, rather than an obligation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Of\u00a0<\/span>course, securing a transformational gift is always amazing, and inevitably the result of so much time and commitment on all sides. We do what we do because we believe in the power of education to change lives, and nothing can replace the feeling of seeing that in action. But\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0be remiss to say it is only those major gifts that I find rewarding. Seeing impact evolve over time and become a reality in many ways, and at all levels, gives me so much pleasure. It might be having a former scholarship recipient return to mentor current students or share their story in a\u00a0publication, or\u00a0watching the journey of a supporter from a one-off small gift to a significant donation. Seeing long-term change in motion, at whatever stage I am fortunate enough to be a part of it, is\u00a0very special\u00a0indeed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Being from the UK, we are of course a Football (or\u00a0you\u2019d\u00a0say Soccer!) mad nation.\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0had front row seats\u00a0to\u00a0my\u00a0husband’s\u00a0rollercoaster ride as a lifetime Aston Villa\u00a0supporter, and\u00a0have been so impressed by the emotional intelligence of their current Manager, Unai Emery. He is immensely detail oriented and a little tactics obsessed, but he manages his team and players on such a human level, really investing in their development, building confidence, and\u00a0revitalising\u00a0players by embracing and understanding their individual style and traits.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0that individual attention that I really admire. You rarely see him\u00a0criticise\u00a0players\u00a0publicly\u00a0and he has an approach that promotes support and accountability over blame and discipline. I am always curious about human\u00a0behaviour\u00a0and group dynamics, and he\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0how teams and individuals can thrive in the hands of a good leader.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The variety. No day is the same. One day\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0in a meaningful donor conversation, the next you are planning a large event or shaping a story. It is such a dynamic job, and I love all the different skills it demands of me; communication, strategy, emotional intelligence, and adaptability. The change keeps the role so engaging and feeling fresh, but there\u2019s depth too, in those meaningful, purposeful, and human moments.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019re\u00a0working on our comprehensive\u00a0campaign\u00a0which is\u00a0very exciting. It includes a capital project that is going to give us so many wonderful and inventive opportunities for philanthropy to play a part.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0always happy to chat\u00a0to\u00a0anyone who wants to know more…<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Be patient and respect the process. Meaningful relationships take time, trust, and care to build. Meaningful giving will come from these meaningful relationships, so enjoy laying those foundations. It might feel a little quiet to start with, so take a breath, and know that\u00a0great impact\u00a0will come because of your steadiness at this part of the journey.<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thank you Sophie! It’s been wonderful getting to know you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Each eNews, we introduce you to some of our wonderful Chapter Members, through a question-and-answer type interview article. This week the Member in the hotseat is: Sophie Borrillo McLellan, Philanthropy Manager, Caulfield Grammar School\u00a0\u00a0 When and where did your career in education begin? I started my career in the Arts sector, working […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":948,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","class_list":["post-1270","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-vic-tas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-vic-tas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-vic-tas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-vic-tas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-vic-tas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-vic-tas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2026\/04\/BORILLO-MCCLELLAN-Sophie-200x200-BW.jpg\")
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