JENNIFER M. WOOD
DIRECTOR, INDIVIDUAL GIVING

Reporting to the vice president of development, Jennifer is responsible for supporting the strategy that seeks out and brings in new donors to Silicon Valley Community Foundation.  Working closely with the vice president of development and the donor engagement team, Jennifer is responsible for managing all activities related to the analysis, planning, execution, control and evaluation of individual giving.

Jennifer attended the University of Toronto, graduating with a double major in literary studies and religion.  Jennifer has spent her professional career in fundraising, starting at The National Ballet of Canada. She worked at World Wildlife Fund, Canada, and her alma mater, the University of Toronto. During her time at the university, it was in the midst of a $750 million campaign that went on to become a $1 billion campaign – the most ambitious fundraising effort in Canadian university history.

Jennifer moved to California in 2000 to become the director of development, annual fund and colleges, for the University of California Santa Cruz.  In addition to overseeing all centralized annual fund efforts for the campus and ten colleges, Jennifer worked on the capital campaign to name rooms for the University Center, solicited alumni for reunion challenges, raised funds for the Scholarships Benefit Dinner, implemented the tile campaign to benefit the colleges and was the staff lead on the efforts to automate the campus’s telephone outreach program.

Jennifer was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and grew up in Southern Ontario, Canada. She is an avid birdwatcher and naturalist, and enjoys all that she sees hiking in California’s state parks. She’s also happy to spend the day on the couch reading a great book.  Jennifer lives in Santa Cruz, California.