Elizabeth Farr

Elizabeth (Liz) has more than 25 years of experience working in and advising independent school fundraising programs to increase philanthropic revenue.

Done well, fundraising is a joyful pursuit that brings institutional leaders together with generous donors, to forge partnerships that fuel vision and advance the student experience.”

About Liz

Liz helps independent schools grow substantial, sustainable outcomes in fundraising by supporting advancement staff, heads of school, and trustees in identifying and seizing opportunities for fundraising growth. She has significant experience performing advancement program assessments, campaign readiness studies, and campaign planning (feasibility) studies that result in clear, actionable recommendations for accelerating engagement and support from donors. Liz is an expert in preparing for and executing major fundraising campaigns, instituting and orchestrating high-performance major gift programs, and increasing annual giving outcomes. She also coaches front-line fundraisers and educates trustees in fundraising and campaign best practices.

Throughout her career, Liz has:

• Collaborated with a large Southern K-12 coed day school in preparing for and orchestrating its historic nine-figure campaign amid head-of-school transitions, a global pandemic, and social justice concerns, resulting in a campaign that surpassed its original goal in just over two years.
• Guided a West Coast girls’ day and boarding school for grades five through 12 in implementing a yearlong annual giving strategy and operational plan that yielded 81% growth in dollars and a 34% increase in donors within four years.
• Shepherded a small East Coast liberal arts college embarking on its first campaign in 25 years in strengthening advancement practices and building trustee engagement, attracting more than 4,800 donors and achieving 149% of the original campaign goal in five years.

Prior to joining Huron, Liz served as senior vice president and independent schools practice area leader at Grenzebach Glier and Associates (GG+A), which was acquired by Huron in 2024.

Liz earned a Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College and is an alumna of Friends’ Central School.

Liz is an active volunteer for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), served on the planning committee of three CASE and National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) independent schools conferences, and has presented several CASE-NAIS conference sessions, each time earning Stellar Speaker honors.

Liz was a featured contributor to the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) book The Trustee’s Role in Fundraising.