CAREER PROFILE
Ian McLean was born in Adelaide and educated at Prince Alfred College and the University of South Australia. After a career in marketing in the airline industry, alongside a first-class cricket career, he became one of the pioneers of independent school development in Australia from 1989 and subsequently the UK and Europe from 1999. He is now a sought after, experienced school fundraising & development consultant, impacting the development and fundraising performance of schools in the UK and abroad.Ian has successfully established and personally directed fundraising & development programmes, at the following:
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Ardingly College, England
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Lancing College, England
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Leysin American School, Switzerland
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Loretto School, Scotland
- Millfield School, England
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Port Adelaide Football Club (AFL), Australia
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Prince Alfred College, Australia
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St Peter’s College, Australia
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Uppingham School, England
Development consultancy projects including fundraising feasibility studies, senior development appointments and development management mentoring have included the following schools:
- Ardingly College
- City of London Freemen’s School
- Clayesmore School
- Cranleigh School
- Dean Close School
- Dunn School, California
- Edge Grove School
- Geneva English School
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International School of The Hague
- Kingsley School
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King’s School, Macclesfield
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Kingswood School
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Marist School
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Norwich School
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Nottingham High School
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Ratcliffe College
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Reed’s School
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Rendcomb College
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Rockport School, Belfast
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Roedean School
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Royal Hospital School
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St Columbas College
- St Helen’s School
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St James Schools
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St John’s, Leatherhead
- The Cathedral School, Llandaff
- The Village Forest School, Italy
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Transylvania College, Romania
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Tudor Hall School
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Twyford School
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Wakefield Grammar School Foundation
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Wrekin College
Ian has a proven and trusted development model which has galvanised many school communities, who, as a result, are now more involved in school life and more financially supportive.
His fundraising programmes have generated transformational levels of support, including funding for scholarships and bursaries, new building programmes, sporting initiatives, theatres and science, art and technology facilities. His experience also includes securing major funding from international constituents in the UK, USA, Russia, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Australia.
Using his extensive international experience in sports administration and coaching, he was instrumental in creating the highly successful Golf Academy at Loretto School in Edinburgh and more recently established the basis of Rockport School’s golf programme in Belfast.
Ian was one of the first school development professionals in Australia to earn CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive) accreditation and has a career spanning over 33 years in Australia, the UK and Europe. He has also influenced the growth of the development profession in the UK and Europe, having been a past Chairman and a current Ambassador of the IDPE in the UK; a former President of ADAPE (now Educate Plus) in Australia and board member of CASE Europe.
Ian is also the only individual to be awarded ‘Fellowship’ of both IDPE in the UK and Educate Plus in Australia, alongside being a member of the Educate Plus Awards judging panel. He is also a COBIS international schools development consultant.
As a prominent school development consultant, he is a regular on the presenting circuit at development conferences. Ian provides advice on the management of development and alumni relation programmes, mentoring Heads, Governors, management committees and those new to the profession. Conference and seminar presentations include HMC, COBIS (in Bucharest and Prague), IDPE, AMDIS and seminars for Swiss Schools in Geneva and the Catholic Independent Schools Conference
As the need arises, Ian works closely with Graham Papenfus, one of the most experienced school development practitioners in the UK, currently with Kingswood School in Bath. Ian is an Associate Consultant with leading fundraising consultancy Action Planning, one of the UK’s leading providers of management of fundraising and development programmes in all charitable sectors. Ian provides the expertise for the education sector.