Woods appointed assistant headmaster for development at David Lipscomb Campus School

Kim Chaudoin | 

Nonprofit development professional Arthur C. Woods III was recently appointed assistant headmaster and chief development officer at David Lipscomb Campus School (DLCS) in Nashville.

Woods will expand the school’s development efforts and implement new strategies for growing the endowment, increasing fundraising revenue and expanding the donor base at DLCS, which is the largest K-12 private school in Middle Tennessee. The assistant headmaster position is a newly added administrative position for DLCS.

“Art has a great amount of experience working with nonprofits and has a good understanding of the mission and scope of our institution. We are very fortunate to have him as part of our administrative team,” said Mike Hammond, vice president and headmaster for David Lipscomb Campus School.

Woods brings with him more than 22 years of development experience to the campus school.  For the past 14 years, Woods has served as director of development for AGAPE, a nonprofit organization serving Middle Tennessee through adoption, foster care and faith-based counseling among other services.

“In my experiences at the university level as well as my work running a not-for-profit development office, it has been powerful to see the impact of giving. I love being a part of helping others realize the true joy that giving can bring. There’s something deeply spiritual about it. I’m thankful for those who have sacrificed in the past to make DLCS possible. I’m looking forward to partnering with the individuals and families that love this school today as we look to the future,” said Woods.

Prior to his work at AGAPE, Woods worked at Harding University in Searcy, Ark., for eight years as a development officer as well as a major gifts officer and university liaison for Harding’s President’s Council. He began his career as an executive buyer and manager for Dillard’s Department Store’s corporate office in Little Rock, Ark., where he was responsible for the purchasing, marketing and selling of more than $20 million annually in merchandise for 18 stores throughout the south and southwest.

“Art understands all aspects of development and has a tremendous amount of experience building and implementing sustainable fundraising initiatives. He also knows the Lipscomb and Nashville communities very well which gives him a distinct advantage in this role,” said Dale Armstrong, senior development counsel for Lipscomb University, a liaison for campus school fundraising programs.

Woods has a unique knowledge of the campus school. His wife, Kim, is on the campus school faculty. Two of their sons are campus school alumni and their third son will graduate from the high school this May.

“I’m humbled and excited to be joining the leadership team at DLCS. The educational experience and Christian community at DLCS have been a tremendous blessing to our family. I know my children were well prepared not only academically but spiritually. The relationships they’ve formed with peers and teachers are priceless,” he said.

Woods is a graduate of Harding University. He has been an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), having served in several capacities on the Arkansas AFP board of directors, including state chapter president in 1996-97. He is immediate past-president of the Nashville Chapter of AFP and currently serves on the committee on directorship for AFP International’s board of directors in Alexandria, Va. He obtained his initial Certified Fund Raising Executive certification in 1996. He has also been active with Habitat for Humanity and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. 

Woods and his wife, Kim, are members of Otter Creek Church of Christ and have three children, Ben, Jonathan and Alex who is a senior at DLCS.