ISM Event Overview - Expanding Auxiliary: Unifying Programs to Drive Revenue

Auxiliary programs — camps, enrichment, partnerships, transportation, food service, and other revenue-generating activities — often grow independently over time, each with its own systems, priorities, and expectations. The result can be a crowded portfolio that stays busy without delivering strategic value.

Strong auxiliary leadership isn’t just about running good programs. It requires clarity around why each program exists, what it contributes, who owns it, how success is measured, and whether it should be scaled, improved, or discontinued.

Joe Ali, Director of Auxiliary Programs at The Webb School and ISM Adjunct Consultant, introduces a high-level framework to help you take control of your school’s auxiliary operations and turn them into an institutional asset — a fully integrated school enterprise. Drawing on his experience leading successful auxiliary programs at multiple independent schools, and presenting to auxiliary leaders throughout the country, Joe will examine how strong programs connect financial discipline, operational control, institutional capacity, customer experience, strategic partnerships, and enrollment reach. The focus is not simply on adding more programs; it is on deciding what the school should operate, what it should stop doing, where it should invest, and how each opportunity contributes to sustainable, cash-flow-positive growth.

This workshop includes 8.0 hours of instructional time, and participants meet for synchronous learning at 11:00a.m.–1:00 p.m., Eastern time each day of the workshop

In this virtual workshop you will:

Decide whether your auxiliary department leads with program or profit, and set goals, success measures, and leadership expectations that match that choice.
Evaluate your facilities, people, calendar, and local demand to decide which programs to launch, grow, or stop, and whether each should run in-house, through a partner, or as a rental.
Build a program budget that captures true cost, including staffing, facilities, supplies, fees, and overhead, then set price and minimum enrollment so every program stays cash-flow positive.
Staff your programs with a repeatable hiring pipeline, and work with HR to structure pay and classification for counselors, instructors, music teachers, tutors, and outside vendors.
Build working agreements with the Business Office, Facilities, Admissions, Marketing, Athletics, and HR, and put the right contracts and protections in place for rentals, vendors, and partners.
Create a 12-month plan covering department structure, registration and payment systems, an annual operating calendar, and the metrics you'll report to leadership.

Curious if this session is right for you? Ask us!