An Interview with Sean Scanlon, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

FS: What are the Lab's fundraising strengths/weaknesses?
SS: The Lab's strength in fundraising begins with a broad and growing base of national support through our membership program. In total we have more than 45,000 annual donors, 95 percent of whom have no affiliation with Cornell University.

Because of our leadership on the Web (see www.allaboutbirds.org and www.ebird.org, for example) and the Lab's scientific authority on birds, we have been able to generate tremendous Web traffic with more than 9 million unique visitors each year. I cannot say enough about our communications team at the Lab. They are the best in the nonprofit world through Web communications, print magazines and unmatched multimedia. In addition, the Lab has a very strong national administrative board that has provided amazing leadership and support for the past 30 years.