Profiles

As announced last week, Jo Black Sullivan, who has served at the ASPCA for a decade — most recently as executive vice president of external affairs — has accepted a position with CDR Fundraising Group as senior director of integrated marketing and manager of direct-response television. We had a chance to catch up with her last week and to talk about what she'll be doing at CDR, keys to her successes at ASPCA and what she believes the future holds for the nonprofit sector.

Bread for the City began as a volunteer-run free health clinic in 1974. Shortly thereafter, it began distributing food and clothing to the poor of Washington, D.C. Over the years, the organization's programs grew to include a legal clinic, social services program and, most recently, an advocacy program. In 2002, Bread for the City opened its second full-service center in Southeast D.C., and currently is undergoing an $8.25 million capital campaign to expand its Northwest Center by 11,000 square feet. The goal is to break ground for this new project in fall 2009, with a projected move-in date of fall 2010

The Ella Baker Center is a strategy and action center working for justice, opportunity and peace in urban America. Based in Oakland, Calif., the human rights organization promotes positive alternatives to violence and incarceration through its four cutting-edge campaigns: Books Not Bars, Green-Collar Jobs Campaign, Soul of the City and Heal the Streets.

In March, the Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation named Christopher Quinn its new executive director. In this role, Quinn, formerly assistant vice president of membership for the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting, directs the DMANF under the DMA's policies and procedures, advances the interests of nonprofit members in terms of public policy, education and networking opportunities, and promotes the use of direct-response fundraising methods for the sector. Quinn recently took the time to answer some of our questions about his new role, the challenges he expects to face and how he'll surmount them.

People tend to think the nonprofit world is vastly different than the for-profit world. But as Amy Franze, executive vice president of development at Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, exemplifies, the two worlds aren’t as different as they might appear.

 Adaptive Sports Center was founded in 1987 when President and Mrs. Carter joined a group of local residents to form the Physically Challenged Ski Program of Crested Butte and has since evolved into the year-round, nationally recognized Adaptive Sports Center.

With the support of volunteers, dedicated instructors, staff and the local community, the ASC has thrived and grown from providing 30 alpine ski lessons during its first winter to becoming one of the premiere outdoor adaptive recreation programs in the world. The ASC now provides more than 3,600 lessons to 500-plus participants through a full range of winter and summer outdoor adventure activities.   

Here, we talk with Marketing and Communications Director Erin English about the organization and its fundraising strategies and challenges.

Controversial fundraiser Dan Pallotta believes that in order for charities to do their jobs and do them well, they must operate more like the private sector: Salaries must be comparable to those in business, donations should be spent on advertising, and nonprofits should be permitted to invest in the long term.

In fall of 2008, the 25-year-old Food Bank For New York City was facing a crisis. A quickly souring economy was a double-edged sword — making for an increased need among people requiring food assistance, and decreased donations of both food and money from businesses and individuals feeling the pinch.

Rerun is a place where retired racehorses go for a second career.  The nonprofit was founded in Kentucky in 1996 by two women connected to the racing industry who pioneered the concept that ex-racehorses do not have to go to auction or be slaughtered once their racing days are over, said the organization's resource development manager Christine Orman says.