Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Group Reveals New Leadership Team

June 16, 2011 — The Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation’s (DMANF) Advisory Council has announced its new leadership for the 2011-2013 term beginning July 1. This includes incoming Chair Brian Cowart of ALSAC/St. Jude and Vice Chair Tom Harrison of Russ Reid, as well as seven new Advisory Council members.

“DMANF is fortunate to have leaders of this caliber serving on the Advisory Council,” said Senny Boone, SVP corporate & social responsibility, DMANF. “Charities face significant challenges due to efforts in Washington to reduce charitable giving tax incentives, a weakened United States Postal Service due to low volume and high costs, a tough economy requiring more help from the charitable sector, and also new opportunities to raise funds in a multichannel fundraising environment. The organization and its members will progress mightily due to their thought leadership and experience in raising money and support.”

Cowart and Harrison’s focus for the new term will be “to increase the number of members of the Nonprofit Federation through an emphasis on providing education and growth opportunities, and tackling the most pressing problems facing the nonprofit industry through an expanded government affairs program.”

The DMANF’s Advisory Council serves the Federation as a body of direct response fundraising experts and nonprofit leaders. DMANF and DMA can rely on these leaders for input and recommendations on strategic issues affecting the nonprofit segment and the direct-response fundraising community as a whole. The Advisory Council includes representatives from a cross-section of the nonprofit membership and the commercial suppliers that support the nonprofit community. Council members serve two-year terms, with approximately 20 percent rotating off at the end of each year.

Biographies:

Advisory Council Chair:

Brian Cowart, Senior Vice President of National Direct Marketing, ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Brian Cowart currently serves as senior vice president of national direct marketing for ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In his current role, Cowart is focused on guiding and providing strategic direction to a team of talented fundraisers who are responsible for acquiring and cultivating donors across various direct marketing programs in order to maximize revenue generation and strengthen donors’ relationship to the organization’s mission.

Prior to his current position, Cowart served as the senior director of mail acquisition and donor retention for ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the director of direct marketing for CARE.

Cowart is a graduate of the University of Virginia and enjoys working with his peers to help the direct marketing industry reach out and engage more people in the important work of charitable organizations. He currently serves as the chair of the DMA Nonprofit Federation’s Government Affairs Committee and has served on the DMA Nonprofit Federation Advisory Council for six years. Other honors include being selected as one of Fundraising Success Magazine’s Fundraising Professionals of the Year and selected as one of The NonProfit Times World’s Best Fundraisers.

Advisory Council Vice Chair:

Tom Harrison, APR, Fellow PRSA, President & Chief Executive Officer of Russ Reid

As president and chief executive officer, Tom Harrison provides leadership and management to Russ Reid and to its work for more than 200 nonprofit clients. Under Harrison’s leadership, Russ Reid is now the leading agency in the US and Canada exclusively helping nonprofit organizations grow through innovative, successful marketing, communications, and government relations programs.

Harrison joined Russ Reid in 1985, after a long and productive term with the international public relations firm of Edelman Worldwide. There he served as executive vice president, and was a member of the International Board of Directors.

Harrison's experience is extensive. He has managed marketing and communication programs for a client roster that includes Toyota Motor Sales, Mattel Toys, American Honda, Catholic Charities USA, General Mills, Boys Town, World Vision, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Operation Smile, City of Hope, and North America’s leading Rescue Missions.

A summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Harrison is the recipient of numerous awards. In 1995, he was elected to the prestigious College of Fellows of the Public Relations Society of America, and was named Outstanding Public Relations Professional by PRSA's Los Angeles Chapter. Harrison serves on DMA’s Nonprofit Advisory Council, and was chair of the Direct Marketing Association’s 2008 Nonprofit Leadership Summit.

Incoming Advisory Council Members: 2011-2013 Term

Nonprofit:

Angel A. Aloma

Angel A. Aloma is executive director of Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the US, serving 17 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America. As executive director, Aloma assists Robin Mahfood, president/CEO of Food For The Poor, with the management of the entire operation. Aloma’s professional expertise in banking, as an auditor, and in the administration of business entities, together with his in-depth educational background, have equipped him with the necessary skills to guide Food For The Poor during its incredible growth.

Aloma is a “communicator par excellence” and has become an enthusiastic spokesperson for Food For The Poor. Also fluent in Spanish and becoming proficient in Creole, Aloma is better able to convey the message of the mission to Food For The Poor supporters and partners everywhere. As an educator, Aloma started a program to feed the homeless in Broward County (MANO) and led several mission trips to Caribbean countries. He is especially attuned to the plight of the poor in our hemisphere.

Aloma was born in Santiago, Cuba, reared primarily in Jamaica, where he attended Campion College in Kingston. He is a graduate of the University of Windsor in Canada, and received his master’s degree from Nova Southeastern University.

Steve Froehlich

Steve Froehlich has been with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) since October 2005. Froehlich worked at Greenpeace from 2000 to 2003 as the manager of the monthly giving program. He has also worked for Sanctuary for Families, a domestic violence shelter, and the Brooklyn Historical Society. Froehlich’s fundraising career began in 1996 as a door-to-door canvasser — and he believes this is the most important job any career fundraiser can hold. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Direct Marketing Fundraisers Association. Froehlich holds a BA in women and gender studies from American University and a MPA in nonprofit financial management from New York University.

Shannon McCracken

Shannon McCracken is director, direct response marketing for Special Olympics, Inc., where she is responsible for strategic direction and management of the centralized direct mail program for headquarters and 50 affiliates.

McCracken has been with Special Olympics since 1999. Prior to that, she was with Moore Response Marketing Services handling nonprofit client accounts. She is a frequent speaker at DMA and other industry conferences. McCracken holds a BS in mass communications from James Madison University.

Kim Haywood

Kim Haywood is the vice president, direct response fundraising at the March of Dimes. Haywood is responsible for developing and implementing a wide range of direct response programs to raise funds and awareness for the March of Dimes mission. She is responsible for raising $60 million annually through Direct Mail, e-fundraising, Mothers March Residential, and telemarketing programs. She also leads the e-donor development area, responsible for organization wide email deployment and e-fundraising strategy.

Haywood has 19 years of direct marketing and fundraising experience, and has been a member of the Direct Response Fund Raising Department since 1992. She has held membership in the Direct Marketing Association, the American Teleservices Association, and the Direct Marketing Fundraisers Association. She often consults National Office departments and chapter staff on direct response fundraising, and has spoken at industry-wide events on direct mail, telemarketing, and fundraising related issues. Haywood holds a bachelor of science degree in corporate communications/advertising and public relations from Ithaca College.

Joanne Bowers

Joanne Bowers is the associate vice president, resource development at CARE. She was the director of direct response fundraising at the American Diabetes Association for over 10 years. She has served as the VP of online direct marketing at Grizzard. She is an active DMA Nonprofit Federation member, serving on planning committees and as a speaker. She was a top-10 fundraiser award-recipient from the NonProfit Times, and is a graduate of Towson University.

Valerie Beatty

Valerie Beatty is senior director, direct response at the American Cancer Society. Previously, Beatty worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center for over four years as its director, direct response. Beatty serves on the DMANF Ethics Committee and has been an active member of the organization. She has more than 30 years of direct response experience, 10 of which dedicated exclusively to nonprofit fundraising. Her experience spans health, advocacy and faith-based nonprofits. She is a Board Member of the Alliance for Non-Profit Mailers, currently a member on the DMANF Ethics Committee (2+ years) and active in DMANF conferences as a presenter and session leader. She is very active in USPS, having revitalized the Postal Customer Council in Birmingham, Alabama, developed Regional and National Relationships with USPS, and is the Liaison for Postal Requirements. She is a 30-year member of DMA (for-profit and nonprofit).

Corporate:

Gretchen Littlefield

Gretchen Littlefield is responsible for the overall management, strategic planning, and growth of Infogroup Nonprofit. The division includes the nonprofit, political and federal government verticals for the organization. She joined the company in March of 2006, as executive vice president of Triplex, a data processing division focused exclusively on the nonprofit vertical, and in 2008, she was promoted to president of Triplex.

Prior to joining Infogroup, Littlefield launched the fundraising program for America Coming Together, which raised over $80 million in two years, becoming the largest political action committee in the country. She also worked with one of the nation's leading direct response marketing agencies where she managed programs for the Democratic National Committee, Oxfam, International Rescue Committee, Earthjustice, ASPCA, and WNET.

Littlefield’s professional achievements and credentials are impeccable. In 2009, she was named DMEF Rising Star by the Direct Marketing Association. In 2010, she served as co-chair of the DMA Nonprofit Federation Annual Conference. She also serves on various committees and boards.

In addition to her strong background, experience, and accomplishments noted above, Littlefield is also very passionate about government affairs Issues impacting our industry. This stems from her background in which she worked as a campaign manager, oppositional research strategist, and field organizer for numerous Congressional and Presidential campaigns. For the last two years, she has served as a valuable member of the DMANF Government Affairs Committee, helping to provide input and advance the legislative interests of the fundraising community. In addition, on several occasions, she has volunteered to use her network contacts to rally Congressional support and speakers for DMANF Seminars and key issues.

About the DMA Nonprofit Federation:

The Nonprofit Federation of the Direct Marketing Association (DMANF) is the leading association for nonprofit organizations that use direct marketing channels such as mail, Internet, email, telephone, and social networking to gain support from individual donors. For more than 25 years, the Nonprofit Federation (and its predecessor organizations) has served as an effective advocate for nonprofits both in Washington, DC and in all 50 states regarding postal rates and delivery service, privacy & data protection, fundraising accountability, and other legislative and regulatory issues that affect nonprofits raising money from the public. It also leads the way in professional education, best practices, market intelligence, and networking for its more than 400 member organizations. In 2009, Americans and corporations gave over $303 billion to nonprofit organizations; the majority of those donations were the result of direct marketing. For additional information on the Nonprofit Federation, its work, and its member benefits, visit www.nonprofitfederation.org.

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About Direct Marketing Association (DMA)

The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the leading global trade association of businesses and nonprofit organizations using and supporting multichannel direct marketing tools and techniques. DMA advocates standards for responsible marketing, promotes relevance as the key to reaching consumers with desirable offers, and provides cutting-edge research, education, and networking opportunities to improve results throughout the end-to-end direct marketing process. Founded in 1917, DMA today represents companies from dozens of vertical industries in the US and 48 other nations, including nearly half of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as nonprofit organizations.

In 2010, marketers – commercial and nonprofit – spent $153.3 billion on direct marketing, which accounted for 54.2% of all ad expenditures in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures generated approximately $1.798 trillion in incremental sales. In 2010, direct marketing accounted for 8.3% of total US gross domestic product. Also in 2010, there were 1.4 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly supported 8.4 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.8 million US jobs.

The Power of Direct: Relevance. Responsibility. Results.

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