| December 20, 2007 | For More Information Contact: Ed Shelleby (202) 662-3611 |
WASHINGTON, DC— The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) today announced the addition of two key staff members who will help lead CDF’s fundraising efforts. Craig Rocklin joins CDF as Senior Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving, and Joni Doleman joins as Direct Mail and
Response Manager. Rocklin’s and Doleman’s expertise will bolster CDF’s outreach to individual donors, enabling CDF to expand its work on its strategic priorities such as ensuring health coverage for all children in America.
“CDF welcomes Craig Rocklin and Joni Doleman to our team,” said CDF Vice President of Development Carmel Owen. “Craig and Joni will play critical roles in communicating with CDF’s valued donors and introducing new donors to the full range of our work to improve the lives of our nation’s children.”
Craig Rocklin comes to CDF with more than 20 years of fundraising experience in non-profit and issue advocacy organizations. Mr. Rocklin most recently served as the Director of Major of Gifts at the American Red Cross National Headquarters, where he led his team in raising $203 million in response to Hurricane Katrina. He has also worked at the Human Rights Campaign, where he played a leadership role in raising funds for the organization’s headquarters building, and at the Children’s National Medical Center, where he helped significantly increase major giving from individual donors. Craig will play an instrumental role in expanding relationships with major gift donors to help CDF increase its effectiveness as the voice for all of America’s children.
Joni Doleman joins CDF with more than 10 years of direct response fundraising at one of the largest nonprofits in the nation. Prior to joining CDF, she worked as an Associate for Direct Response Fundraising at the American Red Cross National Headquarters, where she helped to create and manage a direct response program for 40 affiliates that resulted in a 32 percent increase in dollars raised. Prior to that, she served as a Development Coordinator at the Red Cross. She is a member of the Direct Marketing Association, the
Direct Marketing Association of Washington, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
CDF is a Better Business Bureau accredited charity, a Four Star Charity as ranked by Charity Navigator, a five star/Best in America charity certified by the Independent Charities of America, and was recently named one of the Top 100 Highly Rated Charities by GiveSpot.com.
For more information about CDF, please visit www.childrensdefense.org.
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The Children’s Defense Fund Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.