State Associations in the News

The recently reconstituted Board of the Delaware Association of Nonprofit Agencies (DANA) has named Christopher T. Grundner to the newly created position of President and Chief Executive Officer. Grundner previously served as the Director of Community Relations for the National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS) in Delaware after merging the brain tumor organization he founded, The Kelly Heinz-Grundner Brain Tumor Foundation (KHG), with NBTS in March of 2010.

Grundner, 41, of Landenberg, PA, will focus on leading the 27-year-old DANA to new levels of service for its 300 member organizations and on expanded community engagement and policy impact. John D. Baker, who had been serving as DANA's Executive Director, becomes Executive Vice President of Policy and Programs.

However, many local charities that received support from the Liebichs also suffered, they claim, after grant money promised by the family's other foundation, Charitable Venture Foundation, never came through.

One of those affected was the New York Council of Nonprofits of Albany. Doug Sauer, chief executive officer of the group, also known as NYCON, won a $145,000 grant in 2009 to assist the organization with merging charities that were duplicating services. Sauer says his group received slightly more than $31,000 of that amount. It hurt because NYCON followed through on the merger program but it cost the organization more than expected because not all the grant money materialized.

"We signed a contract," Sauer said.