2011 Fundraising Professional of the Year

Karen Santilli joined Crossroads Rhode Island in February 2008 and currently serves as the Vice President of Marketing and Development. The mission of Crossroads Rhode Island is to help the homeless and disconnected on their journey toward a better quality of life. Karen is responsible for the planning, execution and management of all marketing and fundraising activities. As part of the Senior Management team, Karen works with the President and Board of Directors to develop the strategic direction of the organization. Her role is to ensure that organizational objectives are met in order to achieve the long term agency goals and raise vital funds to continue the mission. 
 

Under Karen’s leadership, Crossroads’ donations have increased from $1.9 million in 2008 to $2.6 million in 2010. During this time, sources of funding were created or further developed including new national foundations, direct mail donor acquisition and social media.
 

As part of developing a new online presence, Karen has overseen a monumental increase of web-sourced contributions and a complete redesign of the Crossroads Rhode Island website. The visual appeal of the website has brought Crossroads into the 21^st century of fundraising. The direct mail program has been redesigned and has grown the donor base by more than 7,000 new donors in three years. The experience she gained at Plan USA brought a new level of sophistication to Crossroads, shifting fundraising activities from an art based on networking to a science based on donor behavior and sound marketing principles.
 

Prior to joining Crossroads, Karen enjoyed a 20+ year career at Plan USA where she served asTeam Managing Director of Sponsorship and managed a budget of $1 million to raise and retain $24 million in revenue. She led a team of 40 individuals involved in sponsor/donor engagement and development. After taking time off to spend with her children and complete her Master’s degree, Karen returned to Plan as the Marketing Director. As a member of the Plan USA Executive Management Team, she provided leadership and direction to the organization’s operations and participated in strategic business planning. She was also responsible for directing the organization’s marketing and fundraising efforts which included managing all aspects of sponsor and donor acquisition and development.

She left as Marketing Director to shift her skills from helping the children and families in developing countries around the world to helping our very own neighbors impacted by homelessness.
 

Karen received Rhode Island College’s 2003 Alumni Honor Roll Award for Marketing and is a ZETA II graduate of Leadership Rhode Island.   She lives in Cranston with husband Chris and their children three children. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and a Masters of Art in Teaching from Rhode Island College.