PBS’s Reddington shifts from Online Giving Initiative to PBS Foundation work

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Brian Reddington, senior v.p., development, has moved from supervision of its Online Giving Initiative to focus solely on the PBS Foundation, Michael Jones, PBS c.o.o, said in a memo today (Nov. 23).

PBS’s controversial national online fundraising campaign, set to begin on PBS.org in January, will now be overseen by Jason Seiken’s PBS Interactive team. Bob Minai and Kristin Calhoun will head up the effort. Keith Brengle, recently hired as director, online giving, will now report to Minai.

“Jason Seiken clearly has serious online expertise and credibility, and the experience of working with PBS member stations,” said longtime development pro Michael Soper, PBS’s head development officer, 1978-92, and now a nonprofit consultant.

Jones said the move was made to allow Reddington “to focus on the job he was hired to do – run the PBS Foundation.”

“I think Brian Reddington’s primary focus has always been on securing significant, major gifts to the PBS Foundation,” Soper said. “My sense is this is a positive realignment. Major gifts, up to and including those like Joan Kroc made to NPR, offer substantial opportunities to increase short and long-term income to PBS.”

“My expectation is that Jason will work with station managers and fundraising professionals to reconsider and refine the business assumptions behind the initial plan,” Soper added. “I would expect that a totally revised plan – version 2.0 – that supports stations’ existing online cultivation and fundraising would receive almost universal support.”

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