Cleveland Heights Resident Named CDO For Boys & Girls Clubs

From Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio: Robert Koonce, who has more than 13 years of nonprofit fundraising experience, has been named chief development officer for the new Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio, the organization created last year by the merger of clubs in Cleveland, Akron, Lorain County and Erie County.

Koonce has headed development for Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland since 2015. In his new role, he will oversee all fundraising, development operations and communications for BGCNEO, which serves more than 8,600 kids at 39 locations in the region. Boys & Girls Clubs provide safe, fun places for kids ages 6-18 after school, focusing on healthy lifestyles, academic success and character.

“Robert has done an outstanding job of building strong relationships with our donors and connecting them to our mission,” said Ron Soeder, BGCNEO’s interim president and CEO.

Koonce, who earned his undergraduate degree in classics at Case Western Reserve University and a master’s degree in theology from St. Joseph’s College of Maine, worked in development at University Hospitals, Western Reserve Land Conservancy and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History before joining BGCC. At the Cleveland Clubs, he helped build a development program that enabled the organization to expand to 14 clubs serving 900 kids per day.

He serves as president of the Board of Trustees for Home Repair Resource Center, is a trustee for Lake Erie Ink, and is the board secretary of the Ko K Yo Foundation, which builds schools in rural Ethiopia. Koonce grew up in Cleveland Heights and lives there.

This press release was produced by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio. The views expressed here are the author's own.