COMMUNITY FOUNDATION NAMES DONOR RELATIONS OFFICER

For Immediate Release

Contact: Gloria Duncan 707/579-4073

Santa Rosa, CA — June 7, 2002 - Miguel Ruelas, who has an extensive background in donor services in both the nonprofit and for profit sectors, has joined the staff of Community Foundation Sonoma County as donor relations officer.

Ruelas replaces Heidi Dorr who was donor relations officer for the past four years.

"We are so fortunate to find someone with Miguel's experience and talent," said Kay M. Marquet, Community Foundation president and CEO. " He is a wonderful addition to our development team."

Previously with the Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving in San Francisco where he supervised the day to day operations of the Donor Services department, Ruelas was liaison to Charles Schwab and Company in the opening of charitable gift accounts. During his tenure at the Schwab Fund, an independent public charity, Ruelas was instrumental in bringing in $212 million in contributions. Prior to his work with the Schwab Fund he was assistant director of the Dominican University Campus Service Center and served as administrative director of Centro Cultural Chicano in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was a member of the executive committee of the Corporate Volunteer Council of Marin and served two terms as vice chair of Northern States Power Companies Diversity Council in Minnesota where he was also coordinator and corporate volunteer for the company's Meals on Wheels program. As an administrative assistant at the Minneapolis Foundation, the community foundation serving the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area, he gained wide experience with the community foundation world.

Ruelas was educated at the University of Minnesota and Dominican University in San Rafael.

Community Foundation Sonoma County was established in 1983 to create an ongoing source of funds for local charitable organizations. Since that time, it has distributed more than $36 million in grants and scholarships, including more than $16.6 million in 2001. It is a vehicle for community philanthropy which enables individuals of modest means and significant wealth to contribute to a permanent endowment for the people of Sonoma County.

For more information, visit the Community Foundations’ website at www.sonomacf.org

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