BIOGRAPHY

Alison DaSilva

VICE PRESIDENT

As Vice President of Cause Branding at Cone for more than seven years, Alison DaSilva builds strategic partnerships among businesses, nonprofits and communities and advises clients such as AXA Financial, American Heart Association, Dell, IBM and Target on Cause Branding, strategic philanthropy, community relations, and corporate social responsibility. In addition to providing strategic counsel during plan development, DaSilva has a broad understanding of social operations, tax, legal, and fundraising issues in the nonprofit arena.

During her tenure, DaSilva has helped create some of the nation’s leading cause programs, such as AXA Achievement which is now one of the nation’s largest providers of scholarships and post-secondary support. She is also responsible for Cone’s research initiatives, such as the 2004 Cone Corporate Citizenship Survey, the nation’s most comprehensive analysis of consumer, employee and corporate attitudes toward cause-related activities. She also oversees numerous cause-related trend trackers, teen surveys and syndicated research studies. To further keep Cone’s pulse on the industry, DaSilva serves as a contact for the media and grows Cone’s alliances with key influential groups, including: The New York Times, The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Business for Social Responsibility, Independent Sector, and the Council on Foundations, among others.

As an expert on cause programs, DaSilva co-authored an article in the July 2003 Harvard Business Review entitled Causes and Effects with colleagues Carol Cone and Mark Feldman. She has been a featured panel speaker at many conferences and seminars, including Business in the American Marketing Association, Community, National Society of Fundraising Executives, and the Third Sector of New England.

DaSilva joined Cone from the Jimmy Fund, the fundraising arm for the world-renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. While at the Jimmy Fund, she helped establish a cause-related marketing practice and forged partnerships with leading national companies, such as Dunkin’ Donuts, Jiffy Lube, Burger King, Taco Bell, True Value Hardware, among others. She worked with these companies to generate public awareness, build employee morale, unite franchise groups and increase customer loyalty. DaSilva raised over $8 million during her three-year tenure at the Jimmy Fund through such corporate partnership programs.

DaSilva received her B.A. from Indiana University and her M.S. from Boston University’s School of Communication. She lives outside of Boston with her husband and two sons.