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Mr. John A. Von Kannon, Vice President and Treasurer
The Heritage Foundation
Washington, D.C.

John Von Kannon has been an integral part of The Heritage Foundation since 1980, heading the department that's responsible for raising the money Heritage needs to further its vision of building an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity and civil society flourish.

In 2008, Heritage received a record $58.8 million from its 394,000 supporters. But Von Kannon says that "matchmaker" is a better description of his post than "fundraiser," as he focuses on connecting Americans concerned about their country with Heritage's ideas and values. That job includes building lasting relationships with Heritage supporters, turning what otherwise might be viewed as a mere list of contributors into a gang of good friends.

Von Kannon joined Heritage in 1980 as an assistant to the think tank's President, Ed Feulner, with Heritage's fundraising activities. He was named Treasurer a year later and became Vice President and Treasurer several years after that.

In 1988, Von Kannon left Heritage to become Vice President of the Pacific Legal Foundation, a public-interest law foundation in Sacramento, Calif. A year later he became president of Russell & Von Kannon, a marketing and consulting firm in suburban Chicago. He rejoined Heritage in 1991.

Before joining Heritage, Von Kannon was publisher of The American Spectator, a conservative opinion journal then published in Bloomington, Ind. It was at the Spectator that Von Kannon got his start in fundraising. The magazine was about to change from a college paper to a professional journal of opinion, and Editor-in-Chief R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. thought Von Kannon would be good at raising funds. "He said, 'Hey, you're a likeable guy, you go raise the money,'" Von Kannon said half-jokingly in a 2000 interview with Heritage Today, one of the think tank's member newsletters.

Von Kannon later became a contributing editor to the Spectator, and for years was listed on the Spectator's masthead as "Kapellmeister" under his nickname there: "Baron Von Kannon."

Von Kannon has been active in politics since his teens. In 1964 - at age 15 - he campaigned for GOP presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. A graduate of Indiana University, Von Kannon also was an active member of Young Americans for Freedom and served on its national Board of Directors. In addition to his duties at Heritage, Von Kannon serves as a Trustee of FREE, the Foundation for Research on the Economics of the Environment in Bozeman, Mont. He is also a trustee of four grant-making institutions.

Von Kannon resides with his wife, Cindy, and children, Jack and Rachel, in Washington, DC.