Release Date: February 18, 2002

Robert G. Ottenhoff has been appointed the new president of GuideStar. He succeeds GuideStar's founder, Buzz Schmidt, who will assume the position of chairman of GuideStar's Board of Directors and CEO.

"I'm delighted to be joining Buzz and the entire team of very talented people at GuideStar," said Ottenhoff. "In just a few years, GuideStar has developed into the leading source of information on U.S. nonprofit organizations and has exciting opportunities for growth."

For the past two years, Ottenhoff has been involved in creating and providing early management for new high-tech companies. He has also provided consulting services to a variety of clients worldwide on strategic and business planning, new media, broadcasting, and organizational issues. For most of the past decade, Ottenhoff was executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Public Broadcasting Service, in Alexandria, Virginia, where he directed the day-to-day corporate operations of a national network of 350 public television stations.

"Bob Ottenhoff brings an extraordinary base of experience to GuideStar," notes Schmidt. "This is an exciting transitional time for GuideStar. That we could attract a president of Bob's caliber is a testament to the wonderful work that GuideStar's board and staff have performed to date. With Bob's leadership, it's only onward and upward from here."

Buzz Schmidt founded GuideStar in 1994 and has served as the nonprofit's president and CEO since its inception. In that short time, Schmidt and GuideStar have collected a number of honors. In April 1999, GuideStar received the Computerworld Smithsonian Award for its use of technology to present nonprofit information to the public. In December 1999, NonProfit Times named Schmidt Nonprofit Executive of the Year. The following September and again in August 2001, NonProfit Times named him to the NPT Power and Influence Top 50. In November 2001, TIME magazine profiled Schmidt as one of seven innovators in philanthropy.

About GuideStar

GuideStar is the operating name and registered trademark of Philanthropic Research, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity located in Williamsburg, Virginia. GuideStar's mission is to revolutionize philanthropy and nonprofit practice with information. To that end, GuideStar has created and is constantly updating a database of information on all IRS-recognized 501(c) nonprofit organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. The GuideStar database currently comprises information on 1.7 million nonprofit organizations. Basic program and financial data about these organizations are available for free on the GuideStar Web site, www.guidestar.org.

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