ONE Campaign and DATA to Merge 102907 | Data.org

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ONE Campaign and DATA to Merge, Creating World Class Advocacy Organization to Fight Extreme Poverty

10.29.07

Washington, D.C. – ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History and the advocacy organization DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade Africa) today announced that they will merge into a single organization dedicated to dramatically reducing extreme poverty around the globe, particularly in Africa.

The new organization will galvanize ONE’s 2.4 million membership in the US and link those campaigners with others across the G8, strengthening a growing global movement that is committed to ensuring the world’s poorest nations are able to meet the Millennium Development Goals¹.

Tom Freston, former CEO of Viacom, has been appointed Chairman of the Board of the new organization. David Lane, an executive with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has been appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer.

DATA Executive Director Jamie Drummond, who is based in London, will lead the organization’s expansion outside of America and continue to play a key role guiding the new entity’s strategy and shaping policy. ONE Campaign CEO Susan McCue, who recently announced she would be stepping down from her position to return to politics, will become a senior consultant and strategist to the new organization, guiding high-profile awareness-raising, online and recruitment campaigns for ONE. Both Drummond and McCue will report to Lane in the new organization.

The new entity will be called ONE in the United States, but the DATA brand will continue to be used in conjunction with key policy initiatives, such as the annual DATA Report; it will also be used internationally where it has strong resonance in policy and government circles. DATA's strengths will be joined with ONE’s expertise in awareness-raising, grassroots political organizing and partner outreach.

“By combining DATA and The ONE Campaign we will create an organization that is stronger than the sum of its parts and better positioned to put the issues related to global poverty, and voter support for those issues, front and center onto the agendas of the wealthiest nations,” said Freston.

"ONE and DATA are two organizations with the same outrage: extreme, stupid poverty in the 21st century makes no sense when the resources and technology exist to do something about it. What makes sense is to harness these two forces into a single organisation and redouble our efforts. One goal, One team,” said DATA and ONE co-founder Bono.

The merger of the organizations was approved by the boards of DATA and ONE and by the voting members of ONE. The merger will legally take effect within 30 days, once formal filings are completed². The new organization will be headquartered in Washington, D.C., but will have a major office in London and smaller offices in Los Angeles, Abuja and Berlin.

"Tom Freston, one of America's greatest CEOs, and David Lane, a seasoned leader in international policy and politics, will be joining an already world-class team. Jamie has worked tirelessly for years to build DATA from the ground up, and the truth is we wouldn't be here without his intellect and passion. In her year leading ONE, Susan McCue has turned the campaign into a force to be reckoned with. Now that the US election is around the corner, Susan is much sought-after, so it's great news that ONE will continue to benefit from her counsel," said Bono.

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DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) is an advocacy organization founded in 2002 by
Bono, Bobby Shriver, Jamie Drummond and other activists from the Jubilee “Drop the Debt” campaign to fight AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa. DATA also advocates for increased democracy, accountability and transparency in governance so that Africa’s citizens have a greater voice in how resources are being used. In 2005, DATA and partner campaigns from around the world helped to persuade the G8 to reach an unprecedented agreement on Africa that included broad debt cancellation, universal access to education, AIDS treatment and more effective development assistance. DATA continues to work to ensure these promises are kept and built upon. For more information, please visit www.data.org.

ONE: THE CAMPAIGN TO MAKE POVERTY HISTORY is an effort by Americans to rally Americans -- ONE by ONE -- to fight the emergency of extreme poverty and preventable global disease. ONE is a coalition of more than 2.4 million people and 150 of the nation's leading relief, humanitarian and advocacy organizations. For more information, please visit www.ONE.org.

Media Contacts:

Kathy McKiernan, DATA Communications Director, 202-464-1340
Tom Gavin, ONE Campaign Communications Director, 202-552-4990

¹Among its primary goals, the new organization will continue to press for policies that will advance the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These eight goals, approved by the United States and 188 other nations in 2000, include commitments from the global community to halt and reverse the spread of HIV and malaria, eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, and provide access to universal primary education. Much of the world is on track to achieve the MDGs, but the poorest countries in Africa are not, in part because the wealthy nations of the world have not kept their commitments to Africa. ONE will continue to build political momentum in the United States and other G8 nations to ensure governments around the world do their part to help ensure the MDGs are reached.

²DATA and ONE, both c3 educational institutions, will merge, as will DATA Action and ONE Action, both c4 organizations.