Donatelli Group

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The Donatelli Group, also known as Hockaday-Donatelli Campaign Solutions, of Alexandria, Virginia, are "Republican campaign consultants." [1]

The Group was the "first to raise donations online in the realm of political consulting firms and helped launch the movement in its developing stages in the years leading up to its explosion during Howard Dean's presidential drive," Erin McPike reported August 20, 2004.

Connell Donatelli Inc.

Connell Donatelli Inc. (CD, Inc.), is a "specialized online advertising agency" that was "born" July 2004 "from the merging of two prominent Republican Internet firms," Erin McPike wrote.

R. Rebecca Donatelli, chairman of the D.C.-based Campaign Solutions, and Mike Connell [2], head of the Cleveland, Ohio-based New Media Communications, Inc. [3], "joined forces in a venture to target niche markets for their clients with a focus on Internet pop-up and banner ads, online commercials and e-mail lists ... Both Donatelli and Connell plan to continue in their current leadership positions at their respective firms, but merged to offer these concentrated services to their clients, many of them mutual," including Bush Cheney ’04 and the Republican National Committee, McPike wrote. Donatelli served as "chief Internet consultant" to the John McCain for President "bid in 2000, where she propelled Internet giving."

New Media produced "Internet applications and Web sites for a host of Republican organizations and campaigns, including the RNC's GOP.com, and sites for the Republican National Convention, Bush Cheney '04, the Ohio and Pennsylvania Republican Parties, John Thune's South Dakota Senatorial campaign and the NRA." [4]

Website

The Connell Donatelli, Inc. CONNELLDONATELLI.COM website was registered June 23, 2004, by New Media Communications, Summit of Richfield II, Richfield, OH 44286.

Campaign Solutions & eDonation.com

Campaign Solutions is the "primary segment of the larger Donatelli Group," which includes an Internet fund raising site, www.eDonation.com, which describes itself as the "leading internet fundraising company for political and non profit campaigns and organizations."

eDonation.com is also linked via ePaymentNow.com.

Bank Fees

eDonations.com internet fundraising receives a percentage of funds raised on behalf of its clients.

In fourth quarter 2003 alone, Federal Election Commission records show that eDonations received payments totalling nearly $56,000 for "BANK FEES" from the Bush-Cheney '04 Inc. campaign. [5]

In the 2004 election cycle, the Republican Party made payments totalling more than $54,000 to four separately named eDonations accounts. [6]

Websites

The Campaign Solutions CAMPAIGNSOLUTIONS.COM website was registered February 13, 1998, by Campaign Solutions, with Becki Donatelli as administrator and Trifecta Technologies, 5012 Medical Center Circle, Allentown, PA 18106, as the technical contact.

The eDonation.com EDONATION.COM website was registered October 7, 1998, by Campaign Solutions, with Becki Donatelli as administrator and Campaign Solutions as the technical contact.

DONATIONREPORT.COM

A donation page on a client's website bears the same logos and information as those of other client web pages. However, the web address to which it connects is that for DonationReport.com, plus an extension code for each individual client. Here, the contributor can input and process donation information.

Clients login to their accounts via the Candidate Administration System at DONATIONREPORT.COM.

Current Clients

The following is a sampling of clients currently using eDonation.com for fundraising. In addition, it may be assumed that most, if not all, Donatelli clients either are or have used this method of fundraising, each thereby contributing significantly to Donatelli profits.

  • Donations here
  • DiscoverTheNetworks.org—"A Guide to the Political Left" here
  • "The Boy Scouts Under Attack"/Boy Scout Defense Fund of the Individual Rights Foundation (project) here
  • Shadow Party Project here

Donatelli Avella, Inc.

In the 2004 election cycle, Donatelli Avella, Inc., provided printing and mailing services to the Republican Party. [7]

In 2003, David A. Avella of the "Republican consulting firm" [8] Donatelli Avella, Inc., was Executive Vice President of Campaign Strategies. [9] [10]

Website

The Donatelli Avella website DONATELLIAVELLA.COM, registered March 15, 2004, by Campaign Solutions, provides only an Alexandria, Virginia, post office box address and telephone and FAX numbers.

The Swift Boat Connection

Swift Boat Websites

The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's SWIFTBOATVETSFORTRUTH.ORG website was registered July 30, 2004, with CD, Inc. (Connell Donatelli Inc.) as registrant, administrator, and the tech organization. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's SWIFTBOATVETERANSFORTRUTH.COM website was also registered July 30, 2004, with CD, Inc. as registrant, administrator, and tech organization for the website.

Judicial Confirmation Network

The Judicial Confirmation Network (JCN) was "a post-office box and a Web site registered by Donatelli late [in 2004], with Campaign Solutions as the point of contact. The JCN claims to be 'an organization of citizens' that works 'to ensure that the confirmation process for all judicial nominees is fair'," Todd Johnston wrote in the July 5, 2005, Daily Kos.

JCN "distributes information through other conservative groups, including Focus on the Family, Americans for Tax Reform, Family Research Council and the Americans for Limited Government [11]," the Associated Press's Deb Reichmann reported June 9, 2005.

The Network was coordinated by Gary Marx, "a political consultant for George W. Bush's campaign at Century Strategies in 1999, when its founder and president Ralph E. Reed was allegedly helping his long-time friend Jack Abramoff swindle over $1.2 million from the Choctaw Indians" and "coalitions organizer for the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004" [12], and Wendy E. Long, a "former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas" [13].

The Network hired Creative Response Concepts (CRC), the public relations firm "that advised Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, an organization that accused Kerry of inflating his Vietnam War record during last year's presidential campaign," Reichmann wrote.

JCN Domain Names

The JUDICIALNETWORK.COM domain name and the JUDICIALCONFIRMATIONNETWORK.COM domain name, administered by Becki Donatelli of Campaign Solutions, were both created December 13, 2004, and due to expire December 13, 2006 (unless renewed). The following key meta words link to the web sites: filibuster, filibuster reform, bush, rehnquist, supreme court, court, justice, judge, high court, nominee, william rehnquist, judiciary, judiciary committee, conservative, gop, republican, conservative.

Buying Up Domain Names

"When New York Senate candidate Rudolph Giuliani began his campaign against First Lady Hillary Clinton, one of his first moves was to register as many domain names as possibly [sic] that related to both himself and his opponent.

"Buying up Internet names that 'belong' to someone else is a recent trend that Martin Edlund of Hockaday Donatelli Campaign Solutions says is 'a precautionary move.' The campaign fundraising firm was responsible for managing Giuliani's web presence. 'If we control the domain name, we can decide who uses it. If we don't, anyone can'," Edlund said. [14]

The domain name HILLARYNO.COM, for example, has been registered to Hockaday-Donatelli Campaign Solutions since March 17, 1999, and is due to expire (unless renewed) on March 17, 2008, and HILLARYNO.ORG was secured October 16, 2002, and likewise is due to expire March 17, 2008.

Campaign Solutions' Clients

The following are Campaign Solutions' clients according to its website.

Note: Links provided may relate to The Donatelli Group, Campaign Solutions and/or Connell Donatelli Inc.

National and Statewide Elected Officials and Campaigns

National Political and Grassroots Organizations, State GOP Organizations and Statewide Organizations

Members of U.S. House of Representatives and Campaigns

Non-Profit Organizations and Trade Associations

Corporations

Additional Clients / Campaigns

Campaign Solutions' Team

Profile links (2006) for:

Profile links (2003) for:

Contact Information

Campaign Solutions, Inc./The Donatelli Group
118 North St. Asaph Street or 228 South Washington Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703 684-3435
FAX: 703 684-3758
Email: information AT campaignsolutions.com
Website: http://www.campaignsolutions.com/

Resources and articles

Related SourceWatch articles

Profiles

External articles

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1999

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2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2008

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