The McKees Rocks Community Development Corporation (MRCDC) welcomes John D. Catone as its new Development Coordinator. He began working at the nonprofit on March 25.
He is responsible for assisting the MRCDC in the creation and implementation of its overall fundraising plan in response to its needs, and directly coordinating and participating in the fundraising and development efforts of the MRCDC.
Catone has broad experience in senior management and fund development for non-profit entities and has an extensive history in media/public relations and communications.
He was president of Catone & Associates, an independent contractor that provided a variety of services to non-profit corporations.
He has worked for a number of employers and clients in development. Some of his employers have been the Clarion University Foundation, Inc., Bishop Canevin High School, and the Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale. He has also served Achieva, Junior Achievement, TRPIL, and Renewal Inc.
He served as deputy director of institutional advancement for Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, where he was responsible for the day-to-day operation of the department. While there, he procured major gifts, including two $1 million gifts, and he participated in the securing of grants ranging from $5,000 to $1 million.
Catone also worked as director of development for Bishop Canevin High School, Pittsburgh, where he helped secure the largest donation – $1.4 million – in the school’s 45-year history. He was director of communication and development for Sisters of St. Francis, Millvale, Pa., where he structured the annual fund program and prepared to execute the initial phases of a $3.4 million capital campaign.
He is also the former Executive Director of the House Committee on Local Government and the Senate Committee on Transportation.
Catone is a graduate of Edinboro University with a bachelor’s degree in library science/education.
Catone brings the MRCDC a diverse and significant amount of experience in development and advancement. He has worked in the for-profit, nonprofit and government sectors.
He is the founding executive director of Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts, a program that collects the interest on money held in trust by lawyers and law firms in Pennsylvania and distributes to poor, unemployed and indigent people, as well as migrant workers.
He is a former trustee of Edinboro University, where he served on Student Affairs, Academic Affairs and Presidential Search committees. He is a former member of the Pennsylvania Association Council of Trustees and the Association of Governing Boards.
Catone also has been a freelance writer for more than 25 years and has been engaged by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Associated Press and United Press International.
Catone cites his late parents as the people who most influenced him, teaching him how to treat people and the importance of caring for others. Catone showed that he learned those lessons well when he took care of his parents through his father’s 21-year illnesses and his mother’s subsequent nine-year illness.
He points to Paul Newman as his professional mentor. Newman was assistant to the president and sports information director at Edinboro University when Catone was a student there, and he often took Catone with him as he went about his business. “Paul was many roles to me. Among other things, he taught me a lot about journalism and public relations, and he introduced me, at age 18, to the State System of Higher Education,” Catone said.
He is most proud of and blessed for having taken care of his mother and father in his home for more than 23 years.
Catone, who fills his spare time with sports, live musical theater, performing arts, American history and vacationing in cities, is happy to be a part of the MRCDC family.
The MRCDC serves McKees Rocks borough and Stowe Township. Its mission is to strengthen the Sto-Rox community and create places and resources that exist for all residents and businesses to reach their full social and economic potential.
