Harris Connect

When Bernard C. Harris founded his company at the family kitchen table more than 40 years ago, he did so with one goal in mind—to help strengthen the bonds between you and your constituents. And while much has changed over the last four decades, this singular focus for us has never wavered.

Our Beginnings

The Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company initially produced directories for regionally based alumni clubs, usually with fewer than 3,000 members. Throughout the 1960s, however, we continued to develop new offerings and by the end of our first decade had produced our first two national no cost directories for Fordham University and Manhattan College.

Expanding Our Reach

The success of our national programs led us to move quickly into new markets. Over the course of the next 20 years, we began working with independent and parochial secondary schools, as well as nonprofit and membership-based associations. By the early 1990s, we had even created an exclusive directory program designed to meet the very specific needs of public high schools.

Exploring New Technologies

Throughout the 1990s, Harris Connect capitalized on the many technological innovations coming from virtually every direction. We developed new tools and applications that enabled us to find more lost alumni and members with each and every project. And we were among the first traditional directory publishers to recognize the critical role the Web would play in cultivating relationships with your constituents. As a result, we introduced a set of Internet services that are literally still evolving as new technology becomes available and today our online suite of solutions include communities, social and career networking applications, campaign and giving tools, broadcast email and more.

A New Century

As we entered a new century, our company continued to grow in new directions. We moved our corporate headquarters, which had been located in New York for nearly all of our 40 years, to Chesapeake, Virginia. We also changed our name from the Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company to Harris Connect to encompass all the solutions and services we offer. And in 2002, we began making our proven research tools and data enhancement services available to clients as a stand-alone product—giving them ongoing access to better, fresher data.

Harris Connect Today

For more than 40 years, Harris Connect has successfully met our clients’ ever-evolving needs with innovative, thoughtfully designed services and solutions. And although our product set has changed significantly over time, our commitment to you has not. With each new program, each new offering and each new technology—our goal is to give you just what you need to strengthen the bonds you have worked hard to build with your constituents.

Today Harris Connect serves more than 4,000 non-profit organizations worldwide including top educational institutions, associations and organizations. Our client relationships span the U.S., as well as around the globe, and range from the smallest private schools to the most prestigious institutions to the largest international organizations.