Raising the funds and resources behind the nonprofit sector’s vital economic and social safety net has never been easy, and federal funding cuts, disappearing multi-year grants, and shifting donor priorities have made that work harder still. Fundraising leaders have had to pivot quickly as funding sources they’d relied on for decades were pulled away. Other philanthropic leaders have had to learn how to lead teams and volunteers through fundraising in ways they’ve never had to before.
Join us for a candid conversation with two leaders navigating that shift in real time: Roopashree (Roopa) Narasimhaiah, Vice President of Principal, Foundation, & International Advancement at Boston University, and Lucy Roche, Head of Individual Philanthropy at Save the Children. They’ll share what’s changed inside their institutions, the leadership practices that helped them adapt quickly, and what other nonprofit and philanthropic leaders can take from their experience.
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Length: 1 hour
Location: Virtual; held via Zoom
Who should attend:
- Fundraising and development professionals
- Nonprofit and philanthropic leaders
- Anyone who wants to build resilience and agility into their leadership approach
Cost: Free
Meet the speakers
Roopashree (Roopa) Narasimhaiah, Vice President of Principal, Foundation, & International Advancement, Boston University
Roopa Narasimhaiah is Boston University’s Vice President overseeing Principal Gifts, Foundation, and International Advancement. She leads efforts to cultivate lifelong relationships with alumni and friends and to secure transformative philanthropy that advances the University’s research, scholarship, and educational priorities.
Before joining Boston University, Roopa served as Senior Associate Vice President of University Capital Giving at the University of Pennsylvania, where she led comprehensive fundraising strategies to support the institution’s vision and major initiatives.
Prior to Penn, Roopa was Associate Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs at Yale School of Medicine. As a strategic partner to the deans of YSM and Yale School of Public Health, she helped grow fundraising by more than 50% and raised over $1 billion during her tenure. Her leadership produced some of Yale’s largest gifts, including a $100 million cancer research alliance, the largest corporate collaboration in Yale’s history, and advanced multidisciplinary research through university-wide and department-level campaign strategies. Roopa is known for working collaboratively with donors nationally and internationally and for applying an innovative, data-driven, solution-focused approach to philanthropy.
Trained as a neuroscientist, Roopa earned a PhD in developmental neurobiology from Wesleyan University and completed postdoctoral research in psychiatry at Yale. She entered advancement in 2007 after successfully securing research grants and discovering the powerful impact of philanthropy on scientific and educational outcomes.
Lucy Roche, Head of Individual Philanthropy at Save the Children
Lucy Roche has 30 years of fundraising experience with a diverse range of nonprofit organizations in the New York City area. Throughout her career, she has partnered with private donors and philanthropic advisors to advance the wellbeing of children and families in the United States and around the world.
Lucy is currently Head of the Individual Philanthropy Group at Save the Children, an organization dedicated to ensuring every last child has a future where they are safe, healthy and educated. She leads the major gifts, mid-level and planned giving teams, which raises over $115 million each year to support the organization’s global and domestic humanitarian, development and advocacy programs.
Before joining Save the Children in 2016, Lucy served as Vice President of Development and Communications at Children’s Health Fund, the nation’s largest network of mobile medical clinics for children in need. Earlier in her career, she held development roles at International Rescue Committee, Women’s Refugee Commission, New York Landmarks Conservancy and The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. She began her fundraising career at The Frick Collection museum.
Lucy holds a BA in Art History from Boston University and an MS in Fundraising Management from Columbia University.
Meet the facilitator: Laura Freebairn-Smith is a Partner and co-founder at OPG. Her specialty is assisting leaders in realizing the full potential of their organizations through humanistic and analytical practices, while offering guidance in the redesign of infrastructure, the creation of strategic plans, and with organizational development.
