JYOTHSNA BUDDHARAJU

With nearly 20 years of fundraising leadership experience, Jyothsna Buddharaju is a seasoned advancement professional specializing in institutional giving, complex gift strategy, and cross-sector partnership development. She has successfully led fundraising initiatives across higher education, medical research, STEM, arts, and human services, securing transformational support aligned with organizational mission and impact.

 

Prior to launching Buddha Philanthropy, Jyothsna served as Senior Director of Special Initiatives at Boston University, where she established a principal gifts team to support major university projects, like the Center for Computing & Data Sciences.

 

A recognized leader in institutional philanthropy, Jyothsna has contributed to major philanthropic evaluations, including MacArthur Foundation’s Lever for Change, MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving Open Call, and the XPrize Foundation’s AI for Good Brain Trust. She is a BoardSource-certified Nonprofit Board Consultant and has trained fundraisers through the Association of Fundraising Professionals in Massachusetts.

 

Her academic background includes an MBA and a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Masters' degrees in Public Policy and Asian Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

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