SARA PANDOLFI

PRESIDENT

Sara Pandolfi leads her own social impact firm, Sara Pandolfi & Company, working with nonprofit organizations, foundations, companies, and philanthropists, connecting a community of voices for change. She specializes in corporate and community partnerships, nonprofit development, crisis relief management, marketing, and strategic planning.

Sara leverages her relationships in the private sector and her extensive network in the arts and hospitality industries to positively impact populations in need and improve bottom-line business results. 

Sara takes on the challenges presented to organizations by understanding their strengths and limitations, and works directly with the client to formulate a plan to achieve their objectives, identify opportunities for growth and improvement, and maintain the integrity of the mission. She assists private-sector clients in leveraging their commitment to do social good by connecting them with charities making an impact in areas aligned with their core values.

Sara’s most notable fundraising success is Farm to Tray, a year-round sustainable food campaign that brings together New York City’s premier culinary figures and socially responsible corporations to support Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen – New York’s largest emergency food program. Since launching the grassroots campaign, Sara has raised nearly $3MM in cash and in-kind support, attracted over 400 guests to a sold-out event, and secured more than 100 new partnerships for the soup kitchen, including The Coca-Cola Company, Google, International Paper, and Whole Foods Market. Through sponsorship development, strategic marketing, donor cultivation and stewardship, and community outreach, Sara spearheaded the most successful and visible fundraiser in the organization’s 40+ year history prior to the pandemic.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sara helped the soup kitchen launch Operation HopeFULL, a $1MM campaign that rallied support from the broader New York community to ensure those struggling with poverty and homelessness had access to food, clothing, toiletries, PPE, and other support during unprecedented times.

Her clients include causes related to conflict resolution and peacemaking, education and career development, healthcare, social services, and women’s rights organizations.

As a former leader of the Project for Academic Student Success program, she developed and coordinated the curriculum and functions for numerous academic programs and raised the high school graduation rates of her clients to 100 percent. During her leadership and clinical role in the nonprofit sector, Sara encountered the challenges faced by government-funded programs, including lack of resources and increasing demand for services. Compelled to make a difference, she returned to academia to hone her development acumen and was soon elected President of NYU’s Fundraising Student Association. Her success in implementing campus-wide philanthropic initiatives and development growth for nonprofits led to her nomination for the prestigious Crain’s 40 Under 40 Award by NYU. 

From managing enrichment programs for at-risk teens, to helping organizations develop the tools to maintain a sustainable and meaningful business operation, Sara has chosen a career path that is aligned with her passion to serve and to help others. She mentors students, giving them unique opportunities to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world development initiatives. Sara is the recipient of the 2015 NYU Bart Lawson Alumni Award for Public Service.

Sara is a member of the Board of Directors of Tanenbaum, thought-leaders in combating religious prejudice through customized trainings and educational resources. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Hearing Health Foundation.  

Sara has spoken on numerous industry panels, including NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development "Building and Maintaining a Professional Network" and "Non-Profit Boot Camp," NYU-SPS "Preparing Students for Successful Careers Conference," AFP Long Island "Philanthropy Day Conference," and AFP New York “Professional Advancement." She has also been a guest lecturer in both Columbia University and NYU graduate courses. 

Sara holds degrees from New York University’s Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising (M.S.), Columbia University School of Social Work (M.S.W.) and California State University, Northridge Department of Journalism (B.A).