Kate Todd

Background

About Kate Todd

People give because they want to make a difference. Whether it’s a donor supporting an issue they personally relate to or just want to invest in pioneering research, I connect them with organizations that step back, look at the foundational science, break down silos and say “We can do better.” Like the Food Allergy Science Initiative (FASI). Philanthropy should be a joyful process. As FASI’s Director of Development, it’s important to me that donors large and small realize the impact, urgency and hope of supporting our mission to end food allergies; that they see themselves in the work we do. I excel at taking a message and pivoting to present it in a way that resonates with philanthropists. This speaks to my deep experience with board engagement and success in raising funds where no built-in constituency exists, such as during my tenure at the Perkins School for the Blind. I transformed their fundraising landscape through an entrepreneurial approach by establishing a nationwide, grassroots, direct marketing campaign and expanding the international funding program - stressing how access to education is a human right. In the last three years we raised more than $30million. I am driven to this line of work because it gives me the opportunity to make a tangible impact. At FASI that means new research models, incorporating the new field of translational science, and developing a possible cure for the food allergies so many children and their families have to deal with. I love working for organizations that shake up the paradigm!