Valerio Melandri

Valerio Melandri is a consultant, trainer and educator in fundraising. He is a professor at the University of Bologna, teaching the ‘Principles and Techniques of Fundraising’ at the Faculty of Economics in Forlì, and is director of the Masters in Fundraising, University of Bologna. A pioneer in the introduction of the discipline of "fundraising" into Italian universities (Melandri was the first professor to have taught it in a degree program) and is probably one of the leading authorities in the field of Italian fundraising. He is founder and president of the Philanthropy Research Centre, a centre for research, training and consultancy, based at the Faculty of Economics in Forlì (University of Bologna). He has published various books on philanthropy and is the creator and promoter of the first Italian internet portal andblog on fundraising.

He was a member of the editorial board of the monthly journal Third Sector - Il Sole 24 Ore and has been included in the monthly journal ‘Class’ as one of the "200 most influential young Italians in the country." Melandri is chairman of the organizing committee for the ‘Fundraising Festival’, the largest Italian event on fundraising and among the most attended in the world. He carries out consultancy and training in Italy and abroad, with organizations of all types (environmental protection, culture, religion, health, cooperation, sports, etc..) and size (from small Italian non-profit organizations to large international ones). A regular speaker, both in Italian and English, he has participated in more than 40 national and international conferences over the past year.