Fred Najjar

Executive Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer;
President, CommonSpirit Health Foundation

Photo of Fred Najjar.

Fred Najjar is the Executive Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer of CommonSpirit Health and President of CommonSpirit Health Foundation. He has served the ministry since 2011, where he was Dignity Health’s senior vice president of philanthropy, overseeing 29 fundraising foundations including the system-wide Dignity Health Foundation. In his role with CommonSpirit, Fred’s accountabilities include oversight of philanthropy of over 80 fundraising entities, which includes the foundations of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health.

Fred provides strategic vision, leadership and direction to ensure philanthropic support of programs and services. He also plays a consultative role in the hiring, training, and development of leadership in the fundraising locations, all while sharing best practices throughout the ministry.

Prior to joining CommonSpirit, Fred served as vice president for university advancement and chief executive officer of the Tower Foundation at San José State University (SJSU). There, he oversaw alumni relations, advancement operations, marketing, communications, government, community relations, and public affairs. As vice president for university advancement and chief executive officer of the Tower Foundation, he led the university to unprecedented fundraising numbers and launched the first comprehensive campaign in school history. Under his leadership, SJSU was consistently in the top tier of fundraising universities in the 23-campus California State University system. He has also served in executive positions at Arizona State University, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and Virginia Tech University.

Fred is a thought leader in health care philanthropy, publishing articles and making frequent presentations on the subject to a variety of audiences. Currently, Fred serves as the chair for the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP). He also is a member of the AHP Certification Task Force, acts as a council lead for the AHP Content Advisory Council and is a member of the AHP Health System Philanthropy Leadership Group (HSPLG).

Fred received his undergraduate degree in public administration and a graduate degree in counseling and student personnel administration from Virginia Tech University. He has completed coursework toward a doctorate in organization and leadership at the University of San Francisco.