Nancy Bussani is the Executive Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer of CommonSpirit Health and President of CommonSpirit Health Foundation. In her role, Nancy guides the national foundation to secure investments for system-wide initiatives that put health justice into action. She also works closely with our 80 local fundraising foundations throughout the nation to bring strategic vision, leadership and sharing of best practices.
Nancy has served the ministry since 2012. In her previous role as Senior Vice President for Philanthropy Strategy and Governance, Nancy was responsible for philanthropic strategic planning, board development training and education for our 1,500 governance members, and overseeing the professional development and education curriculum for our 300 philanthropy staff throughout the nation.
Previously, Nancy served as the Chief Development Officer for Renown Health based in Northern Nevada where she led the Renown Health Foundation and accelerated philanthropy by creating a strong culture of giving. Prior to Renown, Nancy served Dignity Health where she established the first system foundation, built the inaugural Board of Directors and raised funds for strategic health initiatives. Prior to joining Dignity, Nancy served as vice president for university advancement and chief executive officer of the Tower Foundation at San José State University (SJSU). There, she oversaw fundraising, alumni relations, advancement operations, marketing, communications, government relations and public affairs. Nancy has also been an adjunct professor teaching Organizational Development in the College of Business at both SJSU and University of Nevada, Reno.
With over 30 years of experience in fundraising, grants development and administration, board development, and operations in academia, healthcare and research, Nancy is a thought leader in philanthropy, making frequent presentations on the subject to a variety of audiences. Currently, she serves as a member of the AHP Governance Committee and the AHP Health System Philanthropy Leadership Group (HSPLG). She received her masters of business administration at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, and her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Idaho.