LaKoya Gardner
LaKoya Gardner is the Director of Programs and Associate Director of Development for the Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy located at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. The core mission of the Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy is to understand the perceptions, practices, experiences, and needs of the individuals and institutions that operationalize philanthropy in underrepresented communities and develop programming and services to engage philanthropic practitioners, scholars, and the public at large in conversations and activities to advance this field. LaKoya received her Bachelors of Arts from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), and her Masters of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Indiana Wesleyan. LaKoya has over 10 years of experience in fundraising within higher education as well as several nonprofit organizations. Prior to her position at the Mays Family Institute, she raised over $14.7M within a 4-year timespan as the Executive Director of Resource Development at Ivy Tech Community College- East Central Region. Her focus area is to continue utilizing her expertise in fundraising to expand the understanding of donors of color and other underrepresented donors to shift the narrative within philanthropy.