About

   

    Ariella Nasuti has 25 years’ experience in nonprofit operations and law. She allies with foundations, public charities, 501(c)(6)s, and 501(c)(4)s to advance Pre-K-12, STEM, arts education, healthcare, early childhood intervention, literacy, community development, social justice, environmental, higher education, legal aid, work-based learning, 2Gen, animal welfare, veterans services, cultural, faith-based, supportive housing, and P3 initiatives. Ariella provides compliance, risk mitigation, grantmaking, HR and culture building, fiscal oversight, capacity building, fundraising, and governance counsel. Projects focus on  healthcare equity, educational access, workforce development, basic needs, economic empowerment, social mobility, placemaking, cultural infrastructure, arts & culture, animal welfare, community building, the environment, and civic engagement. Learn more about the institutional funders she has worked with here.

Ariella graduated with honors from Barnard College, Columbia University, with a B.A. in Political Science, attended the Hebrew University as a Visiting Scholar, and holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School where her coursework focused on Trusts & Estates and Tax. She served as research assistant to Professor Lawrence Waggoner, American Law Institute Reporter for the Restatement (Third) of Property and principal drafter of the Uniform Probate Code revisions. While in law school, Ariella was Associate Editor of the Michigan Journal of International Law and the Journal of Comparative Studies in Society and History.  She is admitted to the bars of New York and New Jersey.

In-House Nonprofit Experience

Ariella has been privileged to work for Columbia University, The New York Public Library, the Five College Consortium, William Paterson University, Warrior-Scholar Project, and Yeshiva University. Supervising staffs of 25+,  she was responsible for compliance; grant stewardship; M&E; governance; nonprofit entity formation & tax matters; HR / culture building; accounting, budgeting, and finance; endowment management; fundraising; facilities management; strategic planning; investments; financial statements; risk management; and project management.

As a finance and operations executive, Ariella has budgeted and managed operating, restricted, and capital funds in excess of $350 million. She’s been responsible for internal, year-end, and A-133 audits; financial statements; endowment and cash management; auxiliary income; debt policies; A/P, A/R, and payroll; procurement; long-term fiscal planning; financial architecture (systems, technologies, supporting organizations, and SOPs); insurance; budgeting; ICR negotiation; and predictive analytics.

Ariella has been responsible for project management, CRM integrations, strategic planning, and messaging. With experience in commercial real estate acquisition, financing, leasing, and development, she has supervised both construction and physical plant operations. 

Her HR experience ranges from compliance to the negotiation of benefits contracts.  She oversaw the recruitment, onboarding, training, review, termination, and offboarding of both management and support staff.

With respect to development, Ariella has crafted, submitted, and administered federal, state, corporate, and private foundation grants totaling $160 million.  She has served on numerous advancement teams, drafting and negotiating planned giving instruments, securing and managing leadership gifts, stewarding institutional funds, and overseeing capital construction, legacy giving, and endowment campaigns. 

Law Firm Experience

As a Real Estate Attorney with New York and New Jersey law firms, Ariella represented borrowers, lenders, and rating agencies in the acquisition, financing, disposition, rezoning, conservation, and securitization of commercial real estate portfolios.  With extensive experience representing both landlords and tenants in every aspect of commercial leasing, construction, and improvement, she handled all of Citicorp’s NYC leasing matters, including Citicorp Center. Ariella has negotiated real estate-financed CGAs and CRTs, and bargain sales of real property. 

In an Of Counsel capacity serving private and operating foundations, 501(c)(6)s, 501(c)(4)s, and public charities, Ariella provides advice regarding domestic and international grantmaking; DAF compliance; expenditure responsibility; PRIs; public support test and unusual grants; fiscal sponsorships; endowment and investment management; asset protection strategies;  state and federal entity filings and tax matters, including UBIT;  governance issues (policies, conflicts of interest, excess benefit transactions, self-dealing matters, bylaws, SOPs, committee and board minutes, charters, and resolutions, board compensation & diversification); executive compensation and total benefits; procurement matters; planned giving and annual campaigns; ERM; lobbying; P3s; mergers and asset acquisitions; dissolutions; grant acquisition and stewardship; cause marketing; culture building; trademark and copyright licenses; and trade secrets.

She has drafted and negotiated grant agreements; gift instruments; commercial co-venture agreements; sponsorship agreements; indirect cost recovery rates; subcontractor agreements; service contracts; shared services agreements; management agreements; vendor and tech agreements; marketing agreements; MOUs; licenses; NDAs; EULAs; assignments; SNDAs; subordination documents; rescission agreements; joint fundraising agreements; fundraising counsel agreements; joint venture agreements; releases; indemnifications; teaming, branding and partnering agreements; severance agreements; loan documents; merger agreements; asset acquisition agreements; dissolution documents; opinion letters; affiliate agreements; investment policies; grantmaking policies; gift acceptance policies; document retention policies; endowment management policies; IP agreements; LLC operating agreements; and code of conduct/harassment and grievance policies.

Israel Experience

Ariella spent three years in Israel during which she was a Visiting Scholar in the Political Science Department of the Hebrew University, and worked at Intel and Luz Industries (now BrightSource Energy).