September 01, 2025

Ryan Valasapali’s Journey Through Fundraising, Failure, and Finding Purpose

28 minutes

Welcome to the Fundraising Everywhere Podcast, today, we’ve got something a little bit different for you.

To celebrate our upcoming recruitment and careers conference coming up on Thursday 20th November, we’ve decided to hand the mic over to our guest host Rory White in this special series of episodes called 'It Started On The Street'.

Rory will be chatting to some brilliant leaders in the charity sector and beyond about their journeys since they started their careers as dialogue fundraisers.

"Ryan Valasapali’s story is a fascinating one. He came to Sheffield from India to study for an MBA — and when he arrived, the whole city was covered in snow. He’d never seen snow before, and it was quite a shock!

Just three months into his new life in Sheffield, his dad — who had been helping support him financially — told him over the phone, ‘That’s it, son. No more money. You’re on your own now.’ So Ryan went out to find work, and that’s how he ended up joining Home Fundraising. His first week was tough, and he was ready to quit. In fact, he was on his last door of the day, planning to hand in his kit after that… but that final door completely changed everything for him.

Seventeen years later, Ryan is back in India, living in Bangalore, working as a director at one of the country’s major fundraising agencies. I really enjoyed hearing his story — how that one pivotal moment shaped his whole career — and I think you will too."

You can learn more about our upcoming Fundraising Recruitment and Careers Conference happening on Thursday 20th November here

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