Vernon Dsouza
Vernon Dsouza is Director - Fundraising at Arpan, bringing 23 years of progressive leadership experience in the development sector with expertise in resource mobilisation, strategic partnerships, program management and organisational scaling. He has successfully secured over ₹400 crores from diverse sources, including international foundations, governments, corporates, and multilateral agencies.
During his 10-year tenure at British Council (2012-2022), Vernon held progressive leadership roles managing business development and strategic partnerships across government, foundations, and corporate sectors. He led flagship bilateral programmes engaging researchers across India and the UK, negotiated multi-year MOUs with 13+ state governments, and managed portfolios exceeding ₹153 crores while reaching over one million beneficiaries annually. His expertise in stakeholder engagement resulted in collaborative opportunities worth over ₹50 crores across 21 state governments.
As Chief Programmes Officer at Atma (2022-2025), Vernon led comprehensive organisational transformation and strategic planning across multiple thematic areas. He developed systematic frameworks for capacity building at scale and established Atma’s scale strategy. His leadership approach centres on building decision-making capacity in teams while driving organisational growth and strengthening sector-wide effectiveness.
Vernon holds a BA Honours in History from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University. His approach focuses on building sustainable funding ecosystems that position organisations for long-term growth and impact. He is passionate about leveraging his expertise to support Arpan's mission of creating a world free from Child Sexual Abuse through prevention and healing.
During his 10-year tenure at British Council (2012-2022), Vernon held progressive leadership roles managing business development and strategic partnerships across government, foundations, and corporate sectors. He led flagship bilateral programmes engaging researchers across India and the UK, negotiated multi-year MOUs with 13+ state governments, and managed portfolios exceeding ₹153 crores while reaching over one million beneficiaries annually. His expertise in stakeholder engagement resulted in collaborative opportunities worth over ₹50 crores across 21 state governments.
As Chief Programmes Officer at Atma (2022-2025), Vernon led comprehensive organisational transformation and strategic planning across multiple thematic areas. He developed systematic frameworks for capacity building at scale and established Atma’s scale strategy. His leadership approach centres on building decision-making capacity in teams while driving organisational growth and strengthening sector-wide effectiveness.
Vernon holds a BA Honours in History from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University. His approach focuses on building sustainable funding ecosystems that position organisations for long-term growth and impact. He is passionate about leveraging his expertise to support Arpan's mission of creating a world free from Child Sexual Abuse through prevention and healing.