About Sarah
Sarah Fischler, MPA
For more than 10 years, Sarah has worked with nonprofit organizations in a variety of roles including multiple senior staff positions, and as a grantmaker, board member, consultant, and volunteer. Most recently, Sarah has served in a variety of leadership positions with the Community Resource Center (CRC), a statewide capacity building services provider based in Denver, Colorado. During her time with CRC, Sarah has served as Director of Consulting and as Interim Co-Director. As Interim Co-Directors for nearly a year, Sarah and Kelleen Zubick led a complete organizational restructure, partnering with their colleagues to enhance CRC’s long-term sustainability.
Sarah is currently the Director of Consulting and Special Projects for CRC, with her consulting practice focused on organizational effectiveness, strategic direction, governance, executive transition, and strategies for utilizing online communication tools. In addition to providing consulting services to nonprofit organizations through CRC, Sarah also provides career coaching services for young nonprofit professionals through her small business, Partners in Nonprofit Success, LLC.
Before coming to CRC, Sarah served as the Director of Grantmaking and Mission Initiatives for the Denver Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure where she oversaw the distribution of nearly $10 million in funding. During her time with the Denver Affiliate, Sarah led the development of a nationally recognized, best practices grant making model that has been implemented in other Komen Affiliates across the country. Sarah’s also directed the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Alumni Associations and worked as a fundraiser for the Seniors’ Resource Center.
Sarah co-chaired the Colorado Common Grant Application Revision Drafting Committee, chaired the Colorado Common Grant Application Revision Drafting Committee, and is the Board President of the Denver Young Nonprofit Professionals Network. Sarah also initiated and served as the co-director of the Weathering the Storm project, a collaborative effort between CRC and the Colorado Nonprofit Association that included two statewide surveys, two comprehensive reports, more than 30 trainings across Colorado to promote nonprofit sustainability and effectiveness, and received coverage on Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, ABCNews.com, and in national nonprofit publications. Sarah is also the author of a number of articles and resource toolkits on nonprofit best practices, many of which can be viewed on this website.
Sarah, a first-generation college graduate, graduated from the University of Colorado with a bachelor of arts in history (summa cum laude), a bachelor of science in business administration (cum laude), and a master’s degree in public administration. Sarah was the recipient of the Outstanding Student Award for her graduate thesis, A Capacity Building Needs Assessment for Colorado.
Sarah is also an active nature photographer, focusing primarily on the wilderness areas of the American west. Sarah also finds great pleasure in cooking and tending a tiny, yet amazingly plentiful garden each summer.