Our Story & Mission

After spending more than two decades working in nonprofit leadership, fundraising, and development, Laurel Fisher and Daina Storey recognized a common challenge: organizations doing important work were often stretched too thin, struggling to meet fundraising goals, and lacking the guidance and resources needed to grow. They saw passionate nonprofit leaders who knew exactly what they wanted to accomplish but needed experienced support to turn their vision into a sustainable plan.

In 2019, they founded Fisher Storey Consulting to help bridge that gap. Drawing on their combined 40+ years of experience, they built a consulting firm focused on practical fundraising strategies, personalized coaching, and long-term organizational success. Their goal was simple: give nonprofits the tools, knowledge, and confidence to raise more money and make a greater impact.

In 2025, Fisher Storey expanded its capabilities through a partnership with Seed Fundraisers, a network of experienced fundraising professionals dedicated to building stronger, more sustainable fundraising programs. As certified Seed coaches, Laurel and Daina bring additional training, proven methods, and collaborative resources to the organizations they serve, helping nonprofit teams strengthen their internal capacity and build lasting success.

Our Team

Co-Founder

Laurel Fisher, M.Ed.

Laurel Fisher is a nonprofit strategist, fundraising consultant, and co-founder of Fisher Storey Consulting. With more than 20 years of experience across the nonprofit, philanthropic, and public sectors, she helps organizations strengthen fundraising strategy, build internal capacity, and develop the systems needed for sustainable growth.

Before launching Fisher Storey in 2019 with Daina Storey, Laurel held leadership and development roles with Vanderbilt University, The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, W.O. Smith/Nashville Community Music School, Catholic Charities of Tennessee, and the Metro Nashville Arts Commission. At Metro Arts, she managed approximately $2.5 million in annual grant funding supporting more than 60 nonprofit arts organizations and projects, giving her valuable perspective from both the grantmaking and fundraising sides of philanthropy.

Through Fisher Storey, Laurel advises nonprofit and social impact organizations on fundraising planning and coaching, development assessments, prospect research and major gift strategy, campaign feasibility, and fractional grants management. Her work is centered on helping organizations move beyond short-term fundraising needs to build stronger, more scalable development programs.

Laurel’s consulting work has supported organizations across a wide range of mission areas, including arts and culture, human trafficking, homelessness, addiction recovery, affordable housing, youth development, community development, and workforce development. She is particularly skilled at helping nonprofit leaders assess fundraising capacity, identify growth opportunities, strengthen donor pipelines, and align fundraising strategy with broader organizational goals.

In 2025, Fisher Storey joined the Seed Fundraisers network, expanding the firm’s access to a broader community of fundraising professionals and resources focused on building sustainable and scalable fundraising operations.

Laurel holds a Master of Education in Nonprofit Leadership from Belmont University and is a graduate of Nashville Emerging Leaders. She has also presented on grant writing, grantmaking, and nonprofit practice regionally and nationally as well as served as a board member for Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra and HOPE International’s Nashville board.

Co-Founder

Daina Storey, MAICD

Daina is a nonprofit professional with over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit and social enterprise space, specializing in fundraising, grant writing, project & event management, board development and strategy.

Daina holds a Master of Arts degree in International Community Development from Northwest University and a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Belmont University and has held positions with respected national and international institutions including World Vision, Social Enterprise Alliance, Vector Management, and Village Real Estate.

Daina currently serves on the board of Thistle Farms. She has lived in East Africa and London, and led multiple international team trips to Uganda. Most of all, she is passionate about supporting nonprofits and sustainable social impact in communities and working to grow the sector.

Research Consultant & Analyst

Megan Taggard

Megan serves as a prospect research consultant and analyst with 24 years of experience in higher education, secondary schools, social services and healthcare fields.

She is a strategic thinker and team leader with ability to analyze large quantities of data, verify wealth screening data and create high-quality written pieces of research to guide strategic gift planning.

Her expertise is in wealth screening, building prospect research departments, creating processes, data integrity, individual, corporate and foundation research and data mining.

Megan has served in the development services staff as a prospect researcher at Duke University (Durham, NC), Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY) and the Lahey Clinic (Boston, MA).

Certified Seed Coaches

Fisher Storey is part of the Seed Fundraisers network, a community of best-in-class professionals who are equipping nonprofit leaders to create sustained fundraising growth.

Seed’s distinguishing idea is that sustainable and scaling fundraising teams consistently evaluate and strengthen their organization through four domains of work:

  • Vocational Conviction
  • Strategic Focus
  • Infrastructure & Talent
  • Daily Practice

The outcome: organizations sustainably scale their impact and revenue from the inside out. No unsustainable silver bullets. No ambiguous strategies. By partnering with Seed, we’re boosting our offerings and becoming an even stronger asset to the organizations we serve.

Fundraising Coaching & Strategy

Building fundraising capacity through strategy, leadership, and practical solutions.

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Grant Management & Coaching

Helping nonprofits build competitive, sustainable grant programs.

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Our Approach

We believe effective fundraising requires more than a good plan or a successful proposal. It requires:

  • Strong leadership
  • Informed strategy
  • Consistent execution
  • Systems that can grow with the team

We don’t just deliver recommendations—we work alongside nonprofit leaders to turn strategy into action, strengthen internal capacity, and build fundraising programs that last.

With deep roots in Nashville’s philanthropic community and decades of combined fundraising expertise, we bring practical knowledge and personal attention to every partnership.

HOW WE WORK

$15M+

Raised for clients
in the last 7 years

40+

Years of
combined experience

20+

Years of Deep Nashville Nonprofit Relationships

Frequently Asked Questions

Fisher Storey is a nonprofit consulting firm that helps organizations build high-performing, resilient fundraising programs. We specialize in two primary service areas: Fundraising Coaching & Strategy and Grant Services.

Our services include fundraising assessments, strategic planning, prospect research, donor portfolio development, fractional development leadership, campaign feasibility studies, grant writing, and grants management.

We meet organizations where they are, offering everything from targeted consulting projects to ongoing partnerships. Our approach combines experienced counsel with practical tools and actionable strategies that help nonprofits build sustainable fundraising capacity.

Fundraising coaching is a collaborative process that helps nonprofit leaders and development teams strengthen their fundraising knowledge, skills, and strategies. Rather than simply telling you what to do, we work alongside you to assess challenges, identify opportunities, co-create solutions, establish priorities, and put practical solutions into action.

Our coaching combines expert guidance, training, accountability, and hands-on practice. The goal is to equip your team with the confidence, tools, and skills to raise more money and build lasting relationships with donors.

We work with nonprofit organizations of varying sizes, missions, and stages of development. Since launching Fisher Storey in 2019, we’ve partnered with organizations across multiple states and a wide range of mission areas, including human trafficking prevention and survivor services, homelessness, addiction recovery, affordable housing, arts and culture, youth development, community development, and workforce development.

Our clients range from growing nonprofits building their first formal fundraising programs to established organizations preparing for significant growth or major fundraising initiatives.

While every organization is different, our clients share a common goal: building the resources, relationships, and organizational capacity needed to advance their missions.

Absolutely! At Fisher Storey, we believe successful grant seeking starts long before an application is written. Our grant services include prospect research, funder qualification, proposal development, submission support, and ongoing grants management. We identify funding opportunities that align with your organization’s mission, programs, and funding needs, helping you focus your time and resources on the strongest prospects.

Whether you need comprehensive, outsourced grants management or coaching to strengthen your internal capacity, we help you build a more strategic and sustainable grants program.

Grant success rates can be measured in several ways, but the most common method is to divide the number of grants awarded by the total number of grant applications submitted, then multiply by 100.

For example, if an organization submits 20 grant applications and receives 10 awards, its grant success rate is 50%.

However, we believe the number of awards tells only part of the story. We also consider the percentage of dollars awarded compared to dollars requested, the strength of relationships with funders, and the long-term growth of an organization’s grants portfolio.

A successful grants program isn’t simply about submitting more applications. It’s about pursuing the right opportunities, securing meaningful funding, and building lasting partnerships.

A feasibility study is an assessment that helps a nonprofit determine whether it is ready to launch a major fundraising campaign, typically a capital or comprehensive campaign, and whether its proposed fundraising goal is realistic.

Through stakeholder interviews, donor research, and an evaluation of the organization’s fundraising capacity, a feasibility study provides valuable insight into potential financial support, leadership readiness, and the broader fundraising environment.

At Fisher Storey, we use feasibility studies to help organizations make informed decisions before committing significant time and resources to a campaign. The result is a clearer understanding of campaign potential, possible challenges, and the steps needed to move forward with confidence.

“
Tara HamiltonDir. of Development, Thistle Farms

“Fisher Storey is efficient, professional, and genuinely curious about understanding the complexities of our organization. They stepped into a hectic schedule and full grant calendar and immediately got to work, asking the right questions without adding to my workload. Their expertise and attention to detail gave us the confidence to focus on our mission, knowing our grants were being managed efficiently, on time, and with the highest level of care and quality.”

“
Jackie KlaverFounder, Kid S.M.A.R.T

“Working with Fisher Storey Consulting has been a very positive experience for our nonprofit from start to the present day. They are knowledgeable about the extensive nonprofit network in middle Tennessee, provide tailored recommendations and feedback based on our stage, budget, and age of our nonprofit. We wouldn't be where we are without them!”

“
Dylan HallLiving Hope Farm

“I strongly recommend working with Fisher-Storey! My wife and I are starting a nonprofit in Virginia and we hired Fisher-Storey to get us ready to file form 1023. They did an excellent job helping us put our vision onto paper, perform needs assessments, and gain clarity on the steps to become a nonprofit. They are highly knowledgable and do their work with excellence. We wouldn't be here without them!”

“
Theresa MillerVP of Development, Soles4Souls

“Fisher Storey has helped us increase our grant revenue by 40% over last year through an intentional approach to research, relationship building, and impactful writing. Their collaborative and thoughtful approach to grant writing has helped elevate our grant program and generate revenue to advance our mission. Fisher Storey’s strategic research, impactful outreach, and compelling writing has helped us have our most successful grant year to date!”

“
Ellen GilbertExec. Dir., Global Education Center

“Fisher-Storey Consulting provided a delightful, informative, and highly effective experience for our organization. They helped us with development and sustainability planning and related well to both our staff members and our board of directors, which was especially impressive given the diversity of both groups. Being able to relate to diverse cultural and ethnic groups is a definite plus for Laurel and Daina.”

WHAT TO EXPECT

Let's Get to Work.

Every partnership starts with a conversation. Here’s what you can expect when working with Fisher Storey.

01

Let’s Talk

Schedule a 30-minute introductory call.

02

Explore Your Options

Review our services and a proposed approach.

03

Make a Plan

Discuss the proposal with your team or board.

04

Get to Work

Begin your project or ongoing coaching.

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