Forty Under 40: Emily Rappé Fisher

Emily Rappé Fisher found her niche in fundraising after a family tragedy.

In 2007, her father died of a heart attack, altering Fisher’s plans to pursue sports medicine at chiropractic school in Dallas.

She opted instead to stay in Northwest Arkansas and started volunteering for the American Heart Association, where she discovered a love for nonprofit work that blossomed into a promising career.

Fisher finished her kinesiology degree (University of Arkansas, 2011) and then landed a job as development director for the Children’s Advocacy Center of Benton County, which provides services for abused children.

 She moved to the Washington County chapter, the Children’s Safety Center, the next year and quickly made strides in the success of its largest annual fundraising event, the Dream Big Gala. This July, 1,000 people attended and $135,000 was raised, she said.

“My favorite thing is educating people on the Children’s Safety Center and how to keep their own children safe, and also telling people what we do and how prevalent child abuse is in this NWA bubble that we all live and work in,” Fisher said. “It shocks most of them when I tell them it does happen here, and I tell them our numbers.”

Each abused child leaves a handprint in paint on the wall at the center, and the count is more than 8,000, Fisher said.

Fisher is a member of the Habitat for Humanity Washington County Women’s Build Committee and board member/vice president of communications for the Associate of Fundraising Professionals NWA chapter.

She is also very involved in the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce.