Co-owner, The Stelter Co.

Creative thinking and strategic visioning have taken Peggy Fisher through a professional life centered on teaching, publishing and giving.

A graduate of Drake University, she has worked as an art director at Meredith Corp., an instructor at Des Moines Area Community College and a small business owner.

Today, Fisher is chief operating officer of The Stelter Co., which helps more than 1,200 nonprofit organizations identify and cultivate donors through print and online direct marketing channels.

Fisher, who in 1995 forged the company’s first strategic planning session, reflected on the outcome of the decision to partner with her husband, Larry Stelter, and acquire an approximately 50 percent stake in The Stelter Co.

“The ability to make change and make the company grow has been the most rewarding thing for me,” Fisher said. “I don’t work directly with the clients, but I’m very passionate about what we do, and I’m passionate about philanthropy.”

In addition to her role with The Stelter Co., which internally conducts an annual fund-raiser to benefit ChildServe, Fisher, 62, hopes her personal interest in giving inspires young professionals.

For Fisher, volunteering with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Drake University’s DistinctlyDrake comprehensive campaign and the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Des Moines nominating committee all boils down to speaking up for what she is most zealous about.

In 2011, she began serving on the board of the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines.

“I’m getting very turned on by that, because I’m learning so much more about our community that I didn’t know existed, nonprofits that I didn’t know existed,” she said. “I won’t serve on a board unless I am very passionate about it. If I’m going to do that, I want to give my time and give what I can, not just be a name on a letterhead.”

Fisher said her husband, who earlier this month suffered a stroke as the couple spent time at their summer cabin in northeastern Minnesota, has always motivated her to take giving to a whole new level.

A few years ago, the couple decided to begin giving away half of their earnings to charitable organizations.

“Larry has always been an inspiration to me,” Fisher said. “He’s the one that has taught me about philanthropy.” As Stelter recovers at home, Fisher said she is being inspired by supportive friends and the ambitious salesman she married in 1991.

“When I see how hard he’s trying, it is very inspirational to me,” Fisher said. “He can’t wait to get back out there and do what he loves to do.”