Sara LaCava Lieberman (she/her) has over fifteen years of fundraising experience and a track record of helping organizations achieve significant and sustainable fundraising growth as a staff member, board member, and consultant. She is passionate about fundraising as movement building, incorporating DEI principals into fundraising, and building a culture of philanthropy that is rooted in organizational values. Sara takes a people-centered approach to both fundraising and working with partners, building relationships to support transformational change. Prior to working at Thread, Sara was the assistant director of development and training with the Network Support Unit, a technical assistance team focused on organizational development and housed at the Innocence Project. She provided fundraising training, coaching, and peer learning opportunities for the over 70 members of the Innocence Network. Previously, Sara served as the individual giving officer at the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) where she helped to build systems and create the organization’s first written fundraising plan, which resulted in a 58% increase in individual giving. Recognizing that smaller member abortion funds had little access to professional fundraising services, Sara created a program to provide fundraising coaching for fund leaders. Sara has served on the board of the New York Abortion Access Fund and currently serves on the board of the REACH Fund of Connecticut, both of which had no paid staff at the time of her service. As working boards, Sara played the role of a development staff person, helping to plan events, write appeals, and steward donors. In 2017, Sara was the co-leader for a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign that raised over $250,000, mostly from small dollar donors. Sara began her fundraising career at Vassar College, where she received her Bachelor’s in Political Science and Africana Studies. As a manager of the student-run phonathon, Sara trained and motivated a group of forty callers who collectively broke school fundraising records. This work fueled her passion for fundraising and for making work fun. Sara lives in Connecticut with her husband and young child. She is a big women’s basketball fan and loves hosting people in their home for small dinner parties or elaborate theme parties.