About Mitzie
Writer | Nonprofit Consultant | Quilter | Illustrator
Inky Fern Studio is a passion project of Mitzie Schafer where she works to write and create projects that help her learn, process life, celebrate, grieve, and grow. Most of her writing centers around the themes of faith, justice, gratitude, joy, and comfort. She strives to focus her work in ways that make God the subject of the verb. She was raised in the church, learning all the rights and wrongs of how to stay out of hell. Later in life, she experienced the freedom of recognizing that God had already done the work and that faith was about more than being saved from the fire - it was about being released from ourselves to serve and be in community with all God’s people. Here you will find a number of writings that tell the story of the reconstruction of her faith and beliefs. She leaves her work here for you in the hopes that you find something that speaks to you.
Mitzie is a called Deacon in the ELCA serving full-time as a nonprofit consultant with GSB Fundraising. She is an avid quilter and pattern designer for fun. She is an avid storyteller, having created the Anchor Model for Impact Storytelling used by nonprofits and congregations throughout the United States.
She has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Florida Gulf Coast University and a Master of Art in Religion from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. She concentrated on Christian Education and Christian Spirituality. She was born and raised on a small cattle farm in North Carolina with faithful parents who both worked full-time in addition to farming. Today, she lives in South Carolina with her partner Pastor Jason Schafer and her two children.
Mitzie is a lover of best practices and often finds herself speaking the truth in love during uncomfortable situations. In addition to Inky Fern Studio, you can find her writings and art in the following places:
Faith + Lead Luther Seminary | Leading Divided Groups: Wisdom from Nonprofits (2021)
When Not Writing or Creating
Mitzie is a CFRE and serves as a full-time Partner and Nonprofit Consultant with GSB Fundraising. Her focus is on helping nonprofits and congregations connect with their own impact story to grow generosity and strengthen their organizations and ministry. She specializes in building annual fundraising efforts and planned giving efforts. She also specializes in building a healthy culture through board development and faithful human resource management. Learn more about her work as a consultant here.
Before serving as a consultant, she served as a Gift Planner for the ELCA Foundation, the Vice President for Development for NovusWay Ministries, and the Executive Vice President of Epworth Children’s Home in Columbia, SC. Her work in these amazing ministries has served to shape much of who she believes herself to be today and how she approaches scripture and leadership.
Mitzie is also an avid quilter. She designs and prints her own unique quilt patterns for her small business Jittery Wings Quilt Co.
Her Personal Core Values and Life Motos:
God is the subject of the verb
Approach scripture and life with a trauma-informed spirit
Do the work
If it ever occurs to you to pray, pray