LEOMINSTER — Danielle Fisher often thinks about her mom when she’s in her kitchen making things from the heart.

The city resident launched Good Day Dough Co. in January and has given back to numerous charities and nonprofit organizations through her cottage kitchen initiative. Fisher makes small-batch sourdough boules, loaves and various baked goods that are all up for grabs for her growing fan base — but her small business is about more than just what comes out of her oven.

“Every month, we give back,” Fisher posted in the Good Day Dough Co. Facebook page. “A portion (and sometimes all!) of select items goes directly to a local charity, supporting our community in a real, tangible way. So, when you order, you’re part of something bigger than just bread.”

As of the end of April, $3,014 has gone directly to different organizations. So far, she has donated portions of sales to Krystal’s Wildlife Rehab out of Jefferson, the Salvation Army Fitchburg Corps food pantry, which serves residents in Fitchburg, Leominster and Lunenburg, Ginny’s Helping Hand in Leominster, and The Rise Above Foundation, which provides launch boxes to young adults aging out of foster care system and moving into their own apartments.

“The total of the funds raised from bakery purchases and from the Amazon wish list was over $900,” Fisher said of the Rise Above initiative. “We were able to fill four huge laundry baskets with dinnerware, cleaning products, kitchen items, bath towels, first aid kits and so much more.”

In honor of her late mother Paula and to celebrate Mother’s Day, this month she is working with the Seven Hills Foundation, based in Worcester, to raise funds for a CPR emergency training class and something for the self-advocacy women’s group.

“My mother poured her heart and soul into Seven Hills in various positions and served on their human rights committee,” Fisher shared. “Her passion was around ensuring her people were loved, protected and cared for. After she passed, they named one of their conference rooms after her. I love that her name is kept alive inside a place she loved so much.”

Her mom’s KitchenAid mixer, which she inherited, sits on the counter in her spacious kitchen and “gets a lot of use these days.”

“It has been able to provide many good days for our community,” Fisher said, adding that the inspiration behind Good Day is simple yet incredibly meaningful — “A little cottage bakery, with a little white KitchenAid, and a big dream of bringing more joy into people’s homes with not only our bread but with a shared love of community and giving back to those that need it.”

Her daughter helped her mix her first boule in that mixer and Fisher’s trademark classic boule is her donation item, with 100% of the proceeds donated to whatever charity she decides to support that month.

“I’m not here to make money. I’m here to make a difference, and I think we’re off to one heck of a start thanks to the love and support of so many,” she said.

This is how it works — Fisher opens pre-sales on Sunday morning for pickups on Wednesday and Saturday that week. Customers place their orders on Sundays by visiting app.simply-bread.co/gooddaydoughco and Fisher then gets to work baking items from a rotating menu, delicious creations such as plain and flavored sourdough bread and sourdough sandwich loaves, cookies, brownies and cinnamon rolls, to name just a few.

“This split has helped me really find a great rhythm for the week,” she said. “I love the Wednesday rotations. They’ve been a huge hit, and it keeps things from being repetitive.”

Customers have the option to bundle freshly baked, small batch items for savings and pick up their orders at her home in Leominster or at LK Home & Gifts in West Boylston. Fisher offers popups such as sweet treats on Wednesdays, specials including bread boxes for Teacher Appreciation Week, pay what you can cookie grab bags, and giving away free classic sourdough boules through her Loaves of Love kindness series.

“Tag someone in the comments who could use a little pick-me-up — someone having a tough week, a grieving friend, a new (tired) mom, someone who is always showing up for everyone else, or for any reason at all — and tell me why you chose them,” Fisher posted on social media of the latter.

She recently introduced “a bunch of fun new treats” including cookie fry dunks that come with dipping sauce options and novelty popcorn — one flavor was a white chocolate and Fruity Pebbles combo. And for Knot Your Average Dough week, on May 13, she will have “by far, the most re-requested item” — freshly baked pretzel bites.

“There’s so much more on the I can’t wait to do this list,” Fisher said of trying new things.

She went on to say Good Dough all started with her baking a single loaf of dough and thinking, “Wow, this would be fun to do all the time.” Four weeks later she had a small business going, opened her virtual doors and the rest was history.

“I realized that if I did open a small business, I had an amazing opportunity to build something for our community at the same time,” she imparted.

She and her daughter Deyana and her daughter’s best friend Araya were in a group chat one day and started tossing around business name ideas.

“I knew I wanted Good Day to be part of it,” Fisher recalled. “Araya came up with Good Day Dough Co., so sadly, I can’t take credit for the catchy name.”

After her mother Paula was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Fisher spent almost every night with her until she passed.

“‘Today was a Good Day’ was a phrase from my mother,” she said. “Each night in the hospital before we went to sleep, she would say ‘today was a good day’ and find something positive about it. Somedays were significantly more difficult than others, but she always did it. It stuck with me, and I thought it was a great representation of what I want this company to do — create good days with the help of good people for good people who need help.”

Back in February all classic boules sold were part of a fundraising initiative supporting Saint Francis Xavier Center, an overflow homeless shelter on Temple Street in Worcester

“If you’re local and you do any type of charity work, you likely know who Andrea Castinetti is,” Fisher said of the woman who owns and operates Castinetti Realty Group. “She does so much for the community and has a genuine heart of gold. I saw a post she made about assisting an overflow homeless shelter in Worcester and how it would be entirely run on community donations. I knew that would be the perfect place to start.”

After raising funds through a raffle and bread sales, she pulled together 10 volunteers to help serve the catered meal at the shelter that evening — food she bought thanks to proceeds from Good Dough.

“It was amazing. I think we all walked away with an experience we’ll never forget,” Fisher said. “It’s hard to put into words how it feels to be inside a homeless shelter. Seeing pictures does it no justice. Knowing the stereotypes put on people we see on the street and then choosing to place yourself inside a room with them rather than judge them is something I wish everyone could experience. Humbling is an understatement.

“One of my volunteers literally gave the shirt off her back to a woman named Lisa who complimented her on it,” she continued. “There were countless moments that were quiet acts of kindness but so emotionally impactful, and hearing stories from the staff who volunteer there was eye opening. In between running meals outside to people who weren’t able to get in, we heard how heartbreaking it is for them to turn people away on nights when it’s below freezing outside. But you also see the hope they have, the pride they take in what they do, the determination to keep showing up.”

They brought about $1,000 worth of food there that night and it was gone within two hours.

“I cannot fathom the money and time it took to keep that location open for an entire month,” Fisher said. “It restores my faith in society, and I love that I was able be a very small part of it.”

Giving back is at the heart of who she is and something that comes naturally for the mom. Fisher sits on the board for Just One, an international nonprofit organization that provides children in a rural village in Cambodia, English with learning opportunities, and she will be raising funds for them as well.

“This one is close to my heart as I travel there several times a year and love those kids like my own,” she articulated.

When asked why it’s important to her to help others who are less fortunate than her through Good Day Dough Co., Fisher said “because the need in the community is far greater than the need inside my home and that is something I will never take for granted.

“I take great pride in the fact that my businesses sole purpose is to give back. I’m not trying to build a giant corporation; I’m trying to make a difference in people’s lives. The bread is just a bonus.”

She is grateful for those who are supporting her business and in turn, providing her with the opportunity to give back in tangible ways.

“Their constant generosity and trust,” Fisher said of what she appreciates about the people who back her. “Time and time again, people consistently show up for me, take a chance on whatever I’m doing, and trust that I’ll do what I say I’ll do. That means everything. I stay grounded in gratitude with zero expectations, and I appreciate that people do what they can, when they can. And when so many people choose to help, $5 per person goes a long way.”

As far as her future plans and goals for Good Day, the female entrepreneur said she “would love for this to become something people look forward to participating in each month, whether it’s from buying bread, showing up to volunteer at an event, or simply learning about an organization that they never knew existed before and sharing it on their page.”

“There are hundreds of ways to support a charity and I’m excited to find ways to provide multiple avenues for people help.”

Fisher also thinks a lot about her late father Richard as she goes about her Good Day business.

“Each month on pre-sale day, I make a post with a punny name for people to comment if they want a link to order,” Fisher said. “My father and I shared a very similar sense of humor, and I know each week he would be rolling his eyes at whatever crazy pun I came up with.”

When it comes down to it, her parents “are at the forefront of everything I do” and she tries “try to find small but quiet ways to incorporate them into everything I do.”

“Not to make them proud, because they already were, but because they were both taken from me far too soon,” Fisher said. “Their passing taught me how to live. It reminds me every day how I want to be remembered when I’m gone.”

She is spending her Mother’s Day weekend down in Florida celebrating Deyana’s graduation from the University of Miami — and remembering her own mother.

“She taught me so much about being brave enough to begin a new adventure at any age and be confident enough in myself to know I’ll find a way for it to be exactly what I envision.”