Every organization has its sacred cows — those employees considered above reproach. Until now, you may have been able to justify their position. But as organizations are forced to rethink their staffing models, become leaner, and figure out how to move forward in today’s pandemic-ridden economy, it may be time to face the challenge of analyzing your approach to sacred cows.
Many staff members perceive that these sacred cows are able to work according to their own rules with few consequences for various reasons: personal relationships with leadership, strong technical talent, strong relationships with key funders or constituents, lineage to another super star who is critical to the organization. In some cases, these employees are considered sacred cows for reasons no one can ever really figure out. They flaunt their power and, everyone — including you, knows who they are and talks about them in whispers. Unfortunately, these sacred cows are a fact of organizational politics — and highly destructive.
Every employee commitment survey we administer includes some item related to “fairness,” often in the context of “My manager applies rules and consequences fairly and consistently in the department.” Nine times out of 10, this will be among the lowest rated metrics for organizations that are formally getting employee feedback for the first time. And, more often than not, these sacred cows are at the root of the fairness tree.
The perception of unfairness causes many employees to question their own value and how — or better yet, if — their contributions are really being appreciated by the leadership of the organization. Employees begin to wonder why they work so hard and give so much if the rewards are not fairly distributed. Employees also may wonder just what it takes to get ahead in the organization. And those companies trying to instill healthy corporate cultures — where recognition and rewards are based on performance, team behaviors, and modeling the values of the company — negate any significant progress by protecting the sacred cows.
For those in leadership, what to do? The first step is to recognize there is a problem. When questioned, leadership can get defensive about all the reasons this individual is really valuable, a key player, too hard to replace, has too many community ties, etc. You have your reasons. But weigh the perceived value of one or two problem individuals against the cost of a harmful negative influence on your culture and the rest of your employees. Reign in the mavericks and be sure to apply the same standards to them as you do for the entire workforce. And make sure they understand you are serious.
Strong stakeholder relationships? The relationship needs to be with the organization and not one individual. Strong technical talent? Perhaps, but often behavioral nightmares for their colleagues. Spouses, siblings, in-laws and other relatives? They need to understand that they will be held to a higher standard simply because of the potential perception of favoritism.
An interesting exercise would be to ask your leadership team if there are any sacred cows in your organization and what they believe the impact to be. Then listen. You’ll know what to do.
Jan Breiner Frazier, the managing member of Planning Plus, LLC, has been a consulting professional since 1988. She has designed and facilitated strategic, annual, and operational planning sessions for a multitude of organizations. Her work with non-profit boards and associations has included strategic planning, board development, and committee structure.
As COVID-19 continues to change everything in our world and our communities, nonprofit organizations have stepped up to fill in the gaps and meet the needs of those who have been impacted. During the early stages of the pandemic, many nonprofit organizations were able to secure Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgivable loans and receive generous donations from individual donors and philanthropic institutions. These economic boosts enabled nonprofit organizations to increase and expand services to meet the urgent needs in our communities as the pandemic unfolded.
As PPP funding runs out, and donor fatigue settles in, concerns are increasing about the resiliency of nonprofit organizations as they navigate the challenge of fulfilling their missions with such little certainty on the horizon. Strong leadership and strategic thinking at the executive and board levels have never been more important as nonprofits not only strive to sustain through this time, but also build resiliency for the future.
At Hedges, we describe resiliency as an organization’s ability to weather crisis, sharpen focus, adapt to changes in the landscape, and emerge with the capacity to have even greater impact. We believe the responsibility of building resiliency ultimately lies with the board of directors in partnership with executive leadership.
The board chair is central to nonprofit resiliency and has a unique role in leading and influencing others through the COVID-19 crisis. Yet, many are unsure of how and where to focus energies among so many priorities. Here are four areas where board chairs can lead, engage and hold fellow members accountable, and foster organizational resiliency:
Evaluate, support, and compensate executive leadership. It is the board chair’s responsibility to ensure the full board is supporting the executive director’s success. At the very least, executive directors are entitled to an annual performance review to gain an understanding of where they are excelling and where they can improve. Too often, this process is lacking, which can leave high-performing executive directors feeling undervalued and low-performing executive directors keeping the organization from reaching its full potential. A strong board chair will lead a formal performance evaluation process, which is the foundation for a collaborative and effective working relationship between the board and executive leadership and ensures the organization has the executive talent needed to thrive. Board chairs seeking resources on this topic can begin here.
An effective board chair will make it a priority to partner with the executive director. Monthly one-on-one meetings, in which the executive director shares what is going well, where they are feeling challenged, and what support they need, ensures the board chair is in tune with the organization and its leader. If the executive director is not meeting expectations, the board chair has the responsibility to clarify expectations and engage the board in identifying supports and resources that can help the executive director succeed. Professional development opportunities, including coaching, mentoring, and training, are a few examples.
Additionally, the board should review the executive director’s compensation package to ensure the organization is always able to recruit and retain top talent. The Central Indiana Salary Survey Report, published every two years by Charitable Advisors, is an invaluable resource containing local compensation and benefit data. It can be downloaded here.
Be a fundraising champion. The board chair does not need to be a fundraising expert but does need to be a fundraising advocate. A strong board chair educates and influences fellow board members and executive leadership to double down on fundraising efforts now in the interest of the long game. First, the board chair can urge fellow members and the executive director to avoid cutting fundraising expenses as a short-term fix, as it will have long-term consequences. Second, an effective board chair sets the expectation for and executes 100% board giving to the organization. This includes facilitating conversations among board members to determine individual contribution levels or a combined board goal, monitoring board gifts, and making asks of those who have not yet given. Third, the board chair reminds fellow members they are expected to introduce individuals in their networks who may be potential donors. This can be done in a variety of ways and staff can play a facilitating role. Lastly, a strong board chair champions board engagement in stewardship efforts through such activities as donor thank you calls and letters.
Indianapolis social entrepreneur Jeb Banner, in this article published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, provides further insight into why every nonprofit board needs fundraising champions.
Build operating reserves. The importance of the rainy day fund has become abundantly clear in 2020. According to experts, three months of cash on hand is a bare minimum to safeguard an organization in times of uncertainty. Yet, data shows that 32% of nonprofit organizations have less than three months of operating reserves and 62% have six months or less (2018 State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey, Nonprofit Finance Fund).
While it can be difficult to secure operating capital above and beyond annual expenses, it is not impossible. A strong board chair will address the need for establishing, restoring, or increasing operating reserves to build short and long-term stability for the organization. Once there is board agreement, a policy should be created and approved to outline appropriate minimum and maximum thresholds, how funds will be invested, and how funds can be used.
The board chair should encourage the finance and development committees to work in partnership to create a strategy and a timeline to secure unrestricted funds that can be held in reserves, most likely from loyal donors who have demonstrated support to the organization over time. Jill Robisch, vice president and senior business development officer, Nonprofit Services, The National Bank of Indianapolis, encourages nonprofit organizations to hold short-term funds in a liquid fund like a money market account that is governed by a short-term working capital policy.
Longer-term investments should be guided by the organization’s investment policy statement and held in longer term investments, such as equities and bonds. Robisch said that, over time, organizations should work toward having enough income generated from long-term investments to serve as the organization’s short-term liquid capital. A strong board chair will also hold the organization accountable for staying focused on building the reserve funds in accordance with the policy developed and agreed upon.
Make every seat count. As the proverb goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The same is true for nonprofit boards. Members are recruited with the expectation that they will bring their knowledge, skills, and expertise into the boardroom. And, yet, how many board seats are taken up by individuals who don’t attend meetings or are not meeting board expectations? A strong board chair will make every seat count by enforcing bylaws that call for the removal of members who do not make meeting attendance requirements or are otherwise not fulfilling the expectations of board membership. These conversations should be approached thoughtfully and carefully and provide an opportunity for the member to make a graceful transition from the board, potentially into another volunteer role within the organization with a lesser time commitment. Similar conversations should be had with members as they reach their term limit as determined in the organization’s bylaws.
Addressing board disengagement and term limits will create room for new board members, presenting an opportunity to deepen the organization’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity at the governance level. A strong board chair will task the board with revisiting the ideal board composition for the organization, ensuring that it is diverse and representative of the community, and make needed adjustments to member recruitment strategies. The board chair also should be responsible for creating a boardroom environment that allows all members to have equal voice. Organizations struggling to diversify their boards or provide an equity culture should seek outside sources, beginning with answering these initial questions from BoardSource.
Nonprofit resiliency is not a buzzword; it is hard work. With board chairs focused on best practices in nonprofit governance, including a willingness to support the executive director and lead others toward shared goals, nonprofits will weather this uncertain time ready for greater impact. This is their time to lead.
Erin Hedges founded Hedges in 2002. The Indianapolis consulting firm is focused on increasing nonprofit capacity and impact. Hedges, who is passionate about board leadership, currently serves as Board Chair for Dove House and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Alumni Board. She also is a past Chair for Joy’s House.
Nearly six months have passed since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Indiana. Since that time, the majority of the state’s nonprofits have faced significant challenges in maintaining services to support their missions, according to Indiana Nonprofits and COVID-19: Impact on Services, Finances and Staffing, a new report released by the Indiana United Ways and the Indiana Nonprofit Sector Project.
Of the 512 nonprofit organizations responding to a survey, 71 percent reported major revenue shortfalls since March 1 due to the pandemic; 60 percent reported suspending or ending programs; 67 percent cancelled a fundraising event; and 23 percent had laid off or furloughed staff. While the percentage of nonprofits reporting staff layoffs and furloughs was relatively low compared to other metrics, 43 percent reported greater demands on existing staff because of an absence of volunteers.
Report co-author Kirsten Grønbjerg, director of the Indiana Nonprofit Sector Project, Distinguished Professor at O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington, said the results were surprising because of the extent of the impact across a significant number of nonprofits. “I don’t think we have ever seen this kind of widespread impact before,” Grønbjerg said. “It’s drastic and intense.”
With previous economic downturns, Grønbjerg said, a portion of nonprofit organizations may have been impacted because of declining revenue. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has left few nonprofits spared, except those that provide essential services.
“Our findings point to an increased need for services that the pandemic itself created. I think the safety net nonprofits play for the community took a beating. How well they’re going to recover is the big question,” she said. “The CARES Act has been an important component in allowing them to continue to operate.” About half of the nonprofit organizations surveyed received loans under the Payroll Protection Plan under the CARES Act.
Kathryn Habecker, co-author of the report and impact and advocacy manager at Indiana United Ways, said that a significant number of Hoosiers were struggling even before the pandemic hit. New data on Indiana ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) families show that “more than one-third of Indiana households faced significant economic hardship well before the pandemic hit. Many already were just a paycheck, car repair, or medical bill away from disaster,” she said. “Unfortunately, many more have joined their ranks over the last three months.”
While the report detailed the extensive impact COVID-19 has had on nonprofits, it also revealed how organizations are implementing creative strategies as a way to continue to support the growing needs of residents impacted by the pandemic, Grønbjerg said.
Statewide, collaborations have been developed among nonprofits, United Way, foundations, local and state government officials, schools, chambers of commerce, hospitals, universities and major employers to determine how to best meet of the community, said Grønbjerg, citing a COVID-19 coalition that meets twice a week in Bloomington.
In the coming months, Grønbjerg said, these types of collaborations will become more essential since nonprofits play such a critical role in the community, especially during a time when eviction and utility shutoff moratoriums have started to expire.
“We view these developments as silver linings on otherwise very dark clouds. If nurtured and sustained over time, these collaborative efforts may provide the basis for stronger communities with better safety nets going forward,” Grønbjerg said.
By Shari Finnell, writer/editor Charitable Advisors
When Bryan Orander launched Not-for-Profit News in 2001, the internet had not yet reached its saturation point; only 52 percent of American adults reported using it at the time, according to the Pew Research Center. And Orander considered the e-newsletter as nothing more than a project to keep him busy while starting his consulting business, perhaps a tool that would help a few people find jobs, he recently said.
As NFPN celebrates its 20th anniversary year as an online weekly publication with more than 14,000 subscribers, Orander reflected on how the nonprofit sector of Central Indiana has navigated various changes during that period, including internet saturation, the economic recession of 2008, technology advances, evolving giving patterns, and, currently, the impact of a global pandemic and unprecedented racial equity protests.
Orander, founder and President of Charitable Advisors, a consulting firm, said no other period in the past 20 years fully matches the challenges faced by nonprofits today, but there were similarities during the economic downturn of 2008.
“From our vantage point — from 2008 to 2010, we saw job ads drop off, donations being directed to basic needs and away from the arts and the environment,” he said. “We’re now seeing a lot of the same things. Right now, at least, COVID-19 relief funds are being directed to human services and basic needs. That makes sense.”
Studies reveal that many nonprofits weathered the 2008 recession fairly well, Orander said, which gives him reason to hope that many of them will survive the current turbulent period. Here are some of Orander’s perspectives on the trends that continue to shape the nonprofit sector in Central Indiana.
Increasing dominance of the larger nonprofit: Orander said some of the same patterns that have dominated the B2B sector, including the decline of small businesses, seem to be playing out in the nonprofit sector.
“Looking at the bigger picture over the past 20 years, it appears that the nonprofit sector has evolved with more clearly defined, substantial nonprofits. It’s almost a case of the-haves and the have-nots,” he said. “The organizations that are able to hire the best people, invest in advanced technology and implement the best techniques are getting better and better at raising money and attracting donors. Meanwhile, a lot of other nonprofits are being left behind. And that gap is getting bigger.”
Changing profile of donors: Citing a 2019 report published by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI, Orander noted that the number of people donating has decreased from two-thirds of U.S. households in 2000 to slightly over half in 2016. “While overall charitable donations continue to slowly increase, the number of people donating is decreasing. We have a donating class and the rest,” he said. “People with less means are giving less, while people of means are taking over a bigger share of the giving.”
While overall giving hasn’t declined, Orander said, nonprofits need to be more strategic about how to target wealthier donors. “You have to be sophisticated at soliciting donations, and that seems to leave smaller nonprofits in a tough position because most have not developed major donors.”
Models of charitable giving are evolving: During the past 20 years, Orander also has noticed changes in the giving model — with some donors moving from a focus on organizations that align with their values to a model that generally focuses on a donor’s loyalty to a cause. “There are continuing studies on this, but it appears that charity and cause in terms of giving are viewed differently among different generations,” Orander said.
For example, he said, younger people are more likely to be loyal to a cause, such as environmental concerns, while older people tend to support nonprofit organizations that align with their passions and beliefs. Since younger generations may be more passionate about a specific cause, they may decide to give through an engaging online campaign or work for a for-profit employer that is dedicated to their cause.
Crowdfunding also has changed the charitable giving model, Orander said. “There are so many ways that people can give online; there’s now a fuzziness between charity and giving. A lot of people don’t discern the difference between giving to a food bank or to a worthy person through an on-line crowdfunding platform.”
Businesses competing with nonprofits for new hires: As a professional recruiter, Orander also has some perspectives about how hiring trends are impacting nonprofits’ ability to compete for talent.
“A positive trend is that the younger generation wants to be involved in a worthy cause. They want to make a difference, so they would traditionally be more likely attracted to nonprofits,” Orander said. “However, for-profit businesses have realized that their prospective employees want to be part of a making a difference, so they often affiliate themselves with a cause.”
Socially responsible companies have become so mainstream, that “the lines are kind of blurry between working at a nonprofit with a cause or a for-profit that has a cause,” Orander said. “Employees may determine that, either way, it’s possible for you to make a positive difference. But with some employers, you can make more money and still make a difference.”
Impact of starting a new nonprofit: While it’s not impossible, it is much more difficult to start a nonprofit with real impact than it was 20 years — even without the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, Orander said. “It may not be difficult to create one, but it’s harder and harder to rally the people and the resources to do anything with it,” he said. Many new nonprofits are created in response to a personal or family tragedy or loss and not because the community doesn’t already offer those services, Orander has observed.
The Future: As Orander looks forward to continuing NFPN’s role in the Central Indiana nonprofit sector, he foresees developing more opportunities to connect people, organizations and resources, with a focus on informing and inspiring through the news and stories it delivers.
“When we first surpassed 10,000 subscribers, I knew we were really helping to connect and inform people in the local nonprofit community. We had become the go-to place for jobs and news,” Orander said. “It felt like we were making a difference. I feel the same way now. It’s been an interesting and humbling experience.”
Nonprofit organizations on the frontlines of supporting immigrants, refugees and other foreign-born residents have been regularly encountering challenges to ensure critical, sometimes life-saving, information is adequately relayed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to language barriers, these individuals are more likely to be employed in jobs that put them at higher risk for infection, are denied unemployment benefits, lack health insurance, and have fears about accessing medical care and resources — all factors that jeopardize their ability to navigate the pandemic, according to several local nonprofit organizations.
“Those of us who are fluent in English are struggling everyday to understand COVID-19,” said Dana Harrison, interim executive director of the Immigrant Welcome Center. “‘What did the governor say? What is going on with schools?’ It’s changing daily.” For foreign-born newcomers, those COVID-19 directives — from stay-at-home orders to how to protect themselves from the virus — can be extremely difficult to understand, Harrison said.
Rethinking the ceiling for grantmaking in a time of crisis
During the past 18 years, board members of The Clowes Fund have been invested in understanding the challenges facing immigrants and refugees as they shifted their focus to supporting those populations and workforce development initiatives.
When the pandemic hit the U.S., a subcommittee of Fund board members and staff immediately gathered to determine how it could best meet needs in the community. Realizing they didn’t have the resources of larger foundations, The Fund was intent on making a significant impact through a more concentrated effort.
“We used to be one of the largest foundations in Indianapolis,” said Elizabeth A. Casselman, executive director of The Clowes Fund, Inc. “That’s no longer the case. We work hard to find our lane. We were looking to find the gaps and then identifying the organizations that were working to fill those gaps.” The result was a plan to distribute unsolicited funds to current grantees, allow for more flexibility with an unrestricted grant format, and focus on program areas with the highest needs, including immigrant services and workforce development.
Just a few weeks later, the Fund awarded 21 small emergency grants totaling $220,000 to numerous organizations, including Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, the Undocumented Hoosiers Fund of the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance, administered by Broadway United Methodist Church, and other organizations that serve populations who may not be eligible for other types of relief funding.
The unexpected grants came as a welcome surprise for many of the organizations that received them — giving them the support to continue their mission in the midst of an uncertain and turbulent period.
However, the extent of the damage caused by the pandemic weighed heavily on the board members, who started questioning if they had done enough, Casselman said. “There was a strong sentiment among Clowes family members and non-family members that it does no good to sit on these assets when there’s such a great need. We were worried we would look back and say we took too safe of a position.”
They were already familiar with the math that guided decisions throughout the foundation’s 68-year history — across four generations of the Clowes family. “With a foundation, the only legal requirement is that we must distribute at least 5 percent each year,” said Casselman, referring to the value of net investment assets. “Yet, all too often it begins to be interpreted as the ceiling rather than the floor.”
From a strictly financial standpoint, a conservative approach — the 5 percent floor/ceiling — also would have been the most responsible decision for ensuring that the foundation exists into perpetuity, continuing to support the intent of the founders’ mission, Casselman said.
“If you have several years of 6 to 7 percent, you can pretty quickly erode your funds,” Casselman added. “We realized those policies served us well in the long run. But these are exceptional times. And exceptional times demand an exception response.”
As a result of that strong sentiment among the board, including family and non-family members, the Fund doubled its grantmaking commitment by spending an additional 5 percent more than its typical grantmaking through a $3.2 million draw from the corpus of its endowment in 2020. Through The Clowes Fund COVID-19 Plan, the board approved spending an additional $2 million in grantmaking for 2020 and reserved $1.2 million to supplement grantmaking in 2021.
“Failure to respond in an exceptional manner would likely cause the Fund board and staff to look back with regret,” said Edith Bowles, Clowes Fund vice president. Bowles said they believed it is possible to make an unprecedented decision without damaging the long-term fiscal health of the foundation.
Meeting needs in challenging times
As with its previous response, the Fund quickly distributed unsolicited and unrestricted grants in July — in amounts ranging from $50,000 to Exodus Refugee Immigration, Inc., to $150,000 to Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) for a comprehensive set of loans for minority-owned businesses. Median grant size was $40,000, significantly higher than Clowes Fund grants awarded in previous years.
Harrison of the Immigrant Welcome Center, as well as those of other organizations supporting the immigrant, foreign-born and refugee population of Indiana, were immediately met with challenges in the midst of the pandemic. “The challenges were always there … language barriers, higher risks of infection, an inability to qualify for government resources, lack of health insurance,” Harrison said. “They intensified with the pandemic.”
Every day, the Center intervenes on behalf of immigrants, ensuring that they’re getting access to food pantries, and unemployment benefits, rental assistance and healthcare they’re entitled to but are afraid to access.
Language barriers are especially problematic in a state with inadequate language translation options.
“When the government first issued stay at home orders, some families would not open their front doors or leave their homes, endangering their lives because they were critically low on food,” Harrison said. “In their world, when the government says stay at home, they stay at home.”
Immigration status concerns also instill fear among individuals who are undocumented, Harrison said. With the public charge rule, there is also widespread concern that applying for social benefits could jeopardize any chance of being granted legal permanent resident status, Harrison pointed out. “It’s been very successful in putting absolute terror in our immigrant population,” she said.
The Clowes Fund grant, along with other grants from other foundations, came at a critical time, Harrison said.
“The size of the grant we received from the Clowes Fund gave us some critical breathing room — the freedom to keep on some temporary staff members on a more permanent basis. We did not have to operate in financial fear,” Harrison said. “We were absolutely stunned. It helped transform our year.
“If we had not received that money there would have been the prospect of very hard decisions on the horizon, including reducing positions to part time,” she added.
Cole Varga, executive director of Exodus Refugee Immigration, Inc., said the organization has been focused on meeting the needs of refugees who have been displaced from nations like Syria, Burma, and Yemen under troubling circumstances made even more challenging because of the pandemic. In addition to helping refugees get settled in apartments, schools and jobs, the organization regularly helps them understand basic living skills, such as writing a check, purchasing groceries and accessing health care and social services.
As the impact of COVID-19 intensified, the Exodus team ramped up their efforts to assist refugees in applying for unemployment, and rental and utility assistance. Those efforts were complicated because of language barriers, said Varga, noting that Exodus provided interpretation. “Different government agencies are a bit behind with equality in terms of language access,” he said.
“Unemployment in Indiana has a massive backlog, making it even more difficult to navigate if you don’t speak English,” Varga added. “Some of them didn’t even have WiFi. It would have been impossible if we had not helped them out.”
Because of the added complications of applying for benefits as a non-English speaking resident, unemployment benefits sometimes didn’t arrive for more than two months. As a result, some families were unable to buy food or pay rent and utilities during that time, Varga said.
Grants have helped refugees face difficult circumstances, especially during the period in which Congress has debated on how to move forward with unemployment benefits, Varga said. “The Clowes Fund helped remove those barriers.” he said. “When a single mom lost her job at a restaurant, we were able to stand in and help fill in the gap.”
As part of its mission, La Plaza, Inc., another Clowes Fund grant recipient, provides one-on-one counseling to Hispanic high students to improve their chances of graduating from high school and college. The team also provides support to the families of the students, ensuring that they receive healthcare, utility and rent assistance, and other resources.
The pandemic complicated the ability to deliver those services because most of the engagement had been in person, said Miriam Acevedo Davis, president and CEO of La Plaza, Inc.. Also, La Plaza was sensitive to the increased need for mental health counseling as well as helping families understand the signs of anxiety and depression.
“It was an enormously scary time,” Acevedo Davis recalled of the first several months of the pandemic. “We were serving an area that had been identified as a hotspot, based on a lot of the information we had.”
La Plaza team members initially worked from home, ensuring that the families they served were adequately protected with PPE, medical services, food, childcare and other resources. Additionally, they were sorting out the complications of working with some students who were trying to study from home without WiFi or had the responsibility of caring for younger siblings.
Acevedo Davis described the Clowes Fund grant as extraordinary for several reasons. Not only was the grant unsolicited, it was issued quickly and without restrictions.
Acevedo Davis said those factors were critical. “We did not have to worry about writing a report about what we’re going to do and anticipated outcomes, or spending a lot of time tracking it,” she said. While La Plaza has processes in place for reporting and tracking, additional restrictions would have been difficult to complete at a time when employees were working from home and working hard to meet the needs of the community they served, Acevedo Davis said.
“They (Clowes Fund) told us, ‘We want to get the money to you quickly. We know you’ll do a good job supporting the most vulnerable,’” Acevedo Davis said. “With those restrictions gone, we could move quickly so that students and their families could get the critical help they needed during a difficult time.”
Acevedo Davis said The Clowes Fund, along with other local funding sources, have provided critical support during an incredibly challenging time for nonprofits and the communities they serve.
“We are in awe of how quickly our funding community moved to provide funds to organizations,” she said.
The Clowes Fund COVID-19 Relief Grants recipients included: Broadway United Methodist Church (Undocumented Hoosier Support Fund); Exodus Refugee Immigration, Inc.; Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, Inc.; La Plaza, Inc.; Local Initiatives Support Corporation; Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center, Inc.; Second Helpings, Inc.; Shepherd Community Center, Inc.; The Immigrant Welcome Center, Inc; and RecycleForce. Other awards were granted to organizations in New England states, including Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire and New York, and other regions.
