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April 2023

Apr 24

ICON loan program critical to success of community development project

By Sponsor Insight
Before and after of WIDC project

by Citizens Energy Group

As executive director of West Indianapolis Development Corp. (WIDC), Lisa Laflin considers herself many things, including “dot connector, cat herder, and chainsaw juggler.” Many employees of community development corporations (CDCs) or other nonprofits probably can relate. Working to keep many plates spinning at the same time, Laflin is a passionate voice for affordable housing and the flourishing of neighborhoods served by WIDC.

WIDC has recently completed a housing project through the Investment Collaboration on Neighborhoods (ICON) loan program, an initiative from Citizens Energy Group that makes low-interest loans available to nonprofits and CDCs to facilitate such development projects. The program is designed to help CDCs access the financing they need to undertake important projects that might otherwise be too costly or too difficult to finance through traditional channels.

Laflin and the WIDC team purchased a home in The Valley neighborhood originally built by Habitat for Humanity but which had since undergone foreclosure. Despite being in a flood plain and thus ineligible for certain federal loan programs, WIDC secured a $100,000 loan from ICON to rehab the home and make it available as affordable housing with a 20-year deed restriction.

According to Laflin, the loan process, which took less than half an hour to complete, was the easiest she had ever experienced and faster to process than federal funding, even as WIDC follows federal guidelines on requiring multiple bids for comparison.

She also said the personal connections she developed with Rhonda Harper and Kenya McMillin, ICON program liaisons at Citizens, made the process smooth. “We’ll be able to have the loan fully repaid after the close of the home sale this summer, less than two years after the original agreement,” Laflin said.

Many other CDCs have been able to access low-interest financing through the program in order to undertake important community development projects since the program’s inception in 1995. With alumni projects including housing, community spaces, and arts spaces, the program is particularly valuable for CDCs that are working in underserved communities or tackling particularly challenging projects.

Laflin and WIDC are looking forward to their next ICON project. “I don’t know that I would do anything different with the loan process,” Laflin said. “We’re already planning to use ICON on future projects, and I would recommend it to other CDCs in need of financing — particularly for housing projects. I appreciate the program’s flexibility and efficiency, I am grateful for the staff’s support in making our project a success, and I commend Citizens’ commitment to the community in leveraging their resources to stand up this program.”

About ICON:
The ICON loan program can be a valuable resource for CDCs working to improve the lives of families and individuals through affordable housing and community development projects. The program’s low, simple interest rates make it an attractive financing option for CDCs that struggle to access traditional sources of funding. Previous partners have included Hawthorne Neighborhood; Hearts & Hands of Indiana; Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) Indianapolis; and Mapleton Fall Creek Development Corporation. ICON’s redevelopment efforts are in keeping with the mission of Citizens Energy Group to enhance quality of life and economic development in the communities it serves.

More information is available at: https://info.citizensenergygroup.com/community/icon

Questions can be directed to: ICON@citizensenergygroup.com

Apr 17

Do nonprofits have an image problem?

By Feature

Most Americans don’t think nonprofits are making much of an impact, according to recent IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy survey

by Shari Finnell, editor/writer, Not-for-profit News

Now, more than ever, nonprofit organizations have comprehensive insights about how the American public perceives them, thanks to a poll recently conducted by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

And the results point to a need for nonprofit leaders to do a better job of conveying the story of their impact and educating the public about nonprofits overall, according to Una Osili, associate dean for research and international programs at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

The new report, What Americans Think About and Nonprofits, revealed the following perceptions among the 1,334 adults who were interviewed for an average of about 17 minutes each. 

  • 80 percent of survey respondents said that in-kind, charitable, and direct person-to-person giving were very or somewhat important.
  • However, nearly 30 percent of respondents said that they believe nonprofits are on the wrong track; 17.6 percent said they are moving in the right direction; while 52.5 percent responded that they didn’t know. When the unsure responses were removed from the analysis, nearly 63 percent indicated that nonprofits were on the wrong track.
  • About 30 percent believe charities contribute a lot to society.
  • Only 5 percent said that they think they or someone in their immediate family has been helped by a nonprofit organization — a low rate, according to the report, considering that one out of every 11 Americans work for a charitable organization.

Osili noted that the survey also revealed that many people do not seem to grasp the definition of a nonprofit organization, especially when so few believe they have been helped by the industry.

“Even when people think about services that they received, they don’t always know that those come from nonprofits,” said Osili, noting that many survey respondents did not seem to understand that colleges, hospitals, cultural organizations, religious congregations, or groups that participate in advocacy drives related to the environment and civil rights can all be part of the nonprofit sector.

“There is a big information gap,” Osili said. “The nonprofit sector is a mix. Some nonprofit organizations, like many hospitals, actually have a fee-for-service model but people may not think of them that way.”

The survey respondents seemed to readily acknowledge their lack of knowledge about the industry. For example, when asked what they know about philanthropy, about two-thirds categorized themselves as “novices.”

However, according to the survey results, Americans seemed to have a better grasp of the work performed by certain groups, such as community foundations.

“Community foundations stood out because they are in close proximity,” Osili said. “People seem to understand what they do because they’re supporting their communities. These groups have more visibility.”

Other survey findings included the following:

  • 39 percent said they trusted nonprofit organizations completely or very much. The level of trust in nonprofit organizations varied depending upon the type. For example, 36 percent trust religious institutions; 31 percent trust community foundations; 23 percent trust secular nonprofits; and 20 percent said they trust private foundations. 
  • 14.3 percent said they had a great deal of confidence that nonprofit organizations could “solve societal or global problems, now and in the future.” That compared to 12.6 percent for religious organizations; 7.2 percent for state and local governments; 6.5 percent for the President/federal executive branch; 5.8 percent for Supreme Court, federal judiciary; 3.4 percent for Congress/federal legislative branch; and 3.3 percent for large corporations.  

Increasing awareness about nonprofits

The report by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy comes amid increasing concerns about the overall health of nonprofits.

In the report’s introduction, the researchers noted that they initiated the research during a time that the public’s perception of nonprofits have diminished. “Despite philanthropy’s long, deep traditions and importance to many Americans, recent data trends have surfaced that have rekindled concerns about the health of the sector,” the report authors noted. “Two such challenges are the declining number of donors and the general decline in trust in all institutions.”

Osili said nonprofits have an opportunity to increase awareness about their programs and impact without investing a significant amount of funds. “All organizations can do a better job of telling their stories, especially how they’re making a difference in the community,” she said. “It’s important not to assume that everyone understands this.”

She noted that nonprofit organizations can increase their storytelling efforts on social media and websites, and encourage employees, volunteers, community members, and board members to share the posts.

“Use the resources you do have,” Osili said. “It doesn’t always involve hiring a marketing firm or PR firm. Your website and social media can be powerful ways of communicating. During the pandemic, we saw even small organizations doing a good job of mobilizing support, recruiting volunteers, and getting their donors involved.”

Nonprofits also can develop creative collaborations and partnerships to enhance awareness about their efforts, Osili said. Instead of soliciting a cash donation from a corporate partner, consider asking for in-kind support for a marketing and PR strategy, she said.

“Make sure you get your message out, sharing the stories about how you’re making a difference because ultimately that is what makes for a vibrant and thriving nonprofit sector,” she said. “It can help in building trust in the sector.”

Apr 17

What is the Dark Web and is it safe?

By Sponsor Insight

by Cody Lents, partner and customer steward, COVI, Inc.

Merriam-Webster defines the “Dark Web” as “The set of web pages on the World Wide Web that cannot be indexed by search engines, are not viewable in a standard web browser, require specific means (i.e., specialized software or network configuration) to access, and use encryption to provide anonymity and privacy for users.”

The Dark Web provides people with a level of privacy and anonymity that the internet we’re all used to does not. That may sound appealing. However, many risks are associated with using the Dark Web. It can be a hazardous environment unless you’re well prepared for the potential online dangers.

For nonprofit organizations, public trust is essential. It requires little to no skill or expertise for inexperienced hackers — often called “script kiddies” — to deface nonprofit websites, steal data, or leak confidential information, harming an organization’s overall credibility. As a result, nonprofit organizations must remain vigilant and take proactive steps to prevent cyber-attacks and protect their sensitive data.

Script kiddies are individuals who carry out cyber-attacks using pre-existing tools and scripts, often without a comprehensive understanding of the underlying technology. Some script kiddies obtain hacking tools by accessing the Dark Web, where they can find forums and marketplaces to exchange information or purchase services related to cybercrime. These tools can give them unauthorized access to nonprofit organizations’ servers and lead to the exposure of sensitive data, such as donor information.

It’s worth noting that not all script kiddies use the Dark Web. Many of them rely on more conventional methods to access the software they need to launch DDoS attacks or plant malware. Nevertheless, they remain a significant threat to non-profit organizations.

Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are a common tactic used by script kiddies to disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted website. In a DDoS attack, a flood of internet traffic overwhelms the website, much like an unexpected traffic jam on a highway, preventing regular traffic from arriving at its destination. These attacks can cause websites to crash, resulting in a loss of donations, reduced visibility, and negative publicity.

The Dark Web comes with advantages and disadvantages, but using the space is never recommended.

Only about 4 percent percent of information can be accessed using search engines available on the conventional internet, also referred to as the Surface Web (what we’re all used to using all day, every day). The rest, which is not searchable on Google or Bing, is called the Deep Web.

The Dark Web is part of the Deep Web. The Deep Web consists of pages that are not indexed and can be accessed directly, while the Dark Web consists of pages and files that have been intentionally hidden and require specific software and protocols, such as the Tor network or the Freenet peer-to-peer platform, to access.

Anonymity is the main reason why people use the Dark Web. When you use the Dark Web, your information is protected from surface web spies, allowing you to browse without the worry of being traced or censored by authorities. Additionally, content found on the Dark Web cannot be found on the Surface Web, opening up a whole new world of content consumption for users.

You’ll likely hear a lot about Dark Web Monitoring around the holidays and commerce events such as Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. These are services that survey your information on the Dark Web and alert you when it is found. While there is value in knowing what has been leaked to the cybercriminal playground, these alerts often offer few, if any, actionable tasks to help you protect yourself.

For example, “Dear Mr. Covi, we’ve found your social security number on the Dark Web at example.org. Your information may have been released without your knowledge and is likely the result of a company’s data being hacked or breached.” – There is no actionable next step for you.

When the service or company you use for Dark Web Monitoring adds recommendations to your alerts, their value increases.

For example, “Dear Mr. Covi, there was a breach at www.thenexthackedcompany.com and your covi@gocovi.com email address was stored for that site. The breach included email addresses, passwords, and usernames. We recommend that you change your password for this site immediately and, if you use this password for other sites, change them as well.” – There are actions to be taken, but will you know how to take them and ensure that all necessary ones have been taken?

When the service or company you use for Dark Web Monitoring utilizes a layered approach to protecting your credentials and personal identifying information (PII), the alerts carry a similar value in and of themselves, but the management of the alerts elevates that value to protect your organization and your people by maintaining your cybersecurity risk posture and allowing everyone to stay focused on daily tasks and the meaningful work that aligns with your company’s mission and vision.

For example, “Dear Mr. Covi, there was a breach at www.thenexthackedcompany.com and your covi@gocovi.com email address was stored on the site. The breach included email addresses, passwords, and usernames. Our security team has sent links and instructions to the affected user(s) to reset their password(s) and has reviewed other known accounts for any repeated use, so that those can be reset, too.”

A layered approach to Dark Web Monitoring could look like this:

  • Credential Management
  • Dark Web Monitoring
  • Credit Monitoring
  • Fraud Protection
  • Complex Password Policy Management & Enforcement
  • Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) Enforcement with Single Sign-on (SSO)
Apr 03

Self-advocacy: A critical step in the fight for gender equity in the workplace

By Feature

Local leadership expert Jessica Gendron advises attendees of Indy Chamber women’s event to be proactive

by Shari Finnell, editor/writer, Not-for-profit News

Gender equity in the workplace — whether in for-profit or nonprofit sectors — is still far from a reality, based on the latest reports from various sources.

For example, while women in the nonprofit sector historically have fared better than those working in the for-profit sector, discrepancies still exist based on gender, according to a Nonprofit Quarterly report. For instance, women make up 73 percent of the nonprofit workforce in the United States. Yet, they only represent 20 percent of the CEOs of nonprofits with annual budgets of $50 million and 45 percent of all nonprofit executives.

Another report, “Negotiation and Executive Gender Pay Gaps in Nonprofit Organizations,”
found that executive compensation at nonprofits was 8.9 percent less for women than men when the executives had the option of negotiating their salaries.

Those were the types of gender equity challenges Jessica Gendron of The Center for Leadership Excellence recently discussed during Indy Chambers’ 2023 Women in Business Retreat.

Gendron, one of numerous speakers during the two-day retreat at The Alexander Hotel in Indianapolis, outlined seven female leadership competencies that she compiled after interviewing women executives throughout the nation.

When she asked them what was integral to their success as a female leader, the competencies of self-advocacy, self-awareness, resilience, courage, intuition, communication, and relationships emerged as commonalities. However, she said, self-advocacy ranked at the top of the list.

“Self-advocacy emerged as the most important competency,” she said. “As women, we are taught to be nice, collaborative, and helpful. We will go to war for our friends. But we will not do it for ourselves because it’s considered as being selfish. That’s a behavior that we’ve been conditioned to avoid. There are all these negative connotations about the idea of advocating for yourself.”

Gendron also said this type of work must begin with positions within the workplace, even in situations where it is clear that male leaders far outnumber female leaders. While some women may be tempted to avoid those types of work environments, Gendron pointed out, that is where an impact can be made,

“In order for us to have influence, power, and impact with the decision-making process, we have to be inside those organizations,” she said. “We must be in relationships with those people. It’s an inside job. We have so much influence when we are inside talking to the people who are already making the decisions.”

Women supporting women leads to progress

Gendron’s stance is supported by research that reveals a clear link between women representation on governing boards to the increased likelihood of a nonprofit organization hiring female executives.

In her report, “Scarce as hen’s teeth: Women CEOs in large nonprofits,” author Young-Joo Lee, School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, found that there was a correlation between the number of women represented on governing boards and the hiring of female CEOs.

Out of 340 human services organizations listed in GuideStar’s database with budgets of $10 million or more, those with a governing board with 30 percent to 50 percent females were more likely to have a female CEO than nonprofit organizations in which women were considerably outnumbered on the governing board.

Gender differences at the root of self-advocacy

During her presentation, Gendron also noted that societal norms and upbringing are also at the root of inequities based on gender.

“Men are conditioned to advocate for themselves from a very young age,” she said. “They will apply for jobs that they are not qualified for because ‘Why not?’”

She went on to stress that people don’t get things that they don’t ask for. “So many times, we think our bosses, partners, and friends are paying attention to what we’re doing and what we need. We think they are reading the signals but they’re not. Guess what? Your boss is trying to get their own pay raise or promotion. Your partner has their own stuff they’re worried about.”

Gendron suggested that women get in the habit of documenting their successes in the workplace to support their requests for a pay raise, promotion, or better working conditions.

Most workplaces, which are frequently led by men, value logic — like facts, reports, and statistics, she noted. “So we’ve got to show the data. Track your successes so that you can successfully advocate for a raise, a promotion, a title change — whatever it is that you’re trying to achieve,” Gendron said.

“If we are not getting the things that we need to have in our careers and our relationships, we have to be willing to speak up and ask for them,” she added. “That is the most crucial competency every single female leader I talked to referenced.”