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May 31

The impact of IT on your customers’ experience

By Sponsor Insight

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

What is every company’s primary product? The customer’s experience. IT has an enormous impact on this overall experience. It begins with trust. A company’s trust is built upon the 3 C’s: consistency, emotional connection, and communication. Employees are critical in building that trust between the company and its customers.

Employees who are consistently empowered by processes and are ready and able to communicate will easily stay connected with their customers. They will be able to follow established guidelines to ensure the customer receives the best experience possible.

Excellent customer service is becoming more and more challenging now that customer expectations and 24/7 workforces are increasingly becoming the standard at the same time our capacity is diminishing amid the great resignation.

So, to understand IT’s impact on the customer experience, we must first understand its impact on culture.

“The customer is always right, right?” At the end of the day, for customers to come first, our culture must come first.

An exceptional customer experience wins and retains loyal customers. So how do you make your customers feel valued and listened to? A lot of it relies on your organization’s culture. Companies must build organizational cultures of treating employees well — as if they are customers, too. Finding a solid tech balance for employees and customers means checking some boxes before you decide to adopt another solution.

When is too much tech a problem? Being inundated with tech is a common problem in today’s marketplace. Finding a way to balance tech and customers’ experience is about creating an intelligent technology plan that aligns with your industry and mission. Tech can no longer operate successfully without such alignment.

Not including these processes can make a great experience for your customer impossible, and happy customers are the lifeblood and beating heart of any organization and organic, word-of-mouth referrals.

Many people will be inclined to leverage their technology to fill the gap, but is that really the best way? The problem we face is that the more tech we use, the more tech we must continue to manage, which requires expensive skill sets and nuanced management skills. IT plays a pivotal role in your customer’s experience.

Technology may increase efficiency, but it doesn’t necessarily improve effectiveness. As companies continue to look for ways to reduce costs and gain process efficiencies, they shouldn’t do so at the expense of the overall customer service experience and ultimate customer satisfaction.

These companies must realize that customers are individuals, with varying appetites and tolerance for technology. We must adapt to the customer’s platform and ensure that the technology we use does not get in the way of that overall experience.

May 09

Wheeler Mission CEO Rick Alvis reflects on decades of nonprofit service

By Feature

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

When Rick Alvis took over as CEO of Wheeler Mission in 1990, the challenges of homelessness seemed clear cut.

Alvis, who had previously served as CEO of an Evansville homeless shelter for 10 years, recalled the profile of the typical client at that time. “During the late ’70s and ’80s, a homeless person was really just an alcoholic,” he said. “We weren’t dealing with drugs. We weren’t dealing with mental health issues. If somebody would ask me to describe what a homeless person looks like, I could quickly say it was a white male that had an alcoholic problem and actually had a skill.

“Today, you not only have alcohol challenges, but you also see drug addiction and mental health issues,” said Alvis, who recently announced his retirement from Wheeler Mission. “It has significantly shifted over the past 40 years from being a simple problem to a very complex problem because you must deal with all three of those issues.”

Under Alvis’ leadership during the past 32 years, Wheeler Mission has undergone significant changes, many of them to address the increasingly complex challenges involved in alleviating homelessness. The nonprofit organization, which had 17 employees and a budget of $700,000 in 1990, now has the distinction of being Indiana’s largest nonprofit that serves people challenged with homelessness. Wheeler Mission, which currently has 175 employees and a budget of nearly $16 million, has navigated three mergers, expanded its reach to include women and children, implemented comprehensive programs to address the challenges of drug addiction, and launched a capital fundraising campaign that resulted in the development of the Wheeler Mission’s Center for Women & Children, a state-of-the-art building in Indianapolis that serves up to 367 women and children a day.

Leading through constant change

The ability to adapt to change, as well as proactively pursue change through innovation, has been at the core of Wheeler Mission’s growth, according to Alvis.

“As I look back, it helped me to continually look at our ministry and our programs through new eyes,” Alvis said. “One of my chief program officers always says, ‘Rick’s never satisfied with our programs. Well, that’s true. I’m never satisfied because I want to make sure that our programs are on the cutting edge. Leaders today can get bogged down with protecting the programs they created. I tell our team that it’s open season (on programs) when it comes to strategic planning. Nothing is sacred, even if I created it.”

One of the most challenging tests of that philosophy came when the organization faced a financial crunch in the midst of the Great Recession throughout 2008 and 2009, Alvis recalled. “We had to cut a huge chunk of our budget, which meant we had to cease some programming,” he said.

For an organization that dates back to 1893, determining which programs needed to be canceled was tough, Alvis said. “We had programming here at Wheeler since the Depression years that I decided I needed to go. That probably was among the hardest decisions that we had to make.”

As a leader, making decisions like that, which included cutting a youth outreach program, can also be unpopular, Alvis said.

“One of those programs was what had attracted me to Wheeler 32 years ago,” he said. “For me to let that one go was very hard.”

Throughout his tenure, Alvis said, it was key to make sure that donors’ dollars were being maximized and used appropriately. “We wanted to make sure we are doing the best possible thing that we can with programs. And if there’s something that I created that needs to go, then it must go.”

Expanding support through mergers and new programs

Seeking to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness also was central to the three mergers Alvis helped to lead during his decades of service to Wheeler Mission. He noted that the first merger with the Care Center in 2000 evolved from a need to better serve women and children. A merger with the Lighthouse Mission followed in 2006, and a 2015 merger with Backstreet Missions in Bloomington helped the organization strengthen services outside of Indianapolis.

“Those three mergers were very significant to Wheeler’s history. We wanted to do a good job of meeting people’s needs, not just men,” he said. “Prior to the merger with the Care Center, Wheeler didn’t have a residential program for women.”

In adapting to the changing needs of people experiencing homelessness, Wheeler Mission also invested in innovative offerings, including an addiction recovery camp on 300 acres. The Hunt Training Center in Bloomington, male participants undergo a six-month comprehensive program in which they cover topics such as anger, worry, biblical communication, relationships and change.

The program, which was launched in 2000, has been effective in helping the participants overcome their addictions, Alvis said. “It’s been great to see men come out of addiction and be productive people again,” he said. 

Although the COVID-19 pandemic limited the team’s ability to expand the program throughout 2020 and 2021, Wheeler is focused on increasing capacity and re-introducing a lodging component that allows family members to visit on weekends. “It allows us to minister to the entire family because the wife and children need just as much help as the man does,” Alvis added. “It helps them recalibrate their marriages and their relationships, which I think is key to the success of our program.”

In addition to providing a focus on addiction recovery at the camp, Wheeler also has made it an integral offering at its Center for Women & Children homeless shelter on East Michigan Street. 

As Wheeler Mission continues to evolve to meet the needs of people facing homelessness, it will always continue to rely on the generosity of its supporters, Alvis stressed.

“Individual donors contribute to 80 percent of our income,” he said. “We always encourage people to give, volunteer and donate food. Others can help by influencing the legislature in some ways to address homelessness throughout the state and in the city. And, of course, people can always pray for us because that’s our No. 1 need. That’s pretty cheap. Prayer doesn’t cost you anything.”

May 09

Considering a fundraising campaign? Key steps to ensure you are ready

By Sponsor Insight

by Andy Canada, senior consultant and director of data analytics, Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates

Many organizations are considering launching a campaign in 2022. Is your organization one of them?

An important undertaking like a campaign shouldn’t be entered into lightly. How do you know if your organization is truly ready to take this important step to fund the future aspirations of your nonprofit?

Here are some key steps to be thinking about as you are moving into campaign planning. It’s important to assess both your internal readiness as an organization to successfully execute a campaign and externally the receptiveness of the potential donor base to your campaign. Both aspects are critical to the success of the campaign. The goal in your planning phase is to ensure the internal readiness and external capacity are in alignment or you have a clear line of site on what needs to be addressed as campaign planning and the early phases of the campaign move forward.

What are key elements of organizational readiness for a campaign?

Organizational alignment around a shared vision: Does your board and leadership agree on a clearly defined mission? Can you articulate how philanthropic support will enable the organization to move closer to achieving that mission? Have you identified and achieved consensus on the specific campaign priorities and levels of support needed for each? Can you inspire donors with a transformational vision of how things will be improved with their support?

It is critical during the early stages of campaign planning that your board and leadership are engaged in the process and agree on the focus of the campaign. Many organizations utilize a strategic planning process to help identify the focus areas and then outline the role that philanthropy can play in helping to achieve each of the areas that have been identified. Creating a shared understanding and buy-in of the focus of the campaign is critical to the long-term success.

Internal fundraising operation: What is the overall health of your development program? Do you have the right structure, established policies and procedures, and a highly functioning CRM program to track donors and data?

Take time before you enter a campaign, to objectively look at your fundraising systems and operations and ensure you are positioned for success before the rigors of a campaign. You want to address any challenge areas in your operation prior to moving into campaign. This will allow the organization to focus its efforts on the campaign. Review your gift acceptance and gift counting process and ensure that your policies account for the various gift types that you will be soliciting. Will the campaign count deferred gifts or is it focused on liquid assets that you spend now for a building or launching a new program? Spend the time to think through the various opportunities so that you can clearly articulate the policies to donors when questions arise. This will minimize any challenging conversations or surprises along the way. Don’t forget to address the role of various gift options such as crypto currencies, real estate, etc.

Human capital — board and staff: Is your board engaged and willing to help open doors and assist with cultivation and solicitation of campaign donors? Will they make philanthropic gifts and be advocates for the campaign? Does your staff have the capacity to manage a campaign on top of current roles and responsibilities? Do you have the staff required to actively identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward campaign donors?

Successful campaigns require time and dedication from your entire organization. You need to ensure your CEO/President understands the commitment required to steward and solicit lead donors and can accommodate this important work. Evaluate your internal readiness to identify where you are strong and where you may need to improve. An internal capacity analysis can help ensure your current advancement staffing levels align with your potential donor pool. Prepare your board for a campaign by providing training on the impact they can have on the campaign and the ways they can be personally involved. You want your board and leadership team to go in with their eyes wide open to the important roles that everyone will need to play to make the campaign a success.

What are key elements of campaign readiness outside the organization?

Positive trends in current fundraising: Overall, you want to see your fundraising results on an upward trend. Ensure that you are raising the funds you need on an annual basis to fund your existing programs and operations before you look to move your organization forward. If that is not the case — evaluate why and determine what can be done to improve results. You should not only have a strong major gifts program, but also be hitting or exceeding your annual fund goals.

An engaged and informed donor base: Are your donors engaged in the life of the institution and do they know the organization’s direction? Make sure donors at the top and middle of the pyramid are informed and connected. It is critical that you have strong and established relationships with this group of supporters. Spend time before a campaign cultivating your donors, particularly the top 10% who could be lead donors to your campaign, showing them examples of what you are doing to fulfill your mission today and sharing your aspirations for the future.

Messaging and campaign components that resonate: Use your strategic vision and campaign priorities to develop a case for support. Test it with a sampling of your current and potential top prospects and incorporate their feedback. The campaign materials will allow you to share with potential campaign donors your exciting plans for the future and how their investment can help you get there. Donors need to understand the needs and your plan to meet those needs head-on with their help. If done well, you will go beyond, “We need a science building,” to describing its use and features as well as who will use it and what difference it will make in the future of the organization, those you serve, the community, and beyond.

Thoughtful planning for a campaign is an important benchmark for future success. Identify the elements you need to ensure are in place before launching this crucial fundraising effort. The time you spend up front to make sure you are prepared, pays off in greater success during your future campaign.

Andy Canada is senior consultant and director of data analytics at Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates, a strategic consulting firm located in Indiana that focuses on higher education. In his role, Canada focuses on campaign development and implementation, major and planned gift development, data analytics, and annual giving.

May 02

The tug-of-war of retirement

By Sponsor Insight

by Ann D. Murtlow, President and CEO, United Way of Central Indiana

My retirement clock is ticking. After more than four decades, it’s difficult to believe only a couple months remain for me as a full-time member of the workforce.

If I could describe what this feels like inside my head as of today, I would say it’s like the game tug-of-war. Two equally strong teams are pulling as hard as they can to force the other across the center line. On one side of my brain is Team Look Back and Reflect. The other is Team Dream On.

Team Look Back has been my focus since announcing my retirement early this year. I enjoy reflecting on my career — from my early days as a chemical engineer working in the utility industry to the leap from for-profit to nonprofit leadership at United Way of Central Indiana. Team Look Back is pulling with all its might and reminding me of so many United Way accomplishments, including how we built and strengthened relationships in the community, made important, data-informed decisions, advocated for strong public policies, increased funding to scale successful programs and initiatives and served our community during one of the most stressful times in its history. Personally, I’m also reminded of how lucky and proud I am to have worked alongside some of the brightest people who will now guide United Way into the future.

But in my head, Team Dream On is yanking on that rope just as hard as Team Look Back. I see a promising road ahead for United Way of Central Indiana. I’m energized thinking about the skills, passions, energies and determinations a new leader will bring to this organization and to our community. United Way is on the verge of a new strategic plan, and I have all the confidence in the world for the “Changing of the Guard” to jump in and set a new course for the years ahead.

In retirement, I am dreaming for some rest and more time with my family, but I will be cheering on my colleagues in the sector as they charge ahead and make an even greater impact in our communities.

By the way, this mind game of tug-of-war is exhausting. Until I turn in my office badge, I’ve decided to call a truce, put the rope down, and just be present during this unique time of my life and career. Most of all, I’m going to spend the rest of this time being truly thankful to hundreds of people in my career who believed in, guided, counseled, debated and energized me.

To the United Way board and team, thank you for the challenge, the comradery, and the many victories. To United Way’s community partners, thank you for your constant commitment to excellence and compassionate care for any person who needs help. To our corporate partners, donors, volunteers and advocates, thank you for your extraordinary generosity, your presence and your voice. To all of you, thank you for believing that when we put our brainpower and resources together, we can be successful in solving our community’s most complex and stubborn social issues.

Once the clock’s buzzer sounds on June 30, I’m turning it off. In fact, I’m turning off all the alarms. I imagine a new game of tug-of-war will begin in my head, but this time, it’ll be Team Sleep vs. Team Where Can I Be of Service?

Ann Murtlow

Apr 25

Get inspired to set a vision for your nonprofit

By Sponsor Insight

by Jan Breiner Frazier, owner/managing member, PlanningPlus

The HISTORY Channel has created a series of excellent documentaries around the topic “The … that Built America,” including “The Men Who Built America” and “The Food That Built America.” The topics primarily center on the 1920’s and beyond with the genius of Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie and Ford, as well as Hershey, Mars and the Kellogg brothers. And, in case you think only men made the list, Marjorie Post took over the business run by her father, C.W. Post, and further developed it to become General Foods.

While many of these industry leaders used any means possible (especially since most regulations were lax in those days), including implementing actions that would be considered highly unethical by today’s standards, their visions are still awe-inspiring. They were able to grasp and look beyond the current challenges facing them as well as those well into the future.

What can we learn from the stories about these leaders? And what do they tell us about leadership today?

Search “leadership” on Google or whatever search engine you use, and you will find a plethora of articles about what makes a good leader. But looking back at the 20’s, these are common characteristics.

  1. Vision. They saw beyond their immediate environment and envisioned how they could change the world on a large scale.
  2. High degree of risk taking. They were willing to bet all they had on their envisioned success, even if they stumbled and fell as they built their companies.
  3. Perseverance. Many of them saw doors slammed in their faces, endured the criticisms of families and friends, and constantly faced challenges with money. Yet they pursued their dreams even in the face of opposition and naysayers.
  4. Passion. While their heads took the logical pathways, their hearts stayed true to their course.
  5. Goal to improve lives. This may sound a little touchy feely, but Henry Ford wanted the middle class to afford cars, Madame C. J. Walker wanted hair products for a market no one else was addressing, and Kellogg’s corn flakes began as a health food to cure many ailments.
  6. Trust building. They were able to create a small army who believed in the vision and trusted their leader to make it come true, even through many stumbles and falls.

How can we channel that today? Is there still a need for vision?
In the nonprofit world, leaders today need all these attributes. When we engage clients in strategic planning, we encourage them to look beyond the future of just their organization and toward a vision for our city, state, region and even beyond. What do you want the world to be like for your population of stakeholders? How can you broaden that vision to include the lives of those outside your domain?Imagine. Then determine your piece of making that vision happen (what we call “mission”).

As for those other qualities, they really can’t be taught as they are innate at best. But once there is a dream — a vision, if you can build a team that can handle the risk, persevere, and have a worthy goal, you can usually encourage others to go along with you for the ride.

Apr 25

Re-imagining an environmental mission with a lens on equity

By Feature

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful outlines a strategic plan focused on vulnerable neighborhoods

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

When developing its current strategic plan, team members of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc., (KIB) had no intention of overhauling the mission that had served the organization for more than 40 years — making it Indiana’s largest environmental community engagement organization.

Yet, they understood the critical need to advance racial and social equity in the wake of increased awareness about those challenges in recent years, according to KIBI President & CEO Jeremy Kranowitz.

Jeremy Kranowitz, KIB President & CEO

That type of work wasn’t necessarily new to KIB. “We have always looked at parts of the city that needed to improve tree canopy and focused our energy there,” Kranowitz said. “There’s more to do in some parts of the city than in areas like Eagle Creek or Geist.”

After devoting months to shaping its strategic plan, the KIB mapped out a four-page document that clearly outlines a path for further investing in vulnerable neighborhoods. The plan, which includes a commitment to in-depth research and agency-wide awareness about its mission, has given KIB a deeper appreciation for how its environmental mission can positively impact vulnerable neighborhoods in more ways than its founders had originally imagined, according to Kranowitz.

Through new partnerships, research, and projects, KIB is increasingly realizing that the practice of planting trees and creating green spaces has more than aesthetic value, Kranowitz said. These types of environmental projects can enhance well-being and health outcomes as well as contribute to a decrease in criminal activity, he added.

Collaborating on a shared vision

For example, through a partnership with Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), KIB is helping to analyze levels of lead in the soil of underserved communities. As part of the transformation of an abandoned lot into a green space in a Far Eastside neighborhood, KIB and IUPUI will measure the lead content in the soil before and after the development to determine if levels diminished. The project is being funded by a $10,000 grant from CareSource.

“Exposure to environmental contaminants severely impacts brain development of children in many neighborhoods, and this impact is seen disproportionately in lower income communities of color,” said Dr. Gabriel Filippelli, executive director of Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute. “By engaging with community members in the process of collecting and interpreting environmental data, we can help to activate communities for positive change — including supporting the expansion of urban green spaces, which improve community health and counteract negative effects from climate change.”

If the development of the green space results in lead abatement in the previously abandoned lot, the team will identify other sites that meet similar criteria for intervention, Kranowitz said.

The partnership came naturally, Kranowitz recalled. “There’s an interesting overlay between health and environment,” he said. “The project grew out of some conversations about shared concerns. It was interesting to us because we were creating a great space there. We didn’t we didn’t write the strategic planning with the intent of getting the grant.”

The identified neighborhood also was of interest to CareSource because the insurance company has numerous clients who live in the area.

Kranowitz said that KIB will continue to explore how its focus on environmental projects can have positive outcomes beyond those it already has identified. In addition to health benefits, KIB is seeking to better understand the impact of environment projects on levels of crime.

He noted that a team at the University of Michigan, which has been researching various ways to reduce violent crime, found that incidents declined in urban neighborhoods where vacant lots were regularly mowed, compared to vacant lots that remained neglected.

Kranowitz believes that type of research can have a far-reaching impact if further explored. “What if we’re planting pollinator friendly plants and fruit-bearing trees, installing play areas, and creating a space where the community can intentionally engage in a previously abandoned lot? Is that going to create an even bigger drop in violent crime?” Kranowitz asked. “My hypothesis is that it will.”

A user-friendly strategic plan

In developing its strategic plan, KIB also recognized the advantages of keeping it concise and user-friendly, Kranowitz said. The condensed four-page document outlines KIB’s mission and vision as follows:

Mission: KIB’s mission is to engage diverse communities to create vibrant public places, helping people and nature thrive.

Vision: KIB sees a beautiful Indianapolis that is loved, cared for, and ecologically rich. A city defined by strong neighborhoods, inspired places, and a clean, flourishing environment. KIB will engage and empower people to improve environmental equity throughout the city.

One of the key components of KIB’s strategic plan is the Key Neighborhood Identification Tool (KNIT), an approach that ensures impact in vulnerable neighborhoods in intentional, rather than incidental, helping the organization identify neighborhoods throughout Indianapolis where KIB resources can have the greatest positive impact.

As a result of using the tool, KIB was able to identify 10 focus areas “where social vulnerability is highest, tree canopy coverage is lowest, litter is highest, and KIB’s past involvement and use of resources has been lowest.” The strategic plan also emphasizes the importance of building relationships among the residents of each area, ensuring that any projects are collaborative.

Kranowitz said that the concise strategic plan ensures that every employee understands where they fit within the organization.

“There are a few key objectives that we’re trying to reach within each of those goals,” he said. “They are made evident to everyone on staff. An entry-level employee will understand where they fit in, how their job helps us accomplish this objective, which is helping us achieve this overarching goal, which is making a difference in Indianapolis. Everyone understands the role they’re playing and how that helps us achieve and accomplish our mission.”

Apr 18

6 Ways to Boost Employee Engagement and Retention

By Sponsor Insight

Submitted by Purple Ink

Employee engagement and retention are top of mind these days as “The Great Resignation” rages on. Workers are becoming less willing to accept policies they don’t agree with, treatment they don’t deserve, and negative impacts on their mental health. They’re leaving organizations that don’t meet their needs and searching for ones that do – and with so many positions opening up, they’ve got plenty of options to choose from!

If you’re looking to avoid the fallout from “The Great Resignation” (or recover from it!), we’re here to help. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but these are some areas you should consider.

  1. Rethink Compensation
    Engagement is not all about money, but it is important. It’s hard to stay positive and productive if you’re having trouble paying your bills. A compensation analysis can help you find out whether you’re offering competitive pay.
  2. Change your policies
    Are your policies and practices working for your team? Take a look at things like flexible work schedules, PTO, benefits, parental resources, etc. Accommodating your team’s needs may be the support they need to stay onboard. Don’t make assumptions, though! Not everyone wants the same things. Ask your team what they want and offer options that will meet different workers’ needs where possible.
  3. Invest in your people
    People stay longer at companies that give them opportunities for growth. Offering more development to your team may help you build loyalty. The good news is there are lots of different ways to do this. You can sign them up for a training series, send them to workshops and webinars, host training sessions in-house, set them up with a coach…the list goes on!
  4. Hire the right fit
    One often-overlooked way to improve retention is to hire the right person off the bat. If you can identify someone who’s going to be a great fit, not only for the role, but also for your organization, you’ve got a better chance of them sticking around for a while.
  5. Treat exiting employees right
    Unfortunately, sometimes you have to make the difficult decision to let employees go. When you do, offering them outplacement is a great choice, not only for your organization and the exiting employees, but also for the remaining employees’ morale. They’ll see you treating their departing coworkers respectfully and with compassion, leading to increased job satisfaction, productivity, and engagement.
  6. Think about workload
    If your team’s getting burned out from overwork, it might be a good idea to outsource some of that workload to someone else. An outsourced consultant can take on a project for you or take care of some day-to-day tasks to free up time for your team.

If your team is not engaged and turnover is high, it’s time to think about making some changes. Not everyone wants the same things, so the important thing is talking to your team and finding out what they’re looking for in the workplace.

And if all this seems daunting, don’t worry – Purple Ink can help with any of the items listed above and more. Reach out to us to talk about what HR solutions might be right for your team.

Apr 04

8 reasons to meet with a financial expert at tax time

By Sponsor Insight

by Dave Voris, vice president, regional treasury management officer, Horizon Bank

No matter your income as a nonprofit employee, tax time is a great time to meet with a financial services expert.

As all necessary tax information is gathered for income taxes, it is also valuable information for your trusted financial services specialist, who can guide you on the best financial products to meet your goals or your current needs.

When it comes to wealth creation, it can be difficult to keep track of all your sources of revenue and manage your money effectively to hit the short- and long-term financial goals you have identified.

To make wealth creation a smoother process for you and your family, developing a custom financial plan tailored to your situation and needs is vital. Below are some of the reasons to create a financial plan, if you haven’t done so already:

  1. Develop a values-based, multi-generational financial plan
  2. Analyze your entire financial picture for missed resources and opportunities
  3. Benefit from sensible advice from financial advisors, legal counsel, and tax accountants of your choosing
  4. Ensure that your goals and dreams for you and your children will be reached
  5. Reassure you and your family that your financial future is in good hands
  6. Determine your personal and financial retirement goals
  7. Learn how to protect your assets for future financial stability
  8. Discover retirement planning opportunities such as 401(k) plans, IRAs, or potential future inheritances

Think of your financial plan as a road map, of sorts, to help guide you towards your goals. A good plan should be centered on your specific needs, adaptable, trackable, and able to be modified. It should be reviewed and updated during your formal reviews.

Apr 04

How a local nonprofit is taking a different road to sustainable community development

By Feature

by Shari Finnell, editor/writer

More often than not, when Indianapolis neighborhoods like Riverside, United Northwest and Clifton Place are mentioned, the conversation is likely to veer toward what needs to be fixed. Or what’s wrong with them, according to De’Amon Harges, the co-founder of The Learning Tree, a nonprofit focused on using asset based community development (ABCD) to change that narrative about many low-income neighborhoods.

This approach to sustainable community development avoids a focus on handouts — or outside solutions — for challenges like food insecurity, food deserts, high unemployment, vandalism and crime.  Instead it explores the strengths, skills, resources and experience among the members of the community and finds ways to mobilize them into action to address those challenges. For The Learning Tree team, this work begins with one-on-one conversations with people in the communities they support.

Harges, who also consults with organizations globally about ABCD, offered an example on how it can differ from prevailing approaches used by many well-meaning organizations and government agencies.

When a beautification project was launched to enhance Indianapolis urban communities, including the ones served by The Learning Tree, artists were called upon to apply for a grant for the project. “There was probably $150,000 on the table to pay someone else from outside to do the work,” Harges recalled.

Because of their previous interactions with residents throughout the communities of Riverside, United Northwest and Clifton Place, The Learning Tree team already had identified 45 artists who were capable of producing the artistic pieces.

“We ended up getting that grant, putting that money into the hands of people with talent right here in the neighborhood,” Harges said.

Indianapolis Deputy Mayor Jeff Bennett, who became aware of Harges’ impact in local neighborhoods more than 15 years ago,  said the relationship-driven approach to community building has numerous advantages. “There is more to community development than just dollars in, dollars out,” Bennett said. “As much, if not more, impact can be made at the human level through relationship building. So, often at the government level, we can be so top down. We devise and fund programs that we think communities want or need without listening to what a neighborhood says it could use in order to direct their own future.

“That’s where an organization like the Learning Tree excels so well,” Bennett added. “They can get to the heart of a neighborhood’s concern much more quickly and comprehensively than other organizations that do community development.”

Transforming neighborhoods, one individual at a time

ABCD is not new as a methodology for the sustainable development of communities. During the 1990s, John L. McKnight and John P. Kretzmann of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, coined the term. They explored the benefits of this approach in the book, Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing A Community’s Assets.

Broadway United Methodist Church, located on the city’s Near Northside, followed the guidance of ABCD about 20 years ago when a pastor tapped Harges to become a “roving listener.” In that role, Harges engaged in one-on-one conversations with his neighbors throughout the surrounding urban neighborhood.

Instead of focusing on what was wrong with those neighborhoods, Harges sought out meaningful connections as a way to discover talents and gifts among his neighbors, which in most cases, were previously hidden from view.

He continues those types of conversations in his role at The Learning Tree.

Tysha Ahmad, owner of Mother Love’s Garden, is among the neighbors he connected with while walking through the area. 

Ahmad had already unknowingly put ABCD into practice by teaming up with a group of neighbors to develop a food co-op after Marsh grocery stores in the area simultaneously closed, creating a food desert. Ahmad retired from her work in the insurance industry to become an urban farmer, producing produce to support the co-op. 

“Those who have the means pay more for a bag, which helps cover the costs for those who don’t necessarily have the means, including seniors and those who have SNAP or EBT,” Ahmad explained.

And after that chance encounter with Harges, she now regularly hosts a summer camp to teach youth about growing produce, agricultural careers and the health benefits of fruits and vegetables, a project supported by The Learning Tree. 

Other projects that have developed under The Learning Tree include a bike shop run by local youth as part of a summer program, workshops hosted by entrepreneurs who have been tapped to coach youth in business skills; living documentaries captured by poets, storytellers and photographers; and regular community gatherings catered by neighbors.

“There are people in neighborhoods, especially Black and brown neighborhoods, whose talents are untapped,” Harges said. “We need to find those gifts so they can be utilized in ways that build community, economy and mutual delight.”

Mar 21

Employers must promote a culture of mental health, local experts say

By Feature

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

Whether COVID-19 rates continue to decline or experience periodic surges, the need to proactively implement comprehensive mental health solutions in the workplace will persist in the coming years, according to local mental health experts.

Employers must recognize the importance of addressing mental health among their employees in the wake of job losses, occupational stress caused by long work hours, and illness and death, said Kimble L. Richardson, a licensed mental health counselor and manager of business development for Community Health Network, Behavioral Health.

“Many people are still a bit traumatized by what happened,” said Richardson, who led emergency response efforts throughout Marion County and surrounding counties as the coordinator of the Resilience and Emotional Support Team (REST). “We initially had to put our emotions on the back burner so that we could just make it through. We need to encourage people to have discussions about mental health being important. It will continue to be important, hopefully ad infinitum, but especially at an intense level for the next several years.”

Jennifer Stansbury Miller, program manager of the Be Well Crisis Helpline, which was launched by Mental Health of America (MHAI) in partnership with the state of Indiana’s Family Social Services and Administration, said that there are no immediate plans to discontinue the helpline, which was implemented in response to the pandemic.

As of March 16, the helpline, which can be accessed by dialing 211, had received 34,561 calls since July of 2020, when it was introduced, and continues to average a significant number of calls daily. During February of 2021, the center received 1,713 calls. In February of 2022, they fielded more than 2,000 calls — an increase of 20.66 percent, Stansbury Miller said.

The spike in numbers can be attributed to numerous reasons, including word-of-mouth about the helpline, increasing awareness or a gap in mental health providers throughout the state, Stansbury Miller said.

“What we have seen overall in the profession is an increase in need for mental health solutions,” Stansbury Miller said. “And when you look at mental health, by definition, it’s emotional and psychological well-being. It’s not necessarily a mental illness. Somebody could just be having a bad day and still need support.”

Similar patterns on mental health have emerged nationally, according to the 2021 Mental Health at Work Report, released by Mind Share Partners in partnership with Qualtrics and ServiceNow. The report, which was a follow up to a report released in 2019, revealed:

  • More employees left their jobs for mental health reasons, including those impacted by workplace factors like being overwhelmed with workload. About 68 percent of Millennials and 81 percent of Gen Zers reported leaving their positions for mental health reasons, up from 50 percent 75 percent respectively in 2019.
  • 91 percent of survey respondents believed that a company’s culture should support mental health, up from 86 percent in 2019.
  • 76 percent of respondents reported at least one symptom of a mental health condition in the past year, up from 59 percent in 2019.
  • C-level and executive-level respondents were more likely to report at least one mental health symptom than other respondents.

Shift in thinking about mental health

While there has been an increasing awareness about the need for mental health solutions, particularly in the wake of the pandemic, significant progress still needs to be made, Stansbury Miller said.

Employers will need to examine their workplace policies as well as increase awareness about the resources that are available, Stansbury Miller said. “In the space of nonprofit employees, public service providers, and companies overall, companies have a role to play in their employees’ resilience and mental health; their well-being overall,” she added.

Richardson said that employers need to shift their thinking about mental health, integrating it as a core part of the organization’s overall health policy.

“The importance of mental health is going to stick around,” he said. “If you don’t pay attention to it, it will show itself to you and it will ask you to pay attention to it — either in losing your staff or having to care for your staff in ways that are expensive. You don’t want your staff to have heart attacks or heart surgery.”

Richardson said employers can take both proactive and reactive approaches to introducing mental health solutions into the workplace, including introducing regular educational sessions on topics like building resilience and other resources tailored to the needs of their employees.

Stansbury Miller also said that employers should examine the workplace culture. “Self-care of the individual at work is everybody’s responsibility,” she said. If emails are going 24/7 after work hours, that is something to look at. It’s important to encourage those at the top to begin a culture of self-care and resilience. For example, make it a policy that there are no emails after a certain time. That’s something small that can make a difference to ensure employees don’t feel tethered to work and can get out and prioritize their mental well-being.”

Stansbury Miller also said that employers can encourage employees to take time off work, engage in self care, and use the benefits offered in the organization’s Employee Assistance Program, which provides confidential mental health services.

In addition to the 24/7 Be Well Crisis Helpline, employers and employees also can explore assessments and resources on mental health, wellness, substance use and recovery at www.bewellindiana.org.

“It’s been hard,” Stansbury Miller said. “As we’re coming off, hopefully, from COVID, we’re going to create these boundaries and fully address the mental health concerns we have seen during the past two years in the state. Folks can focus on improving their emotional well-being, get outside and engage in community, and build the resilience they need.”