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Nov 23

Expressing Gratitude for Those Who Have Invested in Others

By Sponsor Insight

by Kevin Kidwell, vice president, tax-exempt sales, OneAmerica®

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity… it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow’s future.” ─ Melody Beattie

I recently participated on a virtual panel on behalf of retirement plan advisors across the country. It was largely a nuts-and-bolts conversation, discussing the disruptive past eight months and talking about how to best serve employers and employees with tax-exempt plans in an environment where there’s so much up in the air. What was most impressive was how my colleagues opened the session with gratitude. They began by thanking all the financial professionals on the call who had gone above and beyond, despite the societal upheaval and its impact to their businesses. In short, they reacted by simply being there for one another.

Because it’s Thanksgiving week, and your family table likely will look a lot different than it has in years past, I wanted to focus on expressing gratitude to the community for all you have done, including even the smallest gestures. It’s also important to be grateful — acknowledging all that we have going for us.

Here are some of those reasons to be thankful:

Gratitude for your innovation
Think about all those organizations that rely upon outsiders to thrive. That might be the youngsters who come to nursing homes to read to seniors. Or Girl Scouts who stack shelves at a food pantry. Or parishioners who used to sing in the Sunday church choir. The pandemic has made the mixing of old and young populations impractical due to social distancing requirements. Volunteers and visitors comprise much of the ‘free labor’ that is so vital to a tax-exempt organization’s operations running smoothly — labor that is now curtailed or upended for the foreseeable future. Yet, you have managed to do more with less, bringing in creative solutions to deliver on your mission.

You also stayed sharp. The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) recommends that leaders hone their coaching skills and re-establish discussions with employees about achievements, areas for professional development, educational opportunities and the like. You lived out that recommendation. Despite being apart and shorthanded, employers encouraged empowerment of their staff and challenged themselves to do something differently or more efficiently, entering new territory to help raise the bar for the organization and expand their skill sets and capabilities. (OneAmerica’s Retirement Service division upped the ante ourselves after the pandemic by going beyond traditional retirement plan guidance and providing a holistic overview to our clients).

Gratitude for continuing to prioritize your employees’ financial security
Thank you to the employers who provided (and keep providing) their employees with a way to save for the future by maintaining a retirement plan, which has proved invaluable as a fallback. And kudos to those of you who bought into the idea of regular education to motivate workers. We’ve been astounded at those who continued to prioritize savings. In a world where many people live paycheck to paycheck, that’s really saying something.

Retirement plans provided a short-term crutch during the recent economic downturn. We’re grateful that the public and private sectors worked together in a bipartisan way to allow those accounts to be accessed with few or no penalties for those who needed the money most. We’re also grateful for employers who educated their employees about trimming household spending or modifying their budgets. Of course, we’re looking forward, in the near future, to when employees can get back to thinking long term regarding savings.

Gratitude for leaders who collaborated, connected and listened
According to a recent report from Upwork, production increased during the past eight months, despite team members having to collaborate from non-office locations.

Additionally, engagement scores went through the roof in many corporations as workers used technology to remain connected. This increased productivity occurred even though workers were simultaneously juggling homeschooling, caretaking and other stressors. Why was that? Great leaders who communicated, collaborated and connected with the workforce. They led by listening, understanding their employees’ unique needs and perspectives through a global pandemic and economic uncertainty. These leaders engaged with them on important dialogues about racial injustice and the need for positive change.

Gratitude for running a tight ship and being good stewards
Recognition should be given to employers who were consistent in their commitment to being good stewards of the organization’s resources and mission during an incredibly challenging time. We know that many of our clients have been with us for over 50 years and have experienced ups and downs that are part of the retirement journey.

Gratitude to work at a company that practices what it preaches
I am personally grateful for those organizations that live out their mission. We’ve had the same conversation internally. Our philosophy has been about being resilient, stable and putting Americans on the path to a secure retirement. That would not be possible without our own company being built to last and mutually strong by delivering on this five-part pledge:

  • The American retirement dream should be accessible to every American, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender or sexual orientation.
  • Each plan, and every employee participant in the plan, is unique.
  • Meaningful, individualized education is the key to empowerment; new solutions can be simple, approachable and help employee participants to plot a course to achieve their goals.
  • Customization is necessary to address individuals’ varying perspectives, situations and challenges.
  • Thoughtful plan design leads to better outcomes for plan sponsors and participants.

We are proud to be financial first responders, in a sense, to support leaders and their critical not-for-profit teams continue to prosper, adapt and look toward the future as they maintain their essential roles in support of our communities.

Thank you for your leadership and may you, your colleagues and all families enjoy warmest wishes during upcoming holiday seasons.

In Kevin Kidwell’s role as vice president of national tax-exempt sales, he works to provide ideas, knowledge, information – both technical and practical – in an effort to facilitate improved plan and participant outcomes. Kidwell has held various positions within the Retirement Services division since 1988. Beginning in 2000, his exclusive focus has been on health care and tax-exempt organizations.

Nov 09

Nonprofit tech leader and executive Jay Love outlines 7 trends and lessons to embrace in 2021

By Feature

Bloomerang CRO and co-founder encourages nonprofits to engage in out-of-the-box thinking to prepare for the coming year

With 2021 quickly approaching, there’s little doubt that nonprofits will continue to navigate the challenges caused by the unprecedented combination of a pandemic, social unrest, food insecurity and high unemployment rates. Yet, the year can represent a period of significant and, in some cases, much needed growth for small- to medium-sized nonprofits, according to Jay B. Love, Bloomerang’s Chief Relationship Officer and co-founder.

In sharing his insights on the best path forward in 2021, Love highlighted ways for nonprofits to better engage with corporate partners, supporters and volunteers, and explore more effective and cost-efficient ways to leverage technology. He also predicted that nonprofits will increasingly use artificial intelligence to develop meaningful relationships with supporters, and that two-factor authentication to enhance data security will become commonplace.

Here are Love’s insights:

1. Lean into the virtual lessons taught by COVID-19. “2021 is a time for thinking outside the box, as the old saying goes,” Love said. “We can still fulfill our mission without doing things the old-fashioned way.”

While the shift to a virtual work setting may have been initially painful for some nonprofits, the benefits of doing so can be long lasting, according to Love. “Every nonprofit has had to learn how to embrace technology in a greater fashion because of the need for so many of them to work from home,” Love said. “It caused a lot of systems to be revolutionized.”

As a result of the increasing reliance on web applications, nonprofits are now able to realize some of the advantages they bring, including streamlined processes, and more frequent touchpoints with supporters, volunteers and the community.

Now that a significant portion of the population has become accustomed to functioning in a virtual world, Love said, there will be an increasing acceptance of virtual connections. “I don’t think business travel is ever coming back,” he said. “People have realized that you can do business remotely and easily talk to people this way. For a lot of nonprofits, 50 percent or more of their workforce will continue to work from home. It’s not just the future. We all have lived with this pandemic and realized it works very, very well.”

For nonprofits, virtual connections can represent a bonus. It allows them to broaden their reach, as well as hire talent anywhere in the country. “You can live in Florida and work for a nonprofit in Indianapolis and do it very, very well.”

Meeting with a supporter or a board member can be as simple as finding a 30-minute slot on your calendars, without the need for travel.

2. Recruit tech-savvy board members. In 2021, as nonprofits increasingly leverage technology, some nonprofit teams may feel at a disadvantage because they don’t have the funds to hire a full- or part-time digital marketing professional. Love recommended analyzing your board composition to determine if there’s room for growth. “It’s very important to have board members who not only have the capability to help you embrace technology but who fully enjoy doing it,” Love said. “If every small nonprofit had one or two board members with those capabilities, it would help them bridge the gap.”

3. Seek partnerships with local tech companies. In addition to recruiting assistance from board members, Love recommended developing partnerships with local tech companies to recruit tech-savvy volunteers. “There are about 150 tech companies in Indianapolis. If someone were to contact them, they would love to do volunteer work in some way, even if it is remotely,” Love said. “It would make employees feel better about their employer as well the nonprofit. You probably will end up having lifelong volunteers and donors.”

4. Be more strategic about using volunteers. Love also pointed out that many nonprofits appear to be missing out on critical opportunities to use volunteers in more effective ways. Every quarter, Bloomerang’s team offers one of its nonprofit clients the opportunity to use as many as 50 of its employees to help with volunteer work. In one instance, a nonprofit responded that they had no idea how they would use the volunteers. In other cases, the Bloomerang volunteers have been assigned to tasks like yard work, Love observed.

“I’ve got network geniuses … people who know everything about technology and they have them moving mulch and painting walls,” Love said. “Those young men and women would love to go there and help them set up apps and would enjoy it more than moving mulch around.”

During one of their volunteer projects, Bloomerang employees were unable to complete their outdoor project because of inclement weather. “It was storming so we had 25 people who went inside the building and, during the course of the morning. All they did was enjoy doughnuts and coffee, and write handwritten thank you notes,” Love recalled. “They came back and said it was the most rewarding volunteer experience they ever had. However, if we hadn’t raised our hand and said, ‘Hey, why don’t we help you do this?’ they would have never thought of it.”

5. Embrace relationship building via artificial intelligence and other technology. Instead of waiting for things to get back to “normal,” strategically create a new normal when it comes to relationship building virtually, Love recommended. “COVID is not going away in 2021. It’s going to be here,” he said. “Nonprofits that are embracing web-based technology to build relationships with their supporters, volunteers and vendors are seeing unbelievable results.”

Love said that artificial intelligence (AI is continually evolving, opening the door to more personalized connections with supporters. “We are already seeing that artificial intelligence can take a look at what’s in a database and create a rough draft of an email or letter, never missing anything that needs to be communicated with a volunteer or a supporter,” he said. “It will issue prompts of when you’re supposed to be communicating with donors, supporters and volunteers. If it’s buried deep in your database that my anniversary of supporting your organization is coming up or that my dog’s birthday is coming up, it will issue a prompt for the ideal time to send a message.” Love said that it’s the equivalent of being a best friend to your supporters. “You may be able to do that with four or five of your friends, but if you have a database of 1,000, 5,000 or 20,000 constituents, you need AI to issue those prompts.”

Bloomerang’s platform already is operating with a significant amount of AI to help clients build relationships with their constituents, Love noted. “If you have a first-time donor, for instance, we will prompt you three or four times in the first several months on how to follow up with that person,” he said. “When someone is about ready to lapse and not being retained, without donating again, we also set up a series of prompts.”

The platform also scans communications, such as emails, to ensure that there is more focus on talking about the person instead of the organization.

Love also said that nonprofits can encourage their supporters to use technology as part of their digital outreach. “Volunteers and supporters are able to reach out to their own personal network on behalf of your organization,” he said. “Now it’s not uncommon for an avid supporter of your organization to open up their email address book on #GivingTuesday and help you get an additional 10 to 20 donors very easily.” He also said that supporters are increasingly asking Facebook friends to support their favorite charity on their birthdays.

He predicted that more apps, similar to Twitter and Facebook, will become more commonplace to elevate communications on behalf of nonprofits.

6. Enhance your messaging to reflect current events. Love also recommended nonprofits revisit their messaging to ensure that they are elevating their mission during this time of crisis. For example, he said, an organization that must move job training online can highlight the increased need for those type of services and the expenses required to deliver them.  He also said that it’s important to include details about the anticipated results. “Any time you’re reaching out to gain support for your mission, you should talk about the results you’re achieving,” he said.

7. Anticipate stricter data security measures becoming the norm. Lastly, the population will start embracing stricter security measures that are tied to their financial records. “It used to be that people would complain about having to enter a password,” he said. “In the near future, they’re going to embrace a deeper level of authentication, including two-factor authentication, to make donations or to access information.”

Nov 09

Donate Safely This #GivingTuesday

By Sponsor Insight

Best Practices for Charities and Individual Donors

By Cody Lents, Partner and Change Manager at COVI, Inc.

Since it was first founded in 2012, #GivingTuesday has become known as a charitable movement built around a simple idea: Set aside a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past seven years, #Giving Tuesday has transformed into a global day of unity that has inspired hundreds of millions of individuals to give, collaborate and celebrate generosity in their communities.

GivingTuesday’s data reported $1.97 million was raised for reputable charities around the globe in 2019. But could the number have been even higher? A few months prior, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) kicked off “International Charity Fraud Awareness Week,” a coordinated effort to help charities and donors avoid a growing number of scam groups masquerading as charitable organizations. Using tax deduction as bait, fake charities have often lured unsuspecting victims into making ineligible donations.

With the next #GivingTuesday quickly approaching on Dec. 1, 2020, what can you do to ensure your donation ends up in the right hands this holiday season? And, as a charity, how can you ensure prospective donors feel comfortable about allocating funds to your cause?

Best Practices for Individual Donors

  1. Give to established, trusted organizations.
    The easiest way to immediately confirm the legitimacy of a charitable organization is through the IRS’ “Tax Exempt Organization Search”, which allows donors to search for qualified charities in which donations may be tax-deductible. Legitimate charities will provide their Employee Identification Number (EIN) upon request.
  2. Use credit cards or checks.
    If a charity is attempting to solicit a donation through cash, gift cards, virtual currency, or wire transfer, it is most likely a scam. For security and tax record purposes, it is safest to contribute by check or credit card.
  3. Be skeptical of copycats and disaster relief.
    Exercise caution when examining charities with names that are similar to nationally known organizations. Scammers may use names, domains, etc. that sound or look like those of respected, legitimate organizations.

Following natural disasters, it’s common for scammers to impersonate charities to solicit personal financial information from victims and those looking to donate–don’t give out personal financial information, such as Social Security numbers or passwords to anyone who solicits a contribution.

Still unsure? Run the organization’s name through Charity Watch or Charity Navigator to browse reviews, ratings and reports from other donors.

Best Practices for Charities & Nonprofits

  1. Educate your donors.
    Whether on your website, social media or mailings, share information that instills confidence in those who want to contribute to your cause. Use the above best practices for individual donors as a guide.
  2. Implement a payment processor on your site.
    This allows your organization’s website to accept all online payments directly through the website, as opposed to sending donors off-site to a third-party platform. When your donor enters their payment information on your site, their card information is sent through a payment gateway to be validated. If the card’s information is legitimate, the transaction will be processed by your payment provider.

This process provides donors a more streamlined and credible experience and keeps them on your website for longer. Here is a comparison of eight trusted payment processors.

Questions?
If you need assistance vetting a charity or setting up a payment strategy for your nonprofit/charitable organization, you can reach out to COVI at cody@gocovi.com for help. COVI is an Information Technology (IT) service provider specializing in productivity, security, support and strategy services, located in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Nov 02

Decision to leave Fed Funds Rate unchanged until 2023 indicates Fed’s accommodating position for economic recovery

By Sponsor Insight

by Horizon Bank

At its September meeting, the Federal Reserve (Fed) left the Fed Funds Rate unchanged between a range of 0-.25%. More importantly, the Fed indicated its intention to hold the rate there until at least 2023. The Fed stated its expectation to maintain this target range until labor market conditions reached levels consistent with the policymaking committee’s assessments of maximum employment.

In its statement, the Fed also shared its intention to maintain an accommodative stance until the U.S. economy achieves inflation averaging 2% over time and longer-term inflation expectations remain anchored at 2%. The statement reflected the central bank’s new policy framework in which it will allow inflation to overshoot its 2% target after periods of lower inflation. Simply put, the Fed appears positioned to remain extremely accommodative for some time to come.

The Fed’s commitment to obtaining a 2% average inflation rate demonstrated its intent to not enact yield curve control, but instead to continue to foster liquidity where needed. Ultimately, the Fed appears to be signaling that it will allow longer-term yields to rise while holding short-term rates down. This strategy seems necessary to obtain the Fed’s goal of full employment and 2% average inflation. Holding short-term rates low is focused on encouraging full employment while providing room for intermediate and long rates to drift up, which should assist with the goal of achieving higher inflation.

Assuming the Fed is successful, its strategy should result in a widening of the yield curve where investors are paid more yield for taking on longer maturities. One of the goals of such a policy is to encourage financial institutions to make more loans. The idea being that a steeper curve provides more attractive profit margins on the loans. A loan’s rate is typically based on intermediate and long-term interest rates where the money used for the loan typically comes from bank deposits whose rates are typically tied to the shorter end of the yield curve. The difference between what a financial institution pays for deposits and what they charge for a loan is how they make money on lending. As a result, the wider the spread between the two, the more opportunity for profit.

Ultimately, the Fed plans to keep short-term interest rates low while allowing intermediate and long-term rates to drift higher. It appears it is their intention to stick with this strategy unless inflation rises above their 2% average target on a sustainable basis. Inflation, generally speaking, is a function of:

  • Expectations (consumers expect prices to go up or down)
  • Demand (increases drive prices up while decreases drive prices down) and
  • Supply (increases drive prices down while decreases drive prices up). At the present time, none of these factors are indicating that higher inflation is on the horizon.

It is important to note that monetary policy is meant to smooth out economic growth and it is not intended to change an economy’s long-term trend growth rate. Simply put, monetary policy is intended to shift growth around in time. In other words, it is focused on avoiding the high peaks and the low valleys. If growth is slow, monetary policy is implemented to ease or lower interest rates. On the other hand, if growth is moving too quickly, monetary policy is implemented to slow things down by raising interest rates. With that said, inflation or deflation should not be an issue if the central bank gets it right. Dealing with inflation or deflation longer-term typically indicates some sort of monetary policy mistake.

If there is a longer-term inflation story to eventually tell, odds are the Fed remained accommodative too long. There has been significant conversation on this front given the Fed’s extremely accommodative monetary policy. While policy easing has been aggressive, such action seems appropriate in an emergency situation. A pandemic with an associated economic shutdown seems to qualify as an emergency situation. With that said, accommodative policy should always be accompanied by an exit strategy. The risk is that the Fed waits too long and prices overinflate. While at some point, the Fed will be faced with the decision to change policy, we believe, considering the present situation, that point may be several years away. As a result, we expect the Fed to be able to hold course with their present strategy for quite some time to come.

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Dave Voris is a vice president in the Indianapolis market for Horizon Bank. As a senior treasury management officer, he works closely with middle market, nonprofits and small business companies in a broad span of industries. His 25 years of business experience have included treasury management, merchant services, and international banking including sales management, client service and implementation management, product management and electronic payment operations.

We also provide longer-term loans for asset purchases such as vehicles or equipment.  Visit one of our Commercial Banking Advisors at 317-608-2085 or dvoris@horizonbank.com

Oct 26

Successful Mergers and Partnerships: More than the Numbers

By Sponsor Insight

By Jan Breiner Frazier, Planning Plus, LLC

Throughout our 30-plus year history as consultant professionals, we have worked with the leadership teams and boards of nonprofits as well as owners of for-profits who were engaged in various forms of collaborations — whether for a merger, a formal association or a strategic and documented partnership.

Unfortunately, we are often called in after the due diligence is complete and the merger has started down the road — only to experience a rocky start. The cause? More often than not, the numbers may work but the cultures do not.

During due diligence activities, leaders focus on a number of factual components for creating a “new” organization — including financial statements; current contracts; programs, services and other deliverables; competition; legal constraints; and competencies of the management teams. But all too often, they overlook the cultural issues within each of the entities that can quickly derail any progress.

When merging two or more nonprofit boards, it is critical to understand the operational environments. Are they structured, disciplined, forgiving, siloed, collaborative or innovative? Will the strengths of each organization complement or clash? How will individual company lifestyles mesh?

Perceptions by stakeholders about how or why the discussions took place must also be discerned. Neither organization wants to be viewed as “taken over” because that may be perceived by the community as a sign of weakness. Both organizations generally assure their staffs that the outcomes will be beneficial for everyone involved as they sell the idea to their teams. Yet, those driving the process often discount the emotional toll of going through organizational change as staff members have their own assumptions about their roles — which may change by necessity.

Several years ago, we worked with a merger of two organizations where it all made sense on paper. Both parties agreed the merger would benefit the community and result in a better financial position. There also was consensus on who would serve as the executive director. However, there was still a struggle with the organizations’ boards about equal representation, how to merge the staffs and which organization’s managers would be in charge. Fortunately, the executive director, with whom we had worked before, recognized that the board needed time and assistance in working through those issues. He dedicated time and resources to sponsor several sessions to work through the challenges. The organization continues to thrive today.

In another case, three organizations asked us to help them reach a merger agreement. The potential financial benefit was tremendous, since they no longer would have to support three leases, three executive directors, three IT systems and other overhead costs. But it all fell apart because no one could agree as to who would be in charge, whose name would be on the building, and how it would be communicated to the public.

In today’s uncertain environment, nonprofits may no longer be able to stand alone, particularly as funding becomes more precarious than ever before. As beneficial as mergers and other types of strategic partnerships can be, they are always messy. If you are considering any type of collaboration, here are a few things to consider in your discussions:

  • How do we describe the existing cultures, what are the key differences, and how do we mutually move to the culture dictated by the mission?
  • How do we identify who will be in charge — who is at the top and responsible for the success of the organization?
  • How do stakeholders — external and internal — view the proposed collaboration? How do we get everyone on the same page?

If you are entering the merger waters, we would be more than happy to help!

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.

Oct 20

How are Nonprofits Evolving in the Midst of a Pandemic?

By Feature

Four local nonprofits share their strategies for staying on mission — in spite of unprecedented challenges

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

With Indiana approaching its ninth month of a deadly pandemic and another surge in cases, local nonprofit organizations are continuing to explore what it means to adapt. While many have implemented major changes, including virtual programming, facility modifications and alternative staffing, some are poised to evolve even further to accommodate a greater post-pandemic demand for services — both virtual and in-house.

As three local nonprofit leaders recently shared, nonprofits may need to continue to evolve for the foreseeable future as COVID-19 permanently reshapes how organizations operate.

Medical clinic adapts as more people lose jobs, insurance

Heart and Soul Free Clinic, a nonprofit that provides healthcare to the underserved, never considered shutting its doors as a viable option when COVID-19 reached Indiana in March 2020. The team was concerned that the population they served would be left without alternatives than emergency care. 

“Our biggest concern was the need to stay open,” recalled Lisa Kreag, executive director of the clinic, which is based in Westfield, Ind.. “A lot of the people we see are marginalized, low-income individuals. If our patients aren’t able to get to the doctor here, they don’t have other outlets. And we didn’t think ER was the greatest option because of the potential of exposure. We didn’t understand much about the virus at that time.”

The pandemic’s ultimate impact has yet to be seen, according to Kreag. With more and more people losing their jobs and, as a consequence, their health insurance, the clinic is now serving an increasing number of people. “We;re getting a lot of new patients and our costs are definitely increasing,” said Kreag, noting that the costs for lab work and prescriptions, which are covered by the clinic, are steadily increasing.

Another challenge was ensuring that the clinic had adequate numbers of volunteers to support its mission. Before the pandemic, a significant number of the clinic’s volunteers were retirees — an age group that already had been identified at high risk for developing severe COVID-19 complications. 

However, replenishing the clinic’s volunteer pool did not turn out to be as difficult as anticipated, Kreag said. With many employees and college students facing job furloughs, reduced work hours and suspension of classes, many signed up to help volunteer. The clinic also welcomed new volunteers who signed up after reading about opportunities in the Wellbeing Coalition of Westfield.  

To ensure that it delivered medical services in a safe environment, the clinic temporarily eliminated walk-in services. “We wanted to control who was coming in and who was coming out,” Kreag said. “We don’t want people to walk right into the office.” And, as with most offices, Heart and Soul follows Centers for Disease Control guidelines by taking the temperatures of anyone entering the office and asking them to answer a list of questions to determine if they have COVID-19 symptoms.

While current needs are being met, Kreag also anticipates continued adjustments for the clinic as an increasing number of people experience job losses. Currently, Kreag said, the clinic has been fortunate because those increased costs have been covered by grants.

To accommodate future demands, plans to expand by adding hours, Kreag said. Currently, the clinic has limited hours on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “We’re flexible and small enough to quickly make changes by expanding hours — not facility space,” she said. 

Nonprofit unexpectedly expands to a statewide model 

Since 1987, the Indiana Youth Group (IYG), has been focused on meeting the needs of LGBTQ youth — many of whom had been kicked out of their homes, struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts, and experienced hunger and homelessness.

And IYG’s headquarters, just south of 38th and Meridian streets in Indianapolis, had been a haven for LGBTQ youth who needed access to a hot meal, laundry facilities, computers and other support services. On any given night, up to 75 youth between the ages of 12 and 20 would visit the four-story building, which includes a commercial kitchen, art space, classrooms, computer rooms, a music room, management offices and hangout spaces, said Chris Paulsen, CEO of IYG.

That all changed in March 2020 as the pandemic upended life for Hoosiers. IYG quickly adapted, implementing a plan to ensure the safety of its volunteers and employees while ensuring that it was delivering on its mission to serve homeless or low-income LGBTQ youth — who were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, Paulsen recalled.

On March 9, the IYG team decided to limit the number of volunteers allowed in the building, and restricted hours. “A lot of our volunteers are older. We just handled it with staff coming in three days a week,” Paulsen said. “By March 12, we went down to basic needs and stopped all in-person services.”

Instead of serving hot meals internally, the team started passing out hot pre-packaged food so that the youth they served could pick up meals. Youth also were allowed to use laundry facilities.

By March 27, the team had further pivoted, offering 19 different programs 36 times a month virtually. Because of the virtual nature of their offerings, IYG started attracting more youth from throughout the state. “We have picked up 127 new youth since the pandemic started,” Paulsen said.

IYG also noticed a troubling trend of homelessness and food insecurity increasing among LGBTQ youth. “The food insecurity has definitely grown since the beginning of the pandemic,” Paulsen said. “A lot of our youth have lost employment because they worked in restaurants or other public-facing jobs.”

Paulsen said homeless shelters generally are not safe for LGBTQ youth. “They avoid the shelters. Some of them couch surf, some trade sex for shelter and some are on the streets,” she said.

In spite of those increasing demands, the IYG building has remained nearly empty for more than six months. “No one has been hanging out in it,” Pauslen said. “It’s frustrating that we haven’t been able to use it.”

However, Paulsen and the IYG team are already making plans to further expand as a result of the pandemic — both virtually and in-house once pandemic restrictions are lifted. With an increasing number of LGBTQ youth engaging with IYG from across the state, the organization is prepared to continue its focus on delivering virtual services.

IYG has invested in new zoom rooms, laptops so that the team can integrate IYG’s in-person services with those engaging virtually. “We want all youth to have the same experience,” Paulsen said. “We applied for a grant to support the expenses. If it doesn’t come through, we’ll raise the money. We have 127 more youth we can’t walk away from.”

Nonprofit seeks ways to highlight its mission in pandemic times

As a nonprofit that focuses on helping women grow professionally, Passing the Torch for Women has expanded to a national model that relies on an extensive network of women mentoring other women.

From a logistical standpoint, pandemic restrictions did little to impact that model since most connections could continue virtually — with volunteers providing mentoring, said Deb Hallberg, CEO of Pass the Torch for Women Foundation. 

Although their staff members decided not to renew their office leases at Industrious, a co-working office complex on Massachusetts Avenue in downtown Indianapolis, they quickly shifted to meeting virtually from their homes. “We gave up our office spaces to streamline our budget, Hallberg said. “I think we are as effective as can be. We present an awesome program that was already virtual with many of our students, who are all over the United States. We’re taking it up a notch higher to create all-virtual programs so that everyone is available to participate.”

In the wake of the pandemic, Passing the Torch for Women created a needs-based fund to help students pay for groceries, utilities, rent and other bills. Many of its students have been furloughed or displaced from jobs, or have had challenges with maintaining their focus on their studies and work because of lack of childcare. “Women tend to have to do it all,” Hallberg said. “Now, as a result of COVID, we’ve lost even more ground.”

The main challenges presented by major events in 2020 — COVID-19 and social injustice protests — were primarily around messaging as a nonprofit, Hallberg said. 

Many nonprofits that did not neatly fall into specific categories directly related to issues such as hunger relief or anti-racism could find it difficult to attract funding in the current climate, Hallberg said. “We were reluctant to make a huge push to ask donors to give more because we knew everyone was going through the experience of downsizing and facing a lot of challenges,” she said. “We felt that it wasn’t appropriate so we streamlined our budget for as long as we could.”

While Passing the Torch for Women helps many minority women, the mission is not directly tied to social justice issues, which further complicates messaging, Hallberg said. “We help marginalized, non-traditional adult female students by helping them earn a wage above the poverty line,” she said. “We provide mentoring, networking and professional development. We are giving women hope, 30 percent of whom are single moms, 80 percent are on government assistance and about 80 percent are black and brown.

“We have our hand out to say, ‘If you will take my hand, I will share my wisdom and knowledge with you and help you cross that next finish line, and the next, and the next … whatever you set out in front of you as your goal,” Hallberg said. 

In spite of that focus, Hallberg said, Passing the Torch for Women’s mission is not directly tied to a demographic. “The focus (from many funding organizations) has been on helping those with a specific mission focused on minorities. It has prohibited us from getting some funding. We need to do a better job of telling our story.”

Hallberg remains hopeful that Passing the Torch for Women will continue its mission. “I know six months from now, and beyond, we’re still going to be here. We’re going to be OK,” she said. 

Oct 05

Don’t have a data partner? You need to get one … now

By Sponsor Insight

by Leslie Wells, Assistant Director of Communications, the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI

It’s a data-driven world, and finding a partner to help in the process is critical to a nonprofit’s future, its funders and, most importantly, to those whom the organization serves. Most nonprofits want and need to be able to show promising results to justify their existing efforts and their plans for future expansion. At the same time, staff members at those organizations also want to know that their hard work is making a difference. Having solid, reliable data can help them accomplish both of these goals.

But data can be intimidating, and many groups don’t know where to begin.

“Any nonprofit needs to start with solid questions and ideas about what they’ll do and who they’ll serve,” said Breanca Merritt, director for the Indiana University Public Policy Institute’s Center for Research on Inclusion and Social Policy (CRISP). “Data helps you answer those questions and make informed decisions.”

CRISP recently partnered with the Martin Luther King Community Center in Indianapolis to address community crime prevention, thanks to a grant from the Central Indiana Community Foundation.

After reviewing the research CRISP conducted, leaders at the MLK Center assessed their strategy and shifted their focus to young people. They used the data CRISP collected to secure a grant and create the Best Buy Teen Tech Center. From computers to a recording studio and a 3D printer, the new space gives at-risk preteens and teens the opportunity to explore tech-based interests, careers, and opportunities.

Merritt says the MLK Center project is an example of what embracing data can do for nonprofits — and she has advice for organizations that are just beginning their data journey:

1. Define your vision. Decide who it is you want to serve and how, then think about what data or other resources you already have — or don’t have — to communicate that story.

2. Find a data and research partner. If you’re not a data person, find someone who is. Let them analyze your data before you reach your own conclusions. They can help you translate your big picture goals into something more tangible and measurable.

A good data and research partner organization should:

  • Value your organization’s work
  • Be knowledgeable about what you do
  • Have a heart for your work, but the brain and expertise for the research you need
  • Be adaptive, flexible, and patient

3. Don’t forget funders. Use data to give funders a more comprehensive picture of what you’re doing, why they should invest, and the return on their investment.

4. Review the data often. Ongoing evaluation allows you to make course corrections and stay on track. Merritt recommends reviewing the data at the six-month or one-year mark — and beyond.

“The six-month mark is a very forgiving review time because if something isn’t going according to plan, you have time to fix it,” she said. “But long-term evaluation matters, too. You don’t want to get 10 years into a program and realize you need to make major changes.”

Also, Merritt advised, reviewing data earlier on might be even more useful than waiting until the one-year mark, depending on the length of your program.

The CRISP Clinic
Even with this advice, many organizations often lack the staffing, time, and/or expertise to conduct even small assessments of internal data, client experiences or community engagement.

That’s where Merritt and her team can help. Beginning in spring 2021, the CRISP Clinic will begin accepting new organizations. The clinic will provide low- to no-cost research and evaluation services to help nonprofit organizations in Central Indiana that serve diverse populations and address issues of equity and/or social policy. The hope is to expand the services to other regions.

At the heart of the clinic is a diverse team of service-minded student researchers who can put their critical-thinking and evaluative skills to work for nonprofits in need. The student researchers will be overseen by Roxy Lawrence, a program analyst at CRISP. Initially, the clinic’s projects will likely be relatively small in scope, ranging from support in program development and capacity building, to client participation and engagement. The team will seek to understand how effective programs are, and the level of stakeholder and/or community engagement.

“These students have been instrumental in identifying, interviewing, and surveying the philanthropic organizations from which many local nonprofits receive funding,” Merritt said. “They’ve helped develop an application for organizations, a rubric for scoring those applications, and a schedule for onboarding and managing the clinic’s projects.”

Organizations will be selected based on three primary selection criteria:

Does the organization or program aim to achieve equitable outcomes among participants, service goals, or other aspects of the work?
Does the organization or program address issues of social policy?
Would the organization not be able to obtain these services elsewhere at low or no cost?

The team also will take into consideration other factors, including whether an organization could conduct any research-related activities on its own, the demographics of the clients served, the size and need of any related work, and the organization’s willingness to work with students.

These projects would last no more than three to four months each, from the initial identification and meeting with stakeholders, through development and implementation of research strategy, and the culmination in a final report.

Organizations that are interested in applying for the CRISP Clinic can reach out directly to Lawrence and Merritt at IUCRISP@iu.edu.

Leslie Wells

Oct 05

COVID-19 forces more than 40 percent of Central Indiana nonprofits to reconsider facility needs, and some to implement new delivery models, according to CA survey

By Feature

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

After more than seven months of operating under restrictions caused by COVID-19, most nonprofit organizations have made adjustments in programming and/or office operations,  with some permanently changing their service models with the aid of technology, according to an informal survey by Charitable Advisors.

For some, the new normal has revealed inadequacies in employees’ ability to deliver services from home. However, others noted some positive outcomes.

“Now we understand we can work successfully from home,” one survey respondent said. “The silver lining is that we all gained better technological skills. Plus, we adapted by recruiting, training, and working with volunteers all through virtual means — remarkable.” With that significant shift, the survey respondent said that the team plans to reduce its lease footprint in the future.

Another survey respondent questioned the need for a facility if social distancing continued to be a requirement for the foreseeable future. “Our current space is not set up for social distancing,” the respondent said. “Do we need a physical location at all?”

However, a significant number indicated that they will continue to need their facilities to deliver services.

Of 59 nonprofit representatives who responded to the survey, which was conducted in August 2020 …

  • more than 30% said that everyone was working from home;
  • nearly 38% said programs are being delivered virtually;
  • slightly more than 12% said programs have been suspended;
  • more than 44% continue to deliver in-person services;
  • more than 40% reported that they are now reconsidering their facility needs;
  • and more than 50% say they do not anticipate any change in facilities post-COVID.

Numerous organizations also reported that their team has become more innovative about facility usage in an effort to maintain social distancing as outlined under COVID-19 guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For example, a survey respondent reported, employees at their nonprofit work as part of a staggered shift pattern to maintain social distancing in facility environments that do not allow for those regulations to be met at full capacity. “Everyone is working from home but they may come in on designated days to limit the number of people in the office,” the respondent said. Another said that their nonprofit is now open only two days a week instead of five days a week.

Also, a significant number of respondents said they are safely providing in-person services by implementing adaptations and restrictions. Some of the nonprofits that provide essential services, including medical care, haven’t stopped delivering services. However, they are operating under different guidelines.. “We are currently pre-screening patients by phone and scheduling appointments, instead of our walk-in hours,” a respondent said. “We may continue a hybrid version of this protocol in future months.”

Another respondent said their team adapted for social distancing but have no plans to change their use of their facilities in the future. “Our work really requires human interaction. Virtual is a poor substitute.”

Several respondents said the pandemic also initiated their thinking about creating a remote workforce. “We plan to shrink our office footprint, but that was planned for 2021 anyway; not directly because of the pandemic,” a survey respondent said. “In response to the pandemic, we would shrink now if we could without a lease penalty.”

Sep 22

IRS Releases Guidance on Executive Action Deferring Payroll Taxes

By Uncategorized

On August 28, the IRS issued guidance that provides some explanation of how employers can defer withholding and remitting an employee’s share of Social Security tax when wages are below a certain amount. The guidance in Notice 2020-65 was issued to implement President Trump’s executive action signed in early August.

The guidance is brief, and private employers still have questions about whether, and how, to implement the deferral. The President’s action only defers Social Security taxes; it doesn’t forgive them, meaning employees will have to pay the taxes later unless Congress passes a law to eliminate the liability.

Tax deferral background

On August 8, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum that permits the deferral of the employee portion of Social Security taxes for certain employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The memorandum directed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to defer withholding, deposit and payment of an eligible employee’s share of Social Security taxes (or the employee’s share of Railroad Retirement taxes) on wages or compensation paid from September 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. It applies to employees whose wages or compensation, payable during any biweekly pay period, generally are less than $4,000, or the equivalent amount with respect to other pay periods. The determination of applicable wages is made on a pay-period-by-pay-period basis. Amounts can be deferred without penalties, interest or additions to the tax.

Note: Under the CARES Act, employers can already defer paying their portion of Social Security taxes through December 31, 2020. All 2020 deferred amounts are due in two equal installments — one at the end of 2021 and the other at the end of 2022.

New guidance

Issued on August 28, the three-page guidance postpones the withholding and remittance of the employee share of Social Security tax until the period beginning on January 1, 2021, and ending on April 30, 2021. Penalties, interest and additions to tax will begin to accrue on May 1, 2021, for any unpaid taxes. The notice doesn’t stipulate that the deferral is required, suggesting that the deferral may be optional.

The guidance states that “if necessary,” the employer “may make arrangements to collect the total applicable taxes” from an employee. This appears to answer one question that employers have about what happens if an employee leaves a job later this year or before the deferred taxes are due. However, no additional details are given on how an employer should make arrangements to collect unpaid tax.

Pushback from business groups

Before the guidance was issued, several business and payroll groups stated that their members would not implement the deferral. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and more than 30 trade associations sent a letter to members of Congress and the U.S. Department of the Treasury calling the deferral unworkable.

“If this were a suspension of the payroll tax so that employees were not forced to pay it back later, implementation would be less challenging,” the letter states. “But under a simple deferral, employees would be stuck with a large tax bill in 2021. Many of our members consider it unfair to employees to make a decision that would force a big tax bill on them next year… Therefore, many of our members will likely decline to implement deferral, choosing instead to continue to withhold and remit to the government the payroll taxes required by law.”

The National Payroll Reporting Consortium, a payroll services industry association, stated there are “substantial” computer programming changes that are needed to implement the deferral.

“Payroll systems are designed to apply a single Social Security tax rate for the full year, and to all employees equally,” the consortium explained. “Applying a different tax rate for part of the year, beginning in the middle of a quarter, and applying such a change to some employers but not others, and to some employees but not others, is quite complex. Not all employers and payroll systems will be able to make these complex changes by September 1.”

Going forward

There are still unanswered questions about the payroll tax deferral. If you need assistance or have questions about how to proceed at your business, contact Deirdre Bird at dbird@vlcpa.com or Jami Vallandingham at jvallandingham@vlcpa.com. We can help you decide whether to participate and how to go forward.

Sep 21

A Commitment to Caring is Critical to the Community’s Bottom Line

By Sponsor Insight

by Sandy McCarthy, president of retirement services, OneAmerica®

The mention of OneAmerica® in central Indiana may likely spark thoughts about the company’s witty signboard, prominent position in Indianapolis’ downtown skyline, or its title sponsorship of the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.

While these are important aspects of the OneAmerica corporate identity, they don’t begin to tell the full story of the company’s commitment to the customers and communities it serves.

As the head of Retirement Services at OneAmerica, I often speak on how to develop a secure financial future and how to leverage education as a key to empowerment. Today, I’d like to go a step further and share how these concepts, which are so vital to us in Retirement Services, are also foundational to OneAmerica and its commitment to our city and neighbors in central Indiana – and why, especially during these challenging times, that commitment is more important than ever.

We exist to help others

For more than 140 years, the companies of OneAmerica have operated from the perspective that our business is more than our bottom line. We’re committed to the Americans we serve and the Hoosiers we live and work with, and we believe it’s our privilege and responsibility to better the community we call home. From the top down, our leaders and associates are committed to giving back, and we view these community contributions to be as important as the impact we have on the retirement and financial services industry.

Pathways Junior Fellows Program – Education and opportunity lead to empowerment

In the retirement realm, we understand that education and access to robust tools and resources can enable individuals to take ownership of their financial futures. The same concept applies in our community, where education and opportunity can open doors and help an individual find a promising path that once seemed out of reach.

OneAmerica has brought this idea to life with our Pathways Junior Fellows Program, which provides students from underserved areas in central Indiana with an introductory workplace experience. Partnered with OneAmerica associates who serve as mentors, and in collaboration with other community organizations, the students participate in job shadowing and career exploration, receive soft-skill job training and learn about the financial industry. This paid five-week experience yields meaningful results: these students, who often saw the OneAmerica Tower from their homes but couldn’t picture themselves ever working there, now know they have the skills, experience and connections to pursue future opportunities at OneAmerica or at other companies in our community.

Investing in people has benefits beyond the individual

OneAmerica focuses much of our giving and volunteer efforts on education and workforce development, because we believe that helping individuals grow and advance sets off a positive chain reaction. Empowered individuals create opportunities for themselves and their families, leading to healthier communities and ultimately a stronger, more diverse workforce. The Pathways Junior Fellows program benefits individual students and their families, but it also helps us grow as an employer and gives us a pipeline of future employees who understand our culture, improve our organization’s diversity and make us stronger.

Another component of the Pathways program is geared toward workforce development and putting our associates on the path to sustainable income. Launched in 2018, this initiative was introduced after we reviewed Brookings Institution research about what constitutes good jobs, along with the troubling statistic that only 35% of central Indiana workers without a bachelor’s degree held a good or promising job in 2017. We took immediate action to reverse this trend at OneAmerica, examining and adjusting our positions to ensure every associate has the opportunity to earn a sustainable wage of $18 an hour*, plus strong health and retirement benefits. This investment once again created a ripple effect – impacting our associates, making OneAmerica a better place to work, and enhancing our ability to grow and further contribute to the community.

Diversity and inclusion move us forward

Our Retirement Services philosophy reflects our commitment to support all retirement-plan participants, regardless of where they are on their financial journey. We listen to understand individuals’ unique goals, challenges and viewpoints.

OneAmerica shares this commitment company-wide. We value all people, listen to individual perspectives and believe we are stronger together. Having employees with attributes and backgrounds that reflect our diverse community and the markets we serve is important, and we’ve worked to make our company more reflective. Over the last five years, among our executives, we’ve increased the percentage of people of color by 580% and the percentage of women by 65%. And, we’ve continued to sponsor and support local organizations and events focused on diversity and inclusion – from the Indianapolis Urban League and Indiana Black Expo, to Dress for Success and Integrating Women Leaders, to the 2020 Center for Leadership Development’s 40th Annual Minority Achievers Award & Scholarship Gala, among many others.

We’re also committed to racial equity and continuously moving our community forward on this important issue. We believe meaningful change comes by relying on relationships – seeking genuine feedback and learning together. We’ve instituted listening sessions with our associates, sales professionals and distribution partners, and will use what we learn to inform next steps.

We continue our commitments in challenging times

Despite the challenges of 2020, OneAmerica remains firm in maintaining our community commitments continuing to show up for the customers and neighbors who depend on us. Across the organization, we pride ourselves on being there in times of need and being a source of strength in times of uncertainty.

While this year has changed the way we connect with each other, we value our community engagements more than ever. We’re taking our seventh annual Week of Caring – when our associates volunteer thousands of hours for United Way agencies – and our United Way giving campaign virtual, ensuring that associates still have the opportunity to give back. We honored our commitments to our interns and Pathways students, offering them virtual opportunities to connect and engage. We provided advanced financial support, ahead of our payment deadlines, to vendors and local non-profits, to help with financial challenges. We opened our kitchen and cafeteria to provide Sahm’s and Second Helpings a place to prepare meals for low-income senior citizens. We funded masks and sanitizers for local healthcare workers, and we worked to support e-learning, providing central Indiana students with access to technology and internet services.

Being there for the people who count on us – from retirement plan sponsors, to working Americans seeking financial security, to our central Indiana neighbors – means everything to us. We’re driven and guided by this bigger purpose, and we’re invested in the customers, neighbors and community we serve. Though our deep community involvement isn’t always as front and center as our signboard or our recognizable position in the Indy skyline, it has always been and will continue to be the foundation of the OneAmerica story – through both good and challenging times.

*$18/hour with health and retirement benefits is the sustainable wage threshold for our region, according to the referenced Brookings Institution study.

As president of Retirement Services, Sandy McCarthy leads the OneAmerica® team offering defined contribution and defined benefits services with a strong focus on customized retirement plans through highly personalized administration and recordkeeping services. She brings more than 30 years of industry experience, including key leadership roles at Mercer, ING (now Voya), and CitiStreet.