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Jan 13

Could your organization become a victim of lifestyle fraud?

By Sponsor Insight

By Chris Mennel, CPA, senior audit manager, Alerding CPA Group

Sometimes it begins with “borrowing” a small amount of money, as a temporary loan from an employer. He or she may be thinking, “I really need this money and I’ll put it back when I get my paycheck,” or “I just can’t afford to lose everything – my home, car, everything.” Or the employee is living beyond his or her means and wants to support an extravagant lifestyle.

Regardless of the rationale, lifestyle fraud is very real. And small businesses and nonprofit organizations are especially vulnerable.

For example, an employee was involved in an accident resulting in several injuries while also experiencing here marital troubles at home. As a result of the injuries, the individual was prescribed narcotics for pain management. She became dependent on the narcotics as a way to relieve her pain and escape her marital troubles. The employee began spending a large amount of money in order to obtain narcotics, which lead her to steal from her employer in order to make ends meet, resulting in a six-figure loss to the organization.

It’s easy to point the finger at this individual and cite statistics about fraud, but what if we could rewind the clock and encourage management to identify this individual as a potential fraud risk. click The organization’s management could have then reviewed internal controls making sure that stealing wasn’t an option. It sounds difficult to do, but the personal stresses mentioned above were well-known by management.

Don’t be a victim

In 2018, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), 28 percent of employee fraud happened in small organizations, the highest number among all employer categories. Small organizations, less than 100 employees, are the most susceptible, because they lack the resources to implement complete systems of internal controls and properly segregate accounting duties among their limited staff.

The types of frauds include corruption, check tampering, skimming, billing and expense reimbursement fraud. Nearly half of the perpetrators were trusted employees who had been with the company from four to five years, worked in the accounting area and were first-time offenders. The median financial loss to these smaller companies was $200,000, the largest among victimized organizations of all sizes.

How to identify lifestyle fraud
Could lifestyle fraud happen to your company or organization?
Here are some signs:

1) Expensive purchases, which were previously out-of-the ordinary for this employee
2) Personal debt and credit problems
3) Behavioral changes indicating drug or alcohol abuse
4) Refusal to take vacation or sick time and refusing promotions for fear of detection
5) Carrying large amounts of money
6) Unwillingness to share accounting responsibilities
7) Uneasiness when being questioned about accounting records

How to stop it before it starts
There are many ways to prevent lifestyle fraud in your organization or business. Here are some strategies:

1) Review your financial process and tighten controls
2) Make sure more than one person has complete control over an entire cash receipts or cash disbursement process
3) Approve every transaction by someone other than bookkeeping
4) Review bank statements by someone other than bookkeeping

Chris Mennel, senior audit manager at Alerding CPA group, oversees audit and accounting services, nonprofit and consulting services. Since joining Alerding CPA Group in 2006, Mennel’s clientele has grown to include several of the firm’s larger for-profit clients as well as approximately 20 nonprofits located throughout Central Indiana. He also prepares financial statement projections and other financial analyses to assist clients with their financing needs.

Lifestyle Fraud can be prevented with the proper controls and processes. If you need help setting them up or would like to discuss a specific concern within your organization, contact Alerding CPA Group at (317) 569-4181 or www.alerdingcpagroup.com

Jan 13

Nonprofits added depth to mission of outgoing drug czar

By Feature, Programming

By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors

For more information about Indiana’s Next Level Recovery Initiative, visit: https://www.in.gov/recovery/

Jim McClelland first tried to retire five years ago after leading Goodwill of Central Indiana for 41 years. He planned to travel a bit with his wife, Jane, and maybe write a book.

Those plans changed in 2017 when Gov. Eric Holcomb called on McClelland to spearhead Indiana’s Next Level Recovery initiative, a statewide effort to address substance abuse. McClelland became known as the state’s “drug czar” and wore the mantle with gusto.

Last week, a reflective McClelland retired again, and was quick to credit his experience in the nonprofit sector for some of his successes in the state’s response to the growing opioid crisis.

Goodwill’s focus was on poverty, but the nonprofit found it could not just tackle it internally. Poverty wasn’t a stand-alone problem, but rather it was intertwined with multiple health issues, and a collaborative effort with other nonprofits and community groups was needed.

“Just like at Goodwill, social problems are interrelated,” McClelland said. “They tend to reinforce and compound each other. But as a society, we have tended to treat them individually, in isolation from the others. We’ve been lousy at connecting the pieces. We don’t solve the problems, if we don’t address all of them.”

But addressing them all would be a daunting task. It wasn’t the magnitude of the opioid crisis that was a surprise, but its complexity.

“There were hundred different things we needed to be doing all at once. It was extraordinarily complex,” McClelland said.

During his tenure as drug czar, McClelland spoke with over 150 groups across the state — including a number of nonprofits — and encouraged public and private groups to work collectively. In response, he has seen communities step up and form substance use disorder coalitions (SUD) to bring people together and focus on prevention, treatment and recovery.

“They’re bringing people together from business, education and health care, local government, law enforcement agencies, the courts, philanthropy, faith-based organizations, community-based organizations,” McClelland said. “They get to know each other, they get to learn from each other, and they can sometimes begin to see is how they can work together, leveraging their resources and their capabilities to help cause some good things to happen that otherwise wouldn’t happen.”

“They also gain an appreciation for different perspectives. You know, public safety typically has have a different perspective from the medical side, but they need to understand each other’s perspectives and have some respect for each other, and I’ve seen a lot of that developing.”

McClelland has been not only these groups’ cheerleaders, but he helped secure state funds for 10 coalitions. In early 2019, Indiana awarded 10 groups one-year $75,000 grants to support efforts locally to combat the drug crisis. The organizations were in Bartholomew, Cass, Clark, Dearborn, Hancock, Howard, Knox, Marion, Scott and St. Joseph counties. Recipients were selected from applications received in response to a request-for-funding announcement from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.

In Howard County, Paul Wyman, a county commissioner, saw the problem and decided to do something about it. In 2017, after the number of overdose deaths in Howard County spiked to a record high of 44, he organized a summit of community leaders and the nonprofit resource center Turning Point Systems of Care was born.

“Wyman had the ability to get a lot of people to come together. He brought about 100 people together and said, ‘We need to organize ourselves, and we need to attack this.’ He led it, and is still leading it, along with everything else that he does,” said McClelland.

As a result, the Howard County coalition hired two staff members — a coordinator and a navigator who connect people with services and provides continuity in the relationship. The group recognized that so many people needed help and wanted help but had no idea where to go.

“Everywhere in a local community where you see some really good things happening, there’s always strong local leadership, and it comes from different places,” said McClelland. “To me the coalitions are (one area) where we need to continue a strong emphasis.”

Bill Corley, a coach/consultant with Integrity Health Strategies, has led the INSTEP coalition, a nonprofit which coordinates the resources of 75 providers in the Greater Indianapolis area and serves as a hub for resources. Corley, who served for 25 years as president and CEO of Community Health Network in Indianapolis, said McClelland was the communicator in chief.

While McClelland would be the first to say he is not a health care guy, not only was he a great communicator, but he asked good questions, said Corley.

“That’s just a wonderful characteristic to have. He didn’t go into the job thinking that he knew everything, because he knew that he did not know everything,” said Corley. “When he communicated, he explained the why. The ‘why are we doing this.’ It should be obvious that people were trying to save people’s lives, but it’s more than that, it’s a social problem and people needed to understand why he was doing things.”

McClelland is also a great connector, never missing an opportunity to share what was going on in another part of the state.

“And that is extremely valuable to the rest of the state,” said Corley.

Getting all the providers to work together resulted in INSTEP hosting the SUD (substance use disorders) coalition summit in August on behalf of FSSA. The summit provided and opportunity for SUD coalitions like INSTEP to compare similarities, differences and common challenges for how others are addressing SUD issues in their communities. Now, Corley said, there is a desire to do it again and involve other groups in the state.

As McClelland exits his position, he is proudest of the number of people who responded to the all-hands-on-deck request.

“It’s just been really gratifying to see so many people who are willing to contribute. Some of them in a big way, some of them in small ways, but there are so many people really.”

In addition to coalition work in counties, efforts from LaPorte to Redkey were driven by local individuals.

Take for example, Larry Smith, a recovering addict. He pulled together a recovery support group built around exercise and physical fitness. Now in four communities, he has worked with existing fitness facilities to establish programs in the LaPorte area.

In Jay County, Randy Davis, a retired United Methodist pastor, lost a member of his congregation (substance use disorder). In 2014, he decided to do something to help support people who were struggling and formed volunteer recovery support groups. According to McClelland, under Davis’ tutelage, there are now at least 35 groups in various towns in Indiana and Ohio. Manned by volunteers, Davis now has a paid staff to keep them going.

McClelland’s work will continue under new leadership. Douglas Huntsinger was named to the post last week. As deputy director for drug prevention, treatment and enforcement since 2017, he stepped right into the position.

McClelland’s message to Huntsinger is that the state is on a good path.

His advice? “Keep bringing the pieces together. Continue to support strong local coalitions. So much of what needs to be done on the prevention side and the recovery needs to be done on a local level.

“We also need a lot more recovery housing, that’s been a really tough nut to crack because of the lack of capital.

“Yes, we got a long way to go,” McClelland said. “We have also seen a resurgence in meth, it’s not the kind of meth that was made in the kitchens and bathrooms of people a few years ago. This stuff is mass produced in Mexico. It’s high impurity, it’s very low in price, and it’s everywhere. It’s all over the country. We need to make sure that our infrastructure is able to deal with addictions of other types.”

“I can look back over three years, and say, ‘My gosh. We put together the strategic approach.’ I look at it now, there’s not a whole lot about it I would change.”

Some Next Level Recovery highlights
By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors

There’s not a whole lot about his work as “drug czar” that Jim McClelland would have changed, except to have quickened the pace.

“I’d love to see things move faster than they do, but I’m pretty much that way on everything,” McClelland said. “We have, I am told, compared with the usual pace in state government, moved with lightning speed. It’s kind of hard for me to believe sometimes, but we’ve gotten a lot done.”

In 2017, over 1,800 Hoosiers died of overdoses, and the number one priority of McClelland’s initiative, Next Level Recovery, was to keep people alive.

“Our death rate peaked in November of 2017, and then began a gradual decline. It is still declining, but much more gradually. We were down 12.9 percent last year, and nationally, it was down about 5.1 percent. So, we were like 2.5 times (better than) the national percentage. We are still declining greater than the national rate,” said McClelland.

Here are some highlights of the state’s efforts.

Legislation: McClelland credits the Indiana General Assembly with passing a series of drug-related bills. In 2017, he said, Indiana had the 10th highest opioid prescription rate in the country. In that year, the legislature limited first-time prescriptions to seven days for anyone under 18.

“We’ve had great legislative support. We’ve had a number of bills over these three years that passed both houses unanimously or maybe with one or two negative votes. The chief justice and all the other members of the Indiana Supreme Court have been incredibly helpful and supportive.”

Prescribing practices: Another tactic, undertaken by the Family and Social Services Agency (FSSA), was to provide doctors with comparisons of their prescribing practices. Awareness letters were sent to doctors who received payments through Medicaid. This effort resulted in a 26 percent drop in prescriptions from that group of doctors.

State-data base: Additionally, doctors are now required by law to check before prescribing an opioid. To aid this effort, the state paid for the integration of INSPECT with the electronic health record systems and pharmacy management systems around the state. That task is close to being completed.

“It has made it a really easy process that used to be laborious and time consuming,” McClelland said.

The Indiana Department of Health and the Indiana Hospital Association and Indiana Medical Association also developed new prescribing guidelines to manage acute pain. Basically, these guidelines suggest that doctors should attempt non-pharmacological approaches first, and if those don’t work, they should start with the lowest dosage for the shortest duration.

Disposal options: More safe disposal options have made it easier for people to get rid of excess meds.

“So, you take the lower prescribing rates, and a greater number of more convenient safe disposal options, and you have fewer pills available for non-medical use. That has helped,” McClelland said.

525 foundation launches Rx drop box effort South Bend-based Beacon Health System is taking steps to prevent unwanted prescriptions from falling into the wrong hands. The health system is partnering with the 525 Foundation, a national advocacy group based in St. Joseph County, to install drop boxes for unwanted or outdated medications at several hospitals and a supermarket chain in northern Indiana. Read More

Access to treatment: Timely access to treatment has been enormously important. To support this effort, the state invested in an interactive system to connect drug users with treatment facilities in order to make the process easier for drug users in desperate need of care. To support that effort, the and Indiana 211 streamlined the treatment search. The program, called OpenBeds, provides real-time data of beds available for facilities that cater to addictions.

Education: The Next Level Recovery website was launched and pulls together many of the programs and services at a one-stop site.

A new exhibit designed by the Indiana State Museum, FIX: Heartbreak and Hope Inside Our Opioid Crisis — the will share ways for Indiana communities to come together and shift the conversation and reduce the stigma surrounding opioid use disorder. Its goal is to show how all can play a role in finding solutions to this devastating crisis. Exhibit opens Feb. 1.

Jan 06

Bridging financial gaps for your nonprofit

By Sponsor Insight

By Dave Voris, Vice President and Regional Manager, Horizon Bank

If you’re an administrator working for a nonprofit organization, you understand the financial challenges behind finding support to do good work.

Big fundraising events or donation drives may bring in large amounts of money all at once, but spreading that money to meet monthly expenses can stress your resources.

For qualifying organizations, Horizon Bank can provide lines of credit (LOC) to help you through leaner times of the year to gap your cash flow needs – cash receipts in and cash payments out — until grants and other funding commitments are received.

It is not unusual for a nonprofit to incur substantial upfront expenses associated with delivering services. Ultimately these are funded by a third party, such as a government agency or a foundation, but the challenge is the lag between the expense on the front-end and the promised funding that may take weeks or even months to come.

Lines of credit have proven to be valuable resources and tool for nonprofits and allow organizations to continue to deliver vital services while awaiting receipt of grants or payments from contract work. After all, salaries, rent, marketing services and other expenses must be paid consistently and on time.

One important caution is that lines of credit should be used only to address a timing discrepancy between expenses payments and cash receipt. Even nonprofits that spend ample time on budgeting, and even have year-end surplus revenues may need to access a line of credit occasionally to fund general operating. When used appropriately, it can help solve the cash flow problem and allow an organization to borrow based revenue that is due and collectible.

Your nonprofit should prepare monthly or weekly cash flow forecasts and revise them over time to keep tabs on repayment of an LOC. Identify when cash will be received that will pay the LOC’s outstanding balance. Remember, borrowers pay interest and funds should be used judiciously, building payment amounts into your year-round budget.

A line of credit can give you access to the funds you need, when you need them — with a manageable payment to help spread those costs out over a longer period of time. This approach can help balance your cash flow, though, in the long run.

When to see us

If you already have a relationship with us, that’s great. We’ll be happy to sit down with you to review your financial trends from the past, discuss your challenges and determine the times of year when you might most benefit from a line of credit.

If you haven’t worked with us before, it’s a good idea to come in and discuss your year-round cash flow trends before you actually need help. That way we can assist you in getting an appropriate plan in place ahead of time.

Here’s what to bring when you come to talk about a line of credit.

  • Commentary about how the organization raises funds, including the identification of sustaining funds.
  • Discussion about what would likely cause or has caused the need for a line of credit.
  • Three years of prior financial statements, including the balance sheet and the cash flow statement so our bankers can review your history.
  • A 12-month cash flow forecast to show the bankers that, despite the request for a line of credit, the organization will continue its self-sustaining capability.

All of this information will help us better understand why you may need short-term financing, and that you’ll be able to repay any debt.

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 today.

Dec 16

Pay-gap lessons help student negotiate better salary

By Sponsor Insight

By Leslie Wells, Associate Director of Communication, O’Neill School at IUPUI

Kennedy Jefferies is eight months into her first full-time job. The O’Neill Civic Leadership major accepted a position as the director of preschool ministries for a large church in Indianapolis.

She edits youth curriculum while recruiting and managing 30 to 50 volunteers who lead classes for hundreds of children, provide childcare at church events and work during youth functions.

Jefferies is passionate about her work with volunteers. It’s why she took Marshawn Wolley’s Managing Workforce Diversity class at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI.

“You miss out on opportunities if you don’t know how to leverage diversity,” says Wolley, director of community engagement and strategic initiatives for O’Neill. “Managers are responsible for creating inclusive environments that make everyone feel like they belong and allow their teams to leverage the culturally salient aspects of whoever they are to impact the work experience.”

Jefferies’ volunteers range in age from 8 years old to 82 years old. She’s even using her project from Wolley’s class to pair volunteers with mentors to develop relationships and bridge generational gaps.

“I think we can often be unintentionally exclusive,” Jefferies says. “To overcome that, I wanted to learn how to manage a workforce very different than me.”

That isn’t the only lesson she applied when interviewing for her current job. When the position first opened up, she nearly jumped at the opportunity. But before she jumped, she thought back to a class discussion about salary negotiation, the pay gap and why women earn 85 percent of what men earn. Jefferies learned that research has shown many women simply don’t negotiate.

That was a light-bulb moment for Jefferies.

“We may not understand our own worth,” she says. “We may take an offer because we just want a job. Men are often more willing to assert themselves in negotiations and ask for more. And as they continue to earn raises, women continue to be left behind.”

Wolley’s class helped Jefferies recognize there was something she could do to help close the gap.

“It’s a problem I am personally committed to addressing,” Wolley says. “I tell my students they are worth negotiating and that I expect them to negotiate.”

Jefferies couldn’t shake the discussion. She says the salary offer she received was fine but wasn’t what she really wanted.

“For me, I was so thankful to get an offer that the idea of asking for more seemed greedy,” she says. “But, remembering that class, I knew I should negotiate.”

She researched comparable positions and salaries. She knew she had the grounds to ask for more so she met with Wolley to discuss the offer and her options. He gave her the extra boost of confidence she needed to negotiate.

“Students need that push,” he says. “They need someone to tell them they can negotiate, they should negotiate, and they deserve to negotiate.” 

“(Wolley) really empowered me to do it,” she said. “He told me that — from a man’s perspective — it wouldn’t be a question of whether to negotiate and I should feel that way, too.”

He also provided her with a word of caution: she had to be willing to walk away if she didn’t get what she wanted.

“You aren’t negotiating unless you can walk away,” Wolley says. “Make your case, do your research, and, if they say no, move on to the next thing.”

“That was a really hard concept for me because I really wanted this job,” she recalls. “I didn’t want to walk away, but he told me I had to be willing to do that if I was going to negotiate.”

She picked up the phone and made the call. The woman on the other end told her to email them what she wanted.

Jefferies relied on her research and the cost-savings the church would receive from declining their health insurance. That, she said, should go toward her salary. She wanted extra paid time off, as well. She asked for what she really wanted and she got it — without any hesitation from the employer.

Wolley never had any doubts Jefferies would succeed in her negotiations — and can now use her experience as an example.

“Kennedy’s story provides a connection for other students to know that the things I’m talking about in class are real,” he says. “It’s affirming to see a student trust you, apply the lessons you’re teaching and succeed.”  

Because of those lessons, Wolley’s support, and her own courage to negotiate, Jefferies helped move the needle on the pay gap and change her own thinking in the process.

“I didn’t see the mentality of avoiding negotiation until it was pointed out to me,” Jefferies says. “Women have the ability to change the pay gap. So, why shouldn’t we?”

Leslie Wells joined the O’Neill School at IUPUI as its assistant director of communications in 2018. She previously spent more than a decade in broadcast news and three years as mediarelations manager at the Indiana Youth Institute.

Dec 02

Bold action rescues Joy’s House

By Feature, Fundraising

By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors

The warning signs were out there, the proverbial perfect storm brewing on the horizon. And Cayla Rosine, the vice president of finance and operations at Joy’s House in Indianapolis, was worried.

“We were drawing on our line of credit, and we’ve never done that before. This was serious,” said Rosine of a critical juncture last summer when Joy’s House found itself staring at a potential shortfall that threatened to shutter the organization just as it was approaching its 20th anniversary.

Joy’s House provides caregiver services for adults with life-altering diagnoses and like many nonprofits, relies on donations and traditional government funding sources. When those funding streams change quickly for the worse, nonprofits and social enterprises generally lack the extra funds on hand to make up the difference. Unlike traditional businesses, it’s hard for a small nonprofit to develop a rainy-day fund when donors and investors expect most of the money to go toward programming.

Joy’s House accepts Aged and Disabled (A&D) Medicaid waivers, the CHOICE program and long-term care insurance. But changes in Medicaid reimbursements, state funding and declines in donations put Joy’s House in a financial bind.

The potential shortfall, however, is only part of the Joy’s House story. The organization’s proactive approach and what it learned about itself and the community offers ideas for other nonprofits seeking to avert a crisis.

Rosine has worked at Joy’s House for 21/2 years and knows what it takes to run the organization: about $1.5 million a year. When the financial picture darkened, she had a hard conversation with Joy’s House founder and CEO/president Tina McIntosh.

The Joy’s House board was hoping things would get better based, Rosine said, on 2018 being better than 2017. Joy’s House has two sites, one in Broad Ripple on the Northside that opened in 2000, and a Southside center that opened in 2014 near the University of Indianapolis.

Joy’s House isn’t unlike many human services nonprofits facing financial challenges. Government contracts have not kept up with the cost of services. Many nonprofits reporting receiving roughly 70 percent of direct program costs, according to a 2018 report commissioned by the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities. Nearly one in eight organizations have liabilities that exceed their total assets.

Sarah Shadday, the center’s outreach coordinator, said according to AARP, Indiana ranks 46th in the nation when it comes to Medicaid and state-funded spending. The state also ranks 51st for long-term services and supports.

“Our society in general does a really poor job of caring for our aging adults. We’re not respecting the amazing people they are now, and the amazing things they have done with their lives. We have people here who have birthed 12 children, we have Ryan White’s primary care physician in this house right now. Just to cast them aside because of a diagnosis. It’s asking a really hard question of the community,” she said. 

Earlier this year, Joy’s House already had made some tough decisions. It reduced staff and eliminated its WIBC radio show, “Caregiver Crossing,” which was transitioned as a podcast in August.

Unfortunately, the Joy’s House board realized, those cost-cutting measures weren’t enough and in late summer, the decision was made to start a critical fundraising campaign, a somewhat unusual move for a nonprofit.

“Tina (McIntosh) would talk about how when they were thinking about the idea of the critical fundraising campaign, she Googled it. There’s nothing out there. Nonprofits just don’t do the critical,” said Shadday.

“The decision to launch this campaign was not made lightly. A critical campaign is not something you can do multiple times in your organization’s existence; it was a one-time shot. It was a pivotal time for Joy’s House and the campaign would help make it or break it,” said board treasurer Lisa Curry, who is a director in Katz, Sapper & Miller’s Healthcare Resources Group, an Indianapolis-based accounting firm.

Board chair Corrine Walter said the board saw the incremental challenges facing the organization and asked three critical questions: Are we needed? Should it be us providing this service? Do people care?

The campaign was covered by local media and in September, the center launched a fundraising campaign. In multiple stories in the local press, headlines painted a bleak picture if the organization didn’t generate the necessary community support.

Stories that appeared in local media in the fall

IBJ: Broad Ripple not-for-profit launches emergency fundraising campaign

RTV 6: Money woes could force Joy’s House to close after 20 years

Indy Star: Joy’s House helps Charlene stay at home. It could close and send her into a nursing home.

Fox 59: Broad Ripple nonprofit needs to raise $559K to avoid closing

WISH: Broad Ripple nonprofit facing closure after 20 years

RTV6: Joy’s House receives $100,000 donation, inches closer to monetary goal to keep doors open

The response and results were overwhelming.

While the campaign’s goal was $559,000, Shadday said by the organization’s 20th anniversary on Nov. 1, it had actually raised $720,000, and that figure is still growing. But she said more importantly, it provided validation.  

“In a typical year we have 700 to 800 donors, which include foundations, donors and individual gifts from people. And in this eight-week time frame, we had over 1,000 donors and half of them were brand new,” she said.

Rosine said she hadn’t seen so much activity that saw even neighbors stepping up.

“There’s a church nearby that called and said, ‘You’re our neighbor. We cannot let this happen.’ The church members took up a special collection and sent a check. It was overwhelming in a good way. It made us emotional at times to see that people do care,” she said.  

Shadday had a similar story. After an article ran in The Indianapolis Star, an Eastside woman drove to Broad Ripple and announced her desire to help the effort. The center’s senior vice president of care services happened to be covering the front desk for the receptionist and talked with the woman who shared how much the organization’s mission spoke to her.

“When the woman left, they opened the envelope and found $1,000 in cash. This woman had never heard of Joy’s House, 24 hours before,” she said.

While the nonprofit has utilized social media, they witnessed its power and ripple effect. They also saw caregivers who already had so much on their plate become part of the army that spread the word.

While the campaign ran from Sept. 1 to Nov. 1, the Joy’s House lobby became a bit of a merchandise center. One local donor, Best Boy & Co., provided jars of whole grain mustard for Joy’s House to sell onsite, and the company sold it in other area retail shops to benefit the campaign. Another donor, Wood Warbler Coffee, provided 50 percent of the proceeds of coffee sold both at Joy’s House and online. There were other in-kind donations as well and local restaurants that provided a percentage of the day’s total sales to benefit the nonprofit.

As board chair, Walter, who is an assistant vice president at Capital Group, saw a positive community response to its internal questions.  

“Our answers to those (internal) questions were all ‘Yes,’” she said.

But it did more than that.

“The critical campaign was a means to shine a light on needs within our aging population, needs for those with a variety of diagnoses, and we wholeheartedly found out the community also said ‘Yes,’” Walter said. “They said ‘Yes’ in their words and in their incredible financial support. We cannot thank our community enough for their support during this campaign for the many years to come.”

According to Rosine, some of the campaign funds eliminated the center’s line-of-credit debt and got the checking account up to 60 days operating and beyond. Additionally, after a board vote this month, a portion will be set aside as a board-advised fund.  

“We’ll have an endowment light. We won’t touch the principal balance unless we absolutely have to, and we’ll have to go through the board for that approval. It’s kind of an emergency fund, if you will, but also the interest that we can generate on that will help us with our direct cost variable, so we have (dollars) to keep the lights on, heat on, things like that that don’t change whether we’re doing well financially or not. That’s the intention for those funds.”

McIntosh, who began a medical leave as the campaign wrapped up, wrote in a blog post: “This campaign has opened up conversations that needed to happen – about partnerships, opportunities, and how to do things better, not just at Joy’s House, but in our city and state. We are excited for the possibilities that will come in the near future. And we are grateful for the team that is being assembled to look at long-term sustainability for Joy’s House.”

What will change?

In Kim Klein’s book, Fundraising in Times of Crisis, she explains that an organization can survive a time of crisis, and even grow, if it addresses the changes that need to be made while not sacrificing its mission. The tendency for most nonprofit organizations is to determine how to cut corners rather than how to raise more money. She encourages the implementation of diverse fundraising techniques as the solution.

So, what are the changes are on the horizon?  

Improve marketing

For the past seven years, a large portion of the center’s marketing budget went toward producing the radio program. Transitioning that to a website-based podcast significantly reduced the cost, and going forward, it will refocus it. Some of its marketing budget will be for referral marketing to ensure the centers are at capacity.

“We really want to get the word out about what we do so that people will know we’re here, which leads to assessments and leads to guests,” said Sarah Shadday, Joy’s House outreach coordinator. “For me, it’s making it strong referral marketing and strong community outreach.”

“Part of what this campaign did and will continue to do is really is kick us in the butt a little bit about marketing – what is important, what are the best practices and how do we keep this campaign momentum that put us in front of all these people who had never even heard of Joy’s House.”

Tell a more relatable story

There is a perception that most of the nonprofit’s clients have dementia. Part of the work is to change that stereotype. In reality, the nonprofit hosts clients who cannot stay home alone because of health and safety concerns. While some are living with dementia, others have multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, are stroke patients or have other medical challenges.

“We are an adult-care facility. We have guests in their 20s and 30s. Yes, it’s your mom with dementia, but it’s also your brother with a traumatic brain injury or his sister with autism or an aunt with Down syndrome. So really highlighting those individual stories to show that we’re relatable,” said Shadday.

Ongoing fundraising

One of the things learned is that donors need to be cultivated on an ongoing basis. Getting the donors is part of the effort, but donor retention requires long-term engagement.

“We have to be really careful of making sure that people don’t see that campaign as the end all and be all. ‘Oh, now we’re great.’  The campaign helped us to continue, and in continuing, we need your help,” said Shadday.

“This might sound silly, but if we don’t ask people to help us, then they’re not going to. They’re not going to know that we need their support for this important work. I know that sounds really basic, but I feel like in the last few months, we had done so much better at just saying, ‘Hey, remember us, we want to still be here.’ Not in a critical campaign fundraising way, but in a more sustainable ongoing,” said Cayla Rosine, the vice president of finance and operations.

Develop network of other adult day cares

In 2014, the National Adult Day Services Association (NADSA) identified 5,685 day programs operating in the United States, up from 4,601 in 2010. This rapid growth is based on the increasing number of people who are getting older and require community-based solutions. Nearly 78% of these centers are operated on a nonprofit or public basis.

Joy’s House staff said other centers are not the competition and see banding together to support each other’s efforts. To that end, they have just started an internal discussion.

“These are our friends, how do we work together to make each other better?” said Rosine.

Nov 25

4 simple steps to help attract the right corporate partners

By Sponsor Insight

By Kate Brierty, Consultant, Hedges

It might sound like the makings of a great nonprofit fairy tale that out in communities right now there is a large group of people actively looking for causes to support and nonprofits to fund. These people are in every town, available across the country, and can even share your story with global audiences.

This isn’t just a nonprofit fantasy but the current reality of Corporate-Nonprofit partnerships in the United States. Having an effective Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy has been a clear priority for many businesses over the past few decades. Companies have developed volunteer programs, provided resources for community groups, helped sponsor events, provided pro-bono services in their field of expertise, and even given direct financial support.

Recent studies show that corporate participation in this wide range of CSR activities is only growing:

  • The vast majority of corporations are thinking about community impact.
  • Companies are being held accountable for “doing good.”
  • More corporations are becoming funders.
    • Giving by corporations totaled $20.05 billion in 2018, which is an estimated increase of 5.4% over the previous year (Giving USA 2019)

This growing focus on effective CSR strategy has solid logic behind it. Studies over the past decade have shown that a strong CSR program can increase employee engagement, decrease turnover, increase productivity, attract applicants, increase sales, boost company reputation and a lot more. And, lucky for nonprofits, the easiest way for a company to design that strong CSR program is to align itself with an organization already doing amazing work. Corporations seem to have noticed that pursuing a partnership program with a nonprofit makes good business sense.

For nonprofits, this means there is a pool of potential corporate partners looking for the right nonprofit for them. It also means that if you are not currently engaging with these corporations, you are missing a substantial opportunity for partnership that could potentially provide support through provided services, access to resources, financial sponsorship, and whole new audiences to serve as your future volunteers, donors, advocates, board members, or staff.

However, there is a caveat — not all partnerships are created equal and not all of them will lead to that long list of positive results for both parties.

With so much opportunity, it’s important to be discerning and strategic with who and where you choose to engage.

So, how do you engage in ways that maximize benefits and minimize risks for everyone involved? There is no perfect answer but taking these four simple steps at the start can set up for the type of successful partnership that creates a mutually beneficial relationship between your nonprofit and a corporation.

#1: Start with clarity on your brand and purpose

Corporations are looking for nonprofit partners that will be a good fit for their mission, brand’s reputation, and business interests. That means they are going to prioritize aligning themselves with organizations that have already demonstrated a strong value add to the community and have a history of results. In order to show them you are that perfect community partner, start by getting crystal clear about the importance of your work and how amazing you are at doing it.

Make the time to sit down with your team and talk about the concrete things you want to message to partners:

  • What makes your organization such an integral part of your community?
  • How you would describe your mission to potential partners?
  • What companies would also benefit from your vision being reached? How you would describe your work to each of them?

Then consider your own purpose in approaching corporate partnership.

  • Are you looking for volunteers to help expand your program reach? Then you might not be looking for a small startup without employee hours to spare.
  • Are you searching for a partner to sponsor a new pilot program? Then you might be looking for someone with technical expertise to lend their services or someone with the ability to fund big projects.
  • Are you trying to expand your own audience through their employees and customers? Then you’ll probably want to be thoughtful about approaching partners with mutual interests that are more likely to have an audience that is responsive to your message.

There are a lot of amazing things a corporate partnership can do for your organization, but your resources and time are far too important to be spent fully engaging with any partnership offer that comes your way. Get specific about why you are putting your energy into a partnership so everyone on your team can easily say “yes” to the right opportunity and “no” to the wrong fit.

#2: Take time to build the relationship

Once you have message clarity, decide who needs to hear it. Many organizations already have some relationships built with potential partners. Maybe you have a local business that is consistently a table sponsor at your annual gala or your board member’s firm has mentioned how they’re looking for new ways to give next year. That’s great, but don’t jump to the ask just yet.

Building a true partnership with a corporation requires a bit more of a commitment from both sides than an annual donation or a single event sponsorship. Your approach needs to reflect that deeper commitment. Being a strong partner means you are sharing the message of your vision, mission and goals with corporate partners. Let your potential partners know what you’re about, so they can decide if your particular brand and impact works for them right now.

Then ask them to answer similar questions to confirm it’s the right fit:

  • Why is the nonprofit partnership a priority for them?
  • What missions are attractive to them and how are they uniquely positioned to benefit those missions?
  • Get technical and ask about the benefits they want beyond the good feelings. Are they looking for employee engagement opportunities? Are they hoping to strengthen their connection in the local community? Are they looking to invest in an innovative new program that will highlight their name?

You can’t craft a strong partnership (or even choose a strong partner) without both parties openly sharing what motivates them and what goals they have for the relationship. Start here with every potential partner!

#3: Have an idea of what you want, but be open to co-creation

While you should enter into your partnership conversations with an idea of what type of benefits are worthwhile, you should not approach your partners with a rigid list of options and corresponding partnership levels. Partners want this process to feel easy and to feel like you have an idea of where they might fit. Most partners also want to feel like the plan is a co-creation that includes their insights and wishes. There needs to be a balance.  

You and your team should consider your full range of opportunities and specifically name where partnership could be a benefit.

For example, if your program involves providing a lot of community trainings consider how partners could help you expand your reach by: providing free space, sponsoring transportation for participants, volunteering as trainers in their expertise, or holding an employee fundraising campaign to cover participant costs.

This is the time to get creative and consider how partnership could help you pilot new programs, reduce the burden on your staff, or reach entire new audiences. Just be sure all the partnership options you are creating would push you closer to your goals without creating more of a burden than it is worth.

By the time you create a plan with an identified corporation, you should know them well enough to understand what type of work your partner is looking to do and what benefits they are hoping to receive. The proposal you bring them should feel tailored to their expressed desires and needs. Then together you can talk about what appeals to them and make edits or adaptations until the proposal is a perfect fit for both teams.

Important note: Proposal perfection is not possible unless the right people have a voice in the design and decision-making.

  • Is your partner trying to create a workplace-giving option that will increase employee engagement? Then there is definitely a need for employees to help design that experience.
  • Are you looking for partnership that will decrease your program staff’s workload? Someone from the program team should certainly be a part of preparing the plan.

Ensuring you have the diversity of perspectives from these beginning stages will help you craft a much stronger partnership plan that is inclusive of the very people that will be making it all happen.

#4: Know your worth

For any corporate-nonprofit partnership to be successful, there must be mutual benefit. As we already mentioned, nonprofit partnerships and CSR programs can have enormous benefits for corporations. They are not simply doing you a favor. Working with the right partners should feel like you’re doing business together in pursuit of a shared vision.

A few dos and don’ts to help ensure you are building an equal partnership:

  • DO get to know some of the statistics about the benefits of a strong CSR program, and share the relevant ones in your partnership conversation.
    • Are they worried about attracting top talent? Share that Cone research from 2016 found that 58% of all job candidates and 79% of millennial job candidates consider a company’s social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work.
    • Are they trying to increase employee engagement? Let them know in 2019, Boston College’s Center for Corporate Citizenship reported that 95% of companies with volunteer programs report a positive correlation between volunteer participation and employee engagement scores.
  • DON’T be shy about advertising the specific benefits your organization brings to the table.
    • Do you have a large number of community connections in the spaces where their employees live and work?
    • Are you a trustworthy connector for interns or future employees for their corporation?
    • Can you co-create social media content with them that will reach a wide audience?
  • DO ask for the specific benefits you are looking for from a corporate partner and DON’T be afraid to walk away if a partner isn’t a good fit.
    • Never design a partnership plan that won’t help you reach your goals.
    • Always avoid providing benefits that create more work than the benefits you receive in return.

The benefits for true partnerships between corporations and nonprofits are getting stronger every year. Once you find the right partner to work with you, both of your teams can start to see the real impact of those benefits. It’s not a fairy tale, it’s just good business.

Kate Brierty is passionate about asking the right questions to help individuals and groups have conversations and make decisions that will create real impact for the people they serve. In all her work as a consultant at Hedges, she is focused on pursuing meaningful results while keeping people at the center of her work.

Nov 18

Collecting Donations for Your Nonprofit Organization

By Sponsor Insight

By Dave Voris, Vice President and Regional Manager, Horizon Bank

Are you running a nonprofit organization? If so, you know that sustainable donations are a critical part of living up to and meeting the IRS’s public charity test and fulfilling your mission.

Whether your organization is directly serving others, working on valuable research, or meeting recreational needs in your local community, your donors need easy and safe ways to contribute.

Leverage your website

Chances are, you’re already using a website to communicate with your target audience, which includes donors. But to maximize the advantages of your site, be sure to allow for donation submissions as well.

According to Mobile Cause, there must be a compelling reason for site visitors to use a pay portal. If a donor is inspired by your organization’s message and wants to give, most likely they’ll want to give NOW. As a nonprofit you should strive to minimize the number of steps required to send a donation. The more steps required, the easier it is to lose the donor’s attention. Mobile-friendly donor buttons make it easy and possible for your supporters to take action quickly and from any geographic location.

Here’s how to make it work best for you:

  • Look for a payment portal service that can be integrated into your site. Sites like Double the Donation can provide you tips about what to look for. Such services typically take a small fee from each donation, as payment for their services. This makes credit card processing, overall, a little more expensive than handling other payments — but the ability to make this type of donation is in high demand. Locally, Horizon Bank offers payment processing systems that can work for you. Just contact us for details on how we can help your nonprofit organization with this need.
  • Implement your payment portal to allow for either a one-time donation, or recurring monthly donations. This makes it easy for both you and your donors.

Next, you need to communicate the service to your audience:

  • Make it easy to find your payment portal. One simple way to increase online giving is to make sure your visitors have no trouble finding your DONATE or GIVE button when donors visit your website.
  • Then, send out periodic reminders through several channels — an e-newsletter, social media and other communications — to drive new or repeat donors straight to your website to make contributions to your cause.

Recurring donations will, of course, be very beneficial to help you handle general operating costs like rent, salaries, event costs, and more. Those donations are spread throughout the year and are contributions you can factor into your annual plan.

For many organizations, online fundraising works to spread your mission and make sure donors and potential donors understand what your nonprofit does and why they should donate to your cause.

Dave Voris is a vice president in the Indianapolis market for Horizon Bank, N.A. 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.

Need more ideas? Reach out to an advisor at Horizon Bank. And check out this additional idea for bridging financial gaps. We’re always happy to help, with some Sensible Advice! contact us today.

Nov 18

At IU, teachers thrive at tech-centric institute

By Feature, Technology

By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors

The term “pathfinders” is often used to describe a person or people who leads a pack and shows the way. Seventh-day Adventists call their youth group by that name, and there is a role-playing game comparable to Dungeons & Dragons with the same name.

As such, it’s a fitting name for one of the Infosys Foundation USA’s signature programs, the Pathfinders Institute. The foundation launched in the U.S. in 2015 as the company’s nonprofit.

For the past two summers, teachers from around the country, both elementary and high school, have spent a week on Indiana University-Bloomington’s campus immersed in computer science and maker education courses. So far, over 1,000 teachers have accepted the foundation’s offer, and have left the campus armed with practical knowledge and ideas for classroom lessons. In many school districts, they are truly the pathfinders.

Kate Maloney, the Infosys foundation’s executive director, joined the foundation’s team in February. This summer, she witnessed these teachers build their confidence.

“I watched teachers come in slightly trepidatious and excited on the first day, but more on the terrified end of the spectrum, and then they left a week later so empowered,” said Maloney. “They knew they needed to bring this inspiration into their classrooms.”

In informal conversations with teachers, she listened as they animatedly told her stories about what they were learning. She observed their growth in classes like those offered by the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics (https://www.kipr.org).

“These teachers were using robots to do all sorts of things. It’s the arc of their journey — watching them start with a blank slate, all the way to developing the impassioned, confident teacher. I think that is the positive lesson. We hope that Pathfinder teachers go back and influence (students),” Maloney said.

Steve Goodman, Executive Director, The KISS Institute for Practical Robotics and a group of teachers showing Ravi Kumar S, Infosys Foundation USA Chairman, their work.

A key partner in this work has been Indiana University where the effort has been spearheaded by Laurie McRobbie, the wife of IU President Michael McRobbie. Both McRobbies have computer science backgrounds.

As a woman in the field, Laurie McRobbie, with 25 years experience, has seen the world of technology begin to address the gender gap.

“We’re seeing a concerted effort to address it, and a real, much deeper commitment on the part of a lot of organizations. I don’t think it’s moved the needle yet in any really significant way, but there are some bright spots to point to in the state of Indiana,” McRobbie said.

According to criteria compiled by the financial technology company SmartAsset, Indianapolis has been ranked as high as fourth in the country for women in tech. That 2017 ranking has since fallen to 14th in 2019, but remains in the top 25 percent of the country’s major cities.  In Indianapolis, the tech workforce is approximately 25 percent women, according to SmartAsset.

In 2016, the McRobbies were invited to attend parallel conferences sponsored by Infosys in San Francisco.

“I was invited to participate in the foundation’s conference, along with a couple of faculty members from the IU School of Education in Bloomington and a number of other computer science educators from around the country, including the founder of Code.org,” said McRobbie. “We talked about the importance of computer science education. We talked about a lot of what we need to do to address this problem is to address it as early as possible in terms of exposure and essentially mainstreaming this study of computer science in our schools.” 

After this conference, McRobbie and then-Infosys Foundation USA director, Kaustav Mitra, continued the conversation about the impact the foundation could achieve. Creating a professional development opportunity for teachers could be the key. The IU connection was hatched.  

“I remember, we just started talking about here we are in the middle of the country, and this is an area that is growing its tech sector. We don’t want the tech environment nationwide to be bicoastal with nothing in the middle,” McRobbie said.

Together, they decided that IU would host the Pathfinders Summer Institute and McRobbie said the university’s events team jumped in to provide a remarkable onsite experience.

“We all sort of viewed it as a bit of an experiment. It wasn’t clear that we would get the numbers that we had hoped,” she said. “There were all kinds of questions about how that might go, but it was incredibly successful. People got a lot out of it, and they loved being on the Bloomington campus in the summer. We’ve just gone on from there, and I’m thrilled that we’re going to be able to do it again in the summer of 2020.”

She said it’s been a wonderful opportunity for IU’s faculty, particularly for faculty who are looking at the evolution and development of curriculum and pedagogy and tools in the classroom. They are able to see what’s working.

Two members of IU’s faculty were in San Francisco with McRobbie at the outset, and according to her are national leaders in the area of maker education. Adam Maltese at the elementary level and Anne Leftwich have been prominent in education research circles.

“I think for them to have this, ready-made, practicum with working teachers, has got to be an incomparable opportunity to further what they’re doing and their understanding of what works,” said McRobbie.

In many school districts, teachers understand that the world is becoming more digital, and a strong understanding of computation, networking and systems interactions (hardware and software) is important to students’ future opportunities. Couple that with the fact that in Indiana, by 2021, implementing computer science curriculum is mandated by law (Senate Enrolled Act 172). So, it’s not surprising that this year, 25% of the teachers at the institute were from Indiana.

Zach McKeever, an engineering and technology teacher at Lafayette’s McCutcheon High School, was one. He attended both institutes to learn computer science principles and computer science discoveries. This summer, the institute offered 19 different courses offered by 15 professional development providers.  

“I was looking for some training with computer science in order to further my curriculum, and to better prepare my students for a world with computer science being at the forefront. I came back for a second year for a different class because of the experience I had the first summer,” said the sixth-year teacher. “I would definitely say it’s the best professional development that I’ve ever been to. Getting teachers who have the summer off, who’ve got kids, who’ve got other responsibilities, to take a week out of their summers to learn some new stuff for their students because they find value in it, is saying something,” he said.

McKeever said he didn’t learn computer science skills in college, but knows the importance for his students. He was among 92 returning teachers. The foundation offers 50 percent of the funding for tuition, airfare and accommodations, with school districts and DonorsChoose.org providing matching funds so teachers can attend at no cost. This summer, 177 of the more than 400 teachers requested funds through DonorsChoose.org. 

A byproduct for McKeever has been the community of learners he’s a part of. Starting out, he knew two area teachers who taught computer science. At the summer institute, he connected with a group of nearly 30 teachers who continue to talk to share lessons and teaching strategies via texts and emails. He said, they even share different Kahoots, which are teacher-made lesson quizzes.

McKeever’s classes are electives, and the foundation for his computer science classes is Code.org’s curriculum, which is free online. A Pathfinder partner, Code.org is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by women and underrepresented minorities.

What is encouraging is that according to McKeever, both genders were well represented. Many of the instructors were women. There was diversity, too.

“I think that has a lot of do with what you’re talking about that they’re trying to target people from those schools that are a higher need. Because the curriculum, specifically for code.org, is accessible to everybody. So they want people to know about that and buy into that. All you need is a computer and Internet access. Which is still a big ask, but you know, to me, income and where you come from should not determine what you can learn. All it takes is creativity. It takes creativity and a willingness to learn, and you can get that from any student,” said McKeever.

Melissa Babcock, a Providence, R.I., fifth-grade teacher, would agree. Her elementary school has 94 percent of its students living in poverty. While her school is behind in technology, the administration is supportive of her efforts. Last year, she and another teacher taught an after-school coding and robotics class. They were in Bloomington this summer to learn more, and both will attend Infosys Foundation USA’s Winter Institute, which will be held in Providence in February. At both McKeever’s and Babcock’s schools, every student has a Chrome book, but may not have Internet at home.

This summer, 272 teachers were from Title I schools and 134 were from rural schools. Teachers in attendance represented 45 states and the District of Columbia. IU worked too, to encourage rural teacher participation. Oftentimes, McRobbie said those are schools with just one teacher providing this coursework without a lot of colleagues.

McRobbie said IU is honored to be partners.

“I think it is a hopeful sign to see this kind of investment. Teachers have some knowledge about computer science and some knowledge about how to teach, but oftentimes they’re as much students as their own students,” she said.

“I think that is very much aligned with our mission as a research university and our commitment to educating Hoosiers and people outside the state as well. So we’re really seeing this as a wonderful alignment of our mission, Infosys’ mission, addressing a crucial social need and a crucial educational need. We’re honored to be doing it,” she said.

As the nonprofit arm of Infosys Limited, a multinational India-based information technology company, the foundation hopes to affect computer education through its professional development work with teachers, and ultimately ignite a spark for students. Here are some examples of its work.

A regional institute

In February, Infosys Foundation USA is offering its first ever Pathfinders Winter Institute. It will take place in Providence, Rhode Island from Feb. 16 to Feb. 20. Applications for K-12 public school teachers are open through Dec. 16 on the Infosys Foundation USA website.

Grants to nonprofits

Some examples of grant recipients are Code.org, the Hispanic Foundation to offer family coding nights in Spanish; Teach for America to build computational thinking capabilities with cohorts in particular cities and the Girl Scouts for a badge program called Coding for Good.

This year for Computer Science Education (CSE) week, Dec. 9 to Dec. 15, Infosys Foundation USA is supporting activities. Traditionally, it has given out micro-grants during this week, but this year are working with existing grantees to hold events during that week.

Some examples:

  • Dec. 10: Family Code Night in Providence, RI
  • Dec. 13: LOFT Coder Summit (with Hispanic Heritage Foundation) in Richardson, TX
  • Dec. 14-15: Girls For Tech Hackathon in Hartford, CT

Policy conference

Crossroads conference (May 2020). This signature event brings together thought leaders to explore ideas on increasing access to high quality education in computer science, coding and making, with a particular focus on equity and inclusion.

Infy Maker awards

Through the Infy Maker Awards program, it supports today’s makers at schools and in communities, encouraging them to become our next generation of inventors. This #InfyMakers awards program, launched in June 2015 to celebrate the White House’s “National Week of Making”, recognizes the Maker Movement and inventors.

Nov 11

How giving makes you greater

By Sponsor Insight

By Sandy McCarthy, Retirement Services President, OneAmerica

I still remember the first time I read the OneAmerica® annual report. As a 30-plus year veteran of the retirement industry, I’ve seen my share of them. But this one was different, and, in the midst of discussions and interviews during the summer of 2018, its annual report was a major factor in my decision to join the company as president of the retirement services division.

Detailed in those pages were, of course, the financials. But more than that, I saw a company that cared – for its associates, its valued partners, its customers and its community. I believe that it’s this genuine, selfless dedication to caring for others and contributing to the greater good that makes OneAmerica special.

Giving back as a company

OneAmerica takes seriously its role as a corporate citizen. From our involvement with the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, the Broad Ripple Art Fair and the Indiana Repertory Theatre, to investing in our community through grant programs and charitable giving, we aim to better the local communities where our employees and customers live and work. In 2018 alone, we:

  • Supported more than 80 organizations, by contributing $2.2 million and 5,000 volunteer hours
  • Gave more than $800,000 in support for organizations that provide people in need with emergency help, including hunger relief, emergency shelter and counseling services
  • Provided $50,000 in regional grants to nonprofits across the United States from OneAmerica and our sales and field teams across the country.

Giving back doesn’t end with monetary involvement or sponsorships. Our associates also pledge their time and skills as a team. During our annual Week of Caring, a weeklong “pay it forward” event started in 2014 by our Chairman, President and CEO Scott Davison, our associates devote time to volunteering for various causes. This September, approximately 1,100 associates took part, providing a collective 3,200 hours of compassion and companionship as they volunteered with nearly 30 nonprofit organizations throughout the country.

Individual associate contributions

No matter the corporate culture, an organization cannot truly give back without the support of its associates. At OneAmerica, I believe we have some of the best. Their passion and dedication to their local communities, through the United Way, the Red Cross, Dress for Success, Junior Achievement and more, is inspiring and makes me proud to work with such a selfless group.

I recently heard about one of our marketing associates, who spends Tuesday mornings helping Gleaners Food Bank deliver items to a neighborhood food pantry at 42nd Street and Boulevard. In addition to this physical labor, he is also devoting his time to help the food pantry start and maintain its first Facebook page.

Just as it is for so many of our associates, community involvement is personal for me as well. I sit on the board of the local chapter of the American Red Cross, and before coming to Indianapolis I served on the board of trustees for the Children’s Center for Communication/Beverly School for the Deaf (Massachusetts) and as a mentor for the Entrepreneurship for All program.

Serving the tax-exempt market

The OneAmerica commitment to caring also extends into the way we do business. One of our major focuses is the tax-exempt market. Not only do we understand the unique challenges for these plans, we are proud to serve these organizations which are so important for our communities.

At OneAmerica, tax-exempt business is in our DNA. Our work in this sector began in the mid 1960s, and many of our longest tenured clients are nonprofit organizations. Our seasoned team is experienced in serving tax-code neutral plans and delivering personalized solutions that allow these mission-oriented, client-focused organizations to help their participants on their paths to retirement.

The spirit of caring for others and giving back is essential to the OneAmerica culture and is brought to life each day through our associates – both at work and in their personal lives. I’m grateful and proud to work for a company that reflects my values and strives to improve the lives of our customers, participants and neighbors – and for the chance to see that caring spirit, described in the annual report, alive and flourishing at OneAmerica each day.  

OneAmerica is the marketing name for the companies of OneAmerica. Provided content is for overview and informational purposes only and is not intended and should not be relied upon as individualized tax, legal, fiduciary, or investment advice.

As president of the retirement services division, 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 executive leadership roles at Mercer, ING (now Voya), CitiStreet and most recently, her own consulting firm SDM Strategic Solutions.

McCarthy graduated with honors from Tufts University, earning both her undergraduate in sociology/education and Master of Arts degree in education, then completing an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. She served on the board of directors of the American Benefits Council, Spark Institute, Boys and Girls Club of Middlesex County Massachusetts and the Children’s Center for Communication Beverly School for the Deaf. She was also a founding member of the Superannuation Industry Leadership Group in Australia. She currently serves on the board of the Greater Indianapolis chapter of the American Red Cross and the Employee Benefits Research Institute, based in Washington, D.C., and is a mentor for the Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll) program. 

Oct 28

Role of technology in advancing nonprofits and careers

By Sponsor Insight

The Women’s Philanthropy Institute is diving into the topic of technology at its sixth national symposium from March 31-April 1, 2020 in Chicago. Learn more.

By Abby Rolland, communications project manager, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

Technology plays an important role in the nonprofit sector. Archives in libraries are being digitized and readily accessible for online use. Social media allows individuals to witness the human face of disasters unfolding in real time. Online giving, text-to-give, and crowdfunding options help donors in any situation feel that they are giving immediately.

Technology can also help nonprofits raise both awareness and funds.  

Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI alumna Smita Vadakekalam has worked for technology strategy consulting firm Heller Consulting for over a decade since she graduated in 2001. She has a wealth of knowledge about technology, change management, and how the nonprofit sector has adapted to increasingly rapid growth in technology use.

For Vadakekalam knowing and understanding how to use technology is critical.

“We’re in a digital age where every role, whatever industry you work in, touches technology. By planning for it and using it strategically, technology has great potential. It can be fully utilized and enhanced to further an organization’s goals to make a powerful, important impact. In most cases, technology is the underlying infrastructure which nonprofits rely on to run their organizations,” Vadakekalam explains.

Rapid technology changes have also impacted nonprofits’ decision-making processes. Vadakekalam says that decisions made about technology changes used to occur in siloes, with individual departments using their own budgets and thinking of technology in a very narrow sense. Now, many individuals call her and her firm for C-suite level projects.

“Individuals want to make strategic decisions about their nonprofit, and they want to achieve growth at the organization,” Vadakekalam says. “They recognize that technology plays a large role in meeting their strategic plan.”

In other words, she says, they’re looking at it from a holistic perspective, and understand the important investment they’re implementing.

However, Vadakekalam cautions that nonprofits need to carefully prepare a strategic plan for whatever technology system they decide to use before they invest in it.

“There are so many choices one has when it comes to technological tools. You have to be strategic about the tool you’re choosing and why. You can waste time and money looking at these “shiny new objects” that don’t do what you think they do, so it’s vital to conduct a thorough planning process: be knowledgeable about your strategy and what product best fits that.

“That’s often where our company assists. We help curate the choices, and assist organizations in articulating their short-term and long-term goals. Then, we help find the best system that fits.”

To learn more though about technology and how it fits into an organization’s mission and goals, Vadakekalam encourages nonprofit practitioners to participate in opportunities, such as internships or classes, that focus on learning more about technology.

“Be curious, be open to learning, and be a problem solver. You can learn a lot about the sector and technology systems through free resources, trainings, and tutorials at your job.

“Also, elevate your soft skills. Be a good communicator, understand how people consume and process information, and figure out how you’re going to help teach them how to use these pieces of technology.

“You may need to make the case to some people in your organization as to why these tools are important to have. Be able to match that reasoning with the larger vision of the organization, and communicate that effectively.”

Vadakekalam emphasizes that technology has become a part of our everyday lives, and nonprofits must adapt and include it in their future plans.

“Nonprofits that strategically plan and implement technology in a holistic way can utilize it to further their mission and support the greater good. Understanding how to effectively utilize technology as a tool is a huge benefit for any nonprofit,” she explains.

How can you build a career in tech in the nonprofit sector? Vadakekalam shares some of her tips. 

Having hands-on experience is vital.

Knowing how to run your organization’s Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) system is important. If you work for a smaller organization, you can gain experience by being the administrator of the system. Then, continue to think creatively about ways that you can enhance the tool to further the goals of your department or organization.

Play a role on the decision-making committee for a technology transformation project.

Technology is rapidly changing, so there’s typically some kind of transformation project at your organization related to it. Being a part of this committee and helping select and implement the system will help you become more familiar with technology and the good it can do for your nonprofit.

It’s incredibly important to have a high-level of understanding about the processes within your organization and know the strategic tools you have at your disposal.

Look into free training and resources available either inside or outside the organization.

Technology systems have user groups that share how the system is used at different organizations.

Websites like Coursera, EDX, and Udemy offer free resources, and other organizations also offer complimentary materials, while NTEN and Tech Soup offer networking groups that work with technology in the nonprofit sector.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for within those free resources, consider checking out other resources.

The Fund Raising School offers the course “Digital Fundraising” to help you learn how to connect to your donors online. Consulting firms also provide free resources, including blogs, guides, and webinars on its website that include knowledge and experience built from over 20 years of working in the nonprofit and technology space.

Abby Rolland serves as the communications project manager at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, and is also working towards a master’s degree in philanthropic studies. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Gettysburg College.