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Jul 03

Nonprofits must prioritize marketing efforts

By Feature

The sector still has significant work to do to get its message across, IU philanthropy expert says

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

It’s no surprise that nonprofit organizations have struggled to gain the same brand recognition as their for-profit counterparts. With marketing budgets that traditionally far exceed those of nonprofits, many B2B and B2C companies are able to invest in marketing teams and strategies to elevate their brands.

But it wasn’t until the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy released a recent report did many industry leaders fully understand the impact of that investment gap, said Dr. Bill Stanczykiewicz, senior assistant dean of external relations and director of The Fund Raising School.

The report, What Americans Think About Philanthropy and Nonprofits, included several surprising findings, which the Not-for-profit News recently highlighted in the article “Do Nonprofits Have an Image Problem?” The survey revealed a general lack of understanding among the public about what defines a nonprofit. For example, when it came to philanthropic entities like foundations, donor-advised funds, and giving circles, a majority of survey respondents said that they had heard of them but were not familiar with them.

But most alarming, Stanczykiewicz said, was that only 5.4 percent of survey respondents said that they or someone in their immediate family has been helped by a nonprofit organization in the past year. “That caught the attention of all of us quite quickly,” he said.

With a significant number of people regularly interacting with various nonprofit organizations, including religious services, museums, theatrical productions, educational programs, and public hospitals, there appears to be a gap in understanding a basic definition of nonprofits, Stanczykiewicz said. Also, one out of every Americans work for a charitable organization.

While the survey didn’t capture the reasons behind these poll responses, Stanczykiewicz said that there may be numerous factors contributing to the public’s lack of knowledge about nonprofits.

“Nonprofits may be so effective in doing their jobs that we don’t know what life would be without them,” said Stanczykiewicz, comparing them to outstanding referees during a game.

“In most cases, if they’re making good calls, fans don’t really pay attention to them,” he said. “In the same way, nonprofits can be so effective in doing their jobs that we don’t know what life would be without them. We don’t always realize their impact.”

Another factor is that the nonprofit sector hasn’t traditionally done a great job of educating the community about the sector. “When people think of receiving services, they may think, ‘Well, I’ve never gone to a food pantry or received direct help from a medical clinic,” he said. “It raises the point that nonprofits have work to do to communicate that there’s so much more that the philanthropic sector does than provide services.”

Raising nonprofits’ profiles amid declining charitable giving

Misconceptions about nonprofit organizations, coupled with declining giving during the past 20 years — another statistic highlighted in the philanthropy report, should be a strong signal that nonprofits will need to prioritize educating the public about their mission and message in the coming years.

“Nonprofits have work to do to communicate the message there’s so much more to the philanthropic sector than “providing services,” he said. “There also is a lack of awareness. Most Americans just don’t seem to know who we are and what we do.”

Stanczykiewicz said nonprofits can consider numerous pathways to elevating their message and educating the public about the work they do — starting with encouraging their board members to actively lead in communicating the organization’s value.

Another challenge facing teams is the matter of budgeting for marketing. “Many nonprofits are focused on the resources needed for the programs, services, and materials,” he said. “Marketing may be something that ranks very low when it comes to the budget. It may not be in the budget at all.”

Community advocates and nonprofit supporters also may assume that everyone is equally passionate about their cause, such as eradicating food insecurity and homelessness, he said. “They might think, ‘Well, clearly everybody must be passionate about this cause so I don’t have to talk about it.”

Lack of confidence is yet another factor that may impede efforts to inform the public about the work of nonprofits. “At the Fund Raising School, we teach you to fundraise with pride. You should be very confident about the way you’re making a world a better place and, therefore, be very willing to talk about it.”

“With human behaviors, there’s usually not just one magic bullet explanation, but the study certainly does reveal we’ve got work to do to help more people become aware of who we are as a nonprofit sector and all that we do as a nonprofit. Sector,” he said.

Jun 26

Mental health is today’s workplace priority

By Feature, Mental Health

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

The impact of mental health challenges in the workplace is becoming increasingly clear.

According to a recent survey by the American Psychological Association, 59 percent of all employees surveyed reported experiencing negative impacts of work-related stress in the previous month. Another international report calculated the financial toll of depression, anxiety, and stress on the global economy at $1 trillion.

Other studies point to similar patterns related to mental health:

  • 92 percent of employees said they experienced mental health challenges that impacted their work. — 2022 Workplace Survey
  • 76 percent of U.S. employees reported at least one symptom of a mental health condition. — Mind Share Partners
  • 84 percent of employees said that their workplace conditions contributed to a least one mental health condition — Mind Share Partners

These trends prompted our team at Not-for-profit News to dedicate two months of our weekly features to the topic of mental health. As the U.S. Surgeon General recently indicated in a new report, we believe employers will increasingly be at the forefront of addressing the mental health needs of Americans.

We have compiled a list of resources and articles published in May and June to support your work toward supporting the health and well-being of you and your employees. You can regularly visit Focus on Mental Health as a reference.

Some of the leading articles in this two-month series included the following:

Is your nonprofit suffering the effects of secondary trauma?
9 steps toward staff ‘self-care’ policies
New certification program encourages Indiana employers to develop more robust mental health initiatives
Mental health: The new leadership imperative
How fundraisers can get off the road to exhaustion and burnout
Nonprofit ramps up efforts to address Indiana’s mental health crisis

Here is a summary of some initiatives your nonprofit can consider when developing a mental health strategy for the workplace:

  • Create a culture of mental health awareness and support. Educate employees about mental health, provide resources and support, and create a safe and supportive environment where employees feel comfortable talking about mental health.
  • Offer mental health benefits. Ensure employees have access to mental health care, such as counseling and therapy. Consider providing paid time off for mental health days as a benefit.
  • Promote healthy work-life balance. If you haven’t already done so, introduce flexible work arrangements, such as telecommuting and flextime, if possible. Also, encourage employees to take their designated breaks and vacation time.
  • Address workplace stress. Take the time to identify sources of workplace stress, such as long hours, unrealistic expectations, and lack of support.
  • Support employees with mental health conditions. Provide accommodations and support for employees who are struggling with mental health conditions. Different options can include providing a quiet place to work, allowing for flexible work hours, and providing access to mental health care.
Jun 19

An effective mental wellness strategy demands a diverse approach

By Feature

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

Facing high rates of absenteeism? Or low rates of employee engagement? If so, you may need to consider how well you’re addressing the mental health needs of your employees — especially in developing different approaches for various demographics, according to Jamie Bierman, SHRM-SCP, regional market director at HR Elements, a partner of VonLehman CPA & Advisory Firm.

Gen Z employees, who are just now entering the workforce, may require a significantly different mental wellness strategy than Millennials and employees nearing retirement, according to Bierman, who recently talked to attendees of a HR Nonprofit Peer Group webinar sponsored by Charitable Advisors.

As a result, human resource (HR) professionals and other workplace leaders need to consider how to strategically develop wellness programs based on the needs of various generations as well as cultural backgrounds, Bierman said.

“The workplace consists of all types of different generations and different types of people,” she said. “A mental health is not a one-size-fits-all strategy or solution.”

One of the reasons driving the need for a multi-faceted approach is that the COVID-19 pandemic further shed light on the complexities of mental wellness. Bierman said that many factors can contribute to an employee’s performance at work. For example, an employee may be facing additional stressors if they are in a caretaking role for a child or an elderly parent.

And with 19 percent of U.S. employees reporting that they are struggling with their mental health, nonprofit organizations and other business naturally will experience negative outcomes such as a decrease in employee engagement, Bierman said. Consequently, organizations will see a decrease in business profitability and overall business results, she noted.

“Having a well-being program at work is the new wellness focus that we need to have,” Bierman said. “We need to remember that work and life are not mutually exclusive. We need to help our employees thrive within their lives. If you have a really bad morning, you’re probably not going to walk into the workplace ready to do a good job.”

The pandemic represented a period of managing stress and the unexpected at higher levels. “As HR professionals, not only are we managing it for ourselves, but we’re also trying to figure out how to help all of those individuals — even though we don’t know exactly what’s going on in their lives,” she said.

Bierman highlighted numerous ways that HR professionals can be more effective in addressing the complexities of assisting employees with mental health programs.

Consider generational differences. Bierman said that differences emerge based upon the generation of the employee. For examples, younger employees — such as Gen Zs — are more likely to prioritize mental health. “During job interviews, these are the people who will ask questions like, ‘What mental health resources do you have?’ ‘How many additional PTO days do you provide for a mental health break?’” The needs of older employees — those in their 40s and 50s — may be significantly different because of their increased responsibilities, Bierman said. “This age group that was seeing the highest increases in stress, anxiety, and feelings of negativity in 2021,” she said. “Many of them are probably in high-ranking positions or are stepping into new leadership roles that are demanding and stressful.”

A third demographic that may be facing mental health challenges are those approaching retirement. “They’re probably stressed for different reasons. It may be because they haven’t been able to retire,” Bierman said. “They may be dealing with fear and anxiety, which will have an impact on their mental health.”

Address racial and ethnic disparities. There are racial and ethnic disparities when addressing the mental health crisis in general, Bierman said. Minority groups typically are impacted by mental stress at a higher level but they’re less likely to use these services, she noted. Reports reveal that Asian employees are 51 percent less likely to seek mental help treatment than their white counterparts. Those numbers are 25 percent less likely among Latinos and 21 percent less likely among Black employees. Less representation of minorities in the mental health field and cultural norms contribute to those varying numbers, Bierman said. Similar differences emerge for gender and sexual minorities, who also experience higher rates of poor mental health outcomes. “They’re going to suffer in silence because, from a cultural perspective, it’s not OK to seek mental health support,” Bierman said. Consequently, HR professionals must build connections, relationships, and trust among minority and underrepresented groups, she said.

Regularly promote employee assistance services. One effective way of addressing mental health, Bierman said, is to promote the company’s employee assistance program (EAP) throughout the year — not just during the onboarding process.

“We often enroll employees and then walk away,” she said. “In many cases, when we talk about EAP, we’re focused on promoting the counseling aspects of it. But a lot of EAP programs can help an employee access resources in their community.”

These can include helping an employee find daycare for a child or adult care for an aging parent or helping them with financial challenges.

“Instead of talking about the EAP only during open enrollment and during the health care portion of your benefit presentation, you can regularly talk about EAP in a weekly news blast or in text message reminders to employees,” she said.

Mental Health for a diverse organization webinar replay. One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to the subject of mental health in a diverse workforce. This interactive discussion outlines tips and strategies organizations can take to address the topic of mental health and wellness in a multi-generational workplace. Presented by Nonprofit HR Peer Group. Watch replay

Jun 19

Anti-racism: The unspoken word every organization should be talking about

By Sponsor Insight

By Tashi Copeland, marketing and communications manager, CICF

While diversity, equity, and inclusion have become commonplace in companies’ town halls and “About Us” sections, there’s still a word that many are shying away from — anti-racism.

According to The Center for Study of Social Policy and Racial Equity Tools, anti-racism is the active process of identifying and challenging racism by changing systems, organizational structures, policies, practices, and attitudes to redistribute power equitably. By omitting anti-racism from the conversation, organizations find themselves in patterns of passive awareness of equity issues without honestly confronting the reality of systemic racism, acknowledging how they contribute to it and changing their behavior to actively create an equitable society.

So maybe you’re thinking to yourself—wow, that sounds extremely challenging. And honestly, it is. Because our racist systems were built on more than 400 years of oppression, understandably, it will take time to dismantle them. However, The Indianapolis Foundation has created a tool to move you and your organization into the space of anti-racism work. It’s called the Movement of 10,000 (MVMT10K).

What is MVMT10K?
MVMT10K is a digital tool designed as both a website and a mobile app with the goal of educating individuals in Central Indiana and beyond about the history of racism, its present implications, and methods to make constructive change against systemic racism. It is a continuous, adaptive curriculum that invites our community to continue learning.

Kayla Knox, researcher and sociologist, serves as the platform’s project manager and an equitable initiatives officer for The Indianapolis Foundation. Along with her efforts, many of the tools The Indianapolis Foundation and its collaborative partners have used to contribute to a more equitable and anti-racist institution support the MVMT10K.

Learning objective #1: Recognize that anti-racism work benefits EVERYONE
Everyone is negatively impacted by systemic racism. Deeply racialized systems are costly and depress outcomes for all populations. Challenging and changing these systems benefits us all. The Curb-Cut Effect has shown us that changes initially designed for a specific group of people spread out to help the vast majority. A commitment to an anti-racist community allows for more authentic relationships, space for innovation, abundance, joy and economic development. The Movement of 10,000 can be your entry point to that commitment.

What to expect
Once you sign up for the platform, you’ll agree to the rules of engagement. These guidelines are a commitment to own the space and responsibility for collective engagement that’s both respectful and insightful — allowing for reflection, learning and unlearning.

Guidelines include:

  • Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
  • Respect and listen to others’ lived experiences and respect different levels of awareness.
  • Speak from your own experience instead of generalizing (“I” instead of “they, “we” and “you.”)
  • Take risks, make mistakes and keep going and growing with the movement.

After setting up your profile, you’ll take a self-assessment. There are no right or wrong answers. The assessment allows you to recognize where you are on your learning journey, and you can retake it along your way to gauge where your understanding has shifted and how you feel about your role in building a more equitable community for all. You’ll then be able to dive into the initial learning pathway.

The pathway gives users — or Movers — a solid foundation for the road ahead, resources to protect their mental well-being and a shared vocabulary to make courageous conversations a little easier.

Tools to start the conversation
Whether you’re leading your organization’s equity work or an individual who wants to see some change in your organization, the thought of having a conversation around race might seem daunting. That’s why The Indianapolis Foundation team, in partnership with trained facilitators, experienced educators and current students, created the Movement of 10,000 facilitation guide. The guide is for anyone interested in facilitating group conversations using the resources uplifted by MVMT10K to inspire reflective learning about themes relating to anti-racism. It’s meant to direct your conversations and empower you and others to bring members of your staff or community together. We recognize that this is just a starting point.

Anti-racism isn’t just a moment
Even after you joined the Movement of 10,000 and went through the learning pathways, recognize that the work is not done. Awareness should eventually evolve into action—or Works of Equity. If you and your organization are genuinely going to have anti-racism implanted into your DNA, you must continue on the learning journey—the app is just an entry point.

Continuously evaluate your organization’s policies. Recognize your privilege. Assess where you’re at on your equity journey and where you still need to go further. As Pamela Ross, vice president of community leadership and equitable initiatives for The Indianapolis Foundation, says, “anti-racism cannot be just a moment. It must become a state of being.”

So, what are you waiting for? Join the movement today.

Jun 05

Nonprofit ramps up efforts to address Indiana’s mental health crisis

By Feature, Mental Health

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

When it comes to addressing mental health, Indiana has statistically lagged behind other states. Based on an often cited 2021 report by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the state ranked 42nd in addressing mental health among Indiana.

Some of the statistics underlying that ranking tell a more comprehensive story:

  • Nearly 40 percent of adults in Indiana reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, but 19 percent were unable to access counseling or therapy.
  • Nearly 1.3 million Hoosier adults report they have a mental health condition.
  • More than 4.4 million of Indiana residents live in a community that does not have enough mental health professionals.
  • Of the 345,000 adults in Indiana who did not receive needed mental health care, 37.4 percent cited it was because of cost.

These mental health conditions can be traced to the lingering impact of COVID-19, according to Paul Conrad, director of training and development for ASPIN, a nonprofit that has launched a Reduce the Stigma initiative to train more certified community health workers (CHW) to bridge the gap between mental health needs and available support services.

Even as day-to-day activities normalize, the extended periods of social isolation and prolonged fear people experienced during the pandemic are manifesting in increasing cases of mental health challenges.

“We hear across the board that COVID was rough,” he said. “But it was worse than a lot of people realized until we started talking about it and it became part of the national conversation.”

ASPIN recently received $100,000 to support the development of webinar training on various topics, including outreach efforts to support mental health initiatives among marginalized communities, including African American, Hispanic, and Indigenous people. The first session, scheduled for June 26, focuses on reducing the stigma of mental illness among African American men.

While the training supports the ongoing development of CHWs, it also is open to the general public to gain insights, said Julia Holloway, director of program development for ASPIN. Holloway said the online training can provide insights that support a better understanding of cultural differences among different populations. 

“Our community health worker training can help anyone gain a better understanding of how to engage with your clients or your customers,” she said. “The more you can understand the particular cultural differences in the population that you’re dealing with, particularly if you’re not from that population, that can be valuable for any nonprofit leader.

In Indiana, nearly 70 percent of community health workers are white, compared to 9 percent African American and 5 percent Hispanic or Latino, according to a 2020 needs assessment report issued by Purdue University.

ASPIN also focuses on related challenges to gaining mental health support, including lack of health insurance.

“We know with any health equity challenges or mental health, all the things that we strive to work on, really comes down to health insurance,” Holloway said. “You’re not able to access services if you don’t have good health insurance.”

ASPIN’s team is concerned that an increasing number of Hoosiers who are in need of mental health services will no longer be able to access them as grace periods for obtaining Medicaid and other governmental support at certain income levels expire.ASPIN has trained more than 1,800 community health workers since it was founded nearly 30 years ago. Anyone interested in applying for certification as a CHW, can visit the organization’s website.

May 15

New certification program encourages Indiana employers to develop more robust mental health initiatives

By Feature, Mental Health

Executive for Mental Health of America of Indiana discusses recent developments in efforts to advocate for mental wellness

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

With the recent approval of a $100 million Senate bill, Indiana is making inroads in providing much needed mental health resources to residents. But the funds still fall significantly short of what’s needed to address the state’s mental health needs, according to Stephanie Anderson, chief operating officer of Mental Health America of Indiana.

Anderson, who has been among the advocates championing for more attention to the state’s mental health needs, noted that Indiana continues to rank among the last in the nation when it comes to providing adequate mental health services to residents. Currently, Indiana ranks 42nd in the nation when it comes to mental health, according to the State of Mental Health in America 2023 report.

Anderson said the mental health bill is unprecedented in addressing mental health at this level in Indiana, but it has its limitations because of the two-year period of coverage. “For the caucus to consider mental health their No. 1 priority is a huge deal,” she said. “We have mixed emotions about it. I’m glad we’re paying attention to it and glad we passed the bill, but the funds do not support a sustainable program.”

Mental Health America is among the nonprofit organizations targeting gaps in mental health awareness and resources through various educational programs, toolkits, research, and advocacy. One of its most recent initiatives is the Bell Seal for Mental Health certification program, which encourages employers to develop more robust mental health programs in the workplace.

The concept of the Bell Seal certification predates the pandemic, Anderson said.

“The original thought behind it was multifaceted,” she said. “MHA national was really hoping to highlight organizations that are doing right by their employees in terms of mental health and supporting mental health from several different angles.”

The designation also provides a resource or technical assistance for employers that want to do more, said Anderson, who noted that since the program is fairly new, many employers, including those in Indiana, are unaware of the certification.

“We’ve been discussing ways to bring it to Indiana on a bigger level, including adding it as an invaluable resource to Indiana employers,” she said. “This recent session was huge for mental health, and we need to keep that momentum going.”

Insights from Bell Seal recipients

As part of the annual, national Bell Seal certification process, employers seeking to be recognized for creating mentally healthy workplaces undergo a comprehensive 58-criteria application. The process requires teams to evaluate organizational policies and practices that improve employee mental health outcomes, including workplace culture, benefits, compliance, and wellness programs. 

Of the 92 recipients of the 2022 Bell Seal certification, 20 percent represented the nonprofit sector, the second largest group of recipients. Healthcare organizations represented the leading group of recipients at 28 percent.

Some areas that the Bell Seal recipients focused on as part of their efforts to support the mental wellness of their employees included the following:

  • Increased or improved mental health benefits and additional resource support.
  • Provided full coverage of mental health counseling visits, regardless of provider or network
  • Covered in- and out-of-network benefits at the same co-pay or co-insurance rates
  • Implemented $0 co-pay for unlimited mental health therapy sessions
  • Reimbursed 50% of mental health therapy session costs
  • Increased telehealth options
  • Increased number of EAP sessions to 6, 10, or 12 counseling sessions
  • Offered a free virtual 1:1 counseling program
  • Evaluated compensation equity and role structure.
  • Increased compensation transparency and equity
  • Increased minimum wage to reflect the current costs of living
  • Restructured roles to fit employees’ needs
  • Implemented permanent flexible work schedules and enhanced leave policies.
  • Implemented a permanent hybrid work environment
  • Offered paid family leave to care for family members with health conditions
  • Implemented floating and organization-wide “Mental Health Days”
  • Suggested “No Meeting Wednesdays” to focus on other work responsibilities
  • Suggested two-hour blocks on calendars for no meetings
  • Designated a team or individual to identify and address mental health concerns in the workplace.
  • Educated new employees about mental health benefits and support during orientation or onboarding processes.
  • Provided mental health training for supervisors or employees. According to MHA’s 2022 Mind the Workplace report findings, only 46% of companies provide mental health training. 

Employers who are interested in the program can review a pre-assessment tool to determine their preliminary level of recognition before moving forward with the full application. Of the 266 employers that completed the pre-assessment, 42 percent did not meet the qualifications for Bell Seal certification, and 58 percent fell in one of the four recognition levels: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. 

Anderson noted that many Indiana employers may already have the qualifications to gain Bell Seal certification. “A lot of companies within Indiana are doing great things. They’re just not being highlighted at this point,” she said.

The Bell Seal certification can be effective in attracting and retaining employees in a highly competitive job market, Anderson said.

“The Indiana Chamber of Commerce has made it no secret that employers in general are saying that mental health or substance use disorders are among the leading barriers to a sustainable workforce,” she said. “In the nonprofit world, we struggle even more to compete with for-profit businesses in offering an equitable salary and benefits.” 

Future of mental wellness in Indiana

Anderson said she envisions advocates will continue efforts to restructure the mental health system in Indiana in the coming years. “We know we’re ranked 42nd in the United States, which is not a good number to be in terms of access and quality mental health care,” she said. “We have a system that has been largely untouched since the 1960s when President Kennedy signed into law the establishment of community mental health centers.”

She noted concerns remain because recommendations from the Behavioral Health Commission was for much greater and sustainable funding than what was provided by the $100 million under Senate Bill 1. 

“We’re thankful for the funding that was given and we know there will be supplemented with federal funds,” she said. “However, that doesn’t solve our problems after two years. Advocates will band together to figure out what would be an acceptable sustainable funding source, such as a cell phone surcharge, which is how we fund 911, or alcohol or tobacco taxes because they directly correlate with mental health.

“The ultimate goal is that we get our mental health system restructured so that people are sent to appropriate places for treatment for mental illness or substance use disorder as opposed to jail or the morgue,” Anderson said. “We’ve made some really great strides in this state. We have a long way to go but the momentum is good. I hope we can keep moving forward.”

May 08

‘The end of poverty is something to stand for’: Matthew Desmond urges audience to become ‘poverty abolitionists’

By Sponsor Insight

During United Way of Central Indiana event, author of “Evicted” says we’re doing a terrible job of connecting impoverished people with available resources

Growing up, Matthew Desmond’s family didn’t have a lot of money. His family’s gas got shut off all the time. The bank took their house. Seeing how his family was stressed by poverty drove Desmond to understand its dynamics and consequences. He has spent much of his life reporting and researching it.

“But even after all that, I felt I didn’t have this answer for: Why? Why is there so much poverty in America?” Desmond told a crowd of nearly 500 people during a recent event presented by the United Way of Central Indiana, alongside Glick Philanthropies, Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership and The Mind Trust.

“(Poverty’s) persistence in American life means that millions of families are denied safety and security and dignity in one of the richest nations in the history of the world. Why?” Desmond asked during his talk at the Indiana State Museum.

Desmond, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Evicted,” said he sought to answer that question, which became the topic of his latest book released in March 2023, “Poverty, by America.”

United Way seeks to serve those living in or near poverty in the region. According to a new report released by United Way in April, more than 36 percent of Central Indiana households were either in poverty in 2021 or considered ALICE, an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, ALICE households earn above the Federal Poverty Level but not enough to afford a basic household budget.

That’s more than 244,400 households — more than one of three Central Indiana households. The number of households in this category has increased 11 percent since 2018, according to United Way data.

During his speech, Desmond, who also is a sociology professor at Princeton University and the principal investigator of The Eviction Lab, painted a picture of the landscape of American poverty: A third of U.S. households make $55,000 or less. More than 38 million Americans can’t afford basic necessities. If America’s poor founded a country, it would have a bigger population than Australia, he said.

While some have suggested there’s nothing to be done, that government programs don’t work, Desmond said that’s not true. Evidence shows programs such as housing assistance and food stamps are essential and effective — and anti-poverty spending has grown over the last several decades, he said. This makes America’s “stalled progress” on poverty even more baffling, as poverty has persisted despite an increase in federal relief.

Desmond offered several explanations for why poverty endures.

First, a “fair amount” of government aid earmarked for the poor never gets to them. Desmond said roughly 7 million people who could receive the Earned Income Tax Credit don’t, passing on $17 billion a year, for example.

“This is a picture of us doing a terrible job of connecting families to programs that they need and deserve,” he said.

The poor are exploited in the labor, housing and financial markets, Desmond said. Wages are falling and unions are weak in today’s labor market. Since 1985, rent prices have exceeded incomes by 325 percent, and every year poor Americans pay billions of dollars in overdraft fees, check cashing fees, and fees from payday loans. A hard pill to swallow, he said: Not only corporations but consumers, those invested directly or indirectly in the stock market, many homeowners and even those with free checking accounts all benefit from the exploitation of the poor.

Desmond argued the United States does more to subsidize affluence in American than to fight poverty. When considering all government spending from tax benefits to programs, he said, data shows that households in the bottom 20 percent — the poorest families — get about $26,000 a year from the government. By comparison, the richest ones — the top 20 percent — receive about $35,000 from the government.

“We give the most to those who have plenty already and then we have the audacity … to fabricate stories about poor people’s dependency on the government and shoot down proposals to reduce hardship because they would cost too much,” Desmond said.

“… There’s so much poverty here, not in spite of our wealth, but because of it.”
Affluent Americans also create poverty by building walls around prosperous communities, using municipal zoning ordinances to keep affordable housing out of their backyards, he said. It creates concentrated poverty.

Different anti-poverty investments are needed to fix the problem, not just deeper ones, Desmond said. He argued we need to create public policies that disrupt poverty and address exploitation by empowering the poor.

He suggested addressing labor exploitation, for example, by promoting worker empowerment and supporting the unionization of entire sectors as a way to level the playing field.

As for housing, Desmond said more can be done to expand the public housing infrastructure, to provide a path to homeownership for low-income families and to invest in community land trusts so tenants can build permanent, affordable housing.

He said we can end segregation of the poor by replacing exclusionary zoning policies with inclusionary ones — removing walls.

Desmond said the philanthropic sector has a role to play, too: Nonprofits can shift the conversation about poverty and advocate for more robust policy action.

Ending poverty requires all of us to become “poverty abolitionists,” he said.

“… The best hope we have of ending poverty is to bind ourselves together and demand this of our country. A mass movement for economic justice is necessary and a mass movement stirs,” Desmond said. “… The end of poverty is something to stand for.”

May 01

Is your nonprofit suffering the effects of secondary trauma?

By Feature, Mental Health

Local nonprofit leader stresses the importance of understanding mental wellness among employees

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

“Burnout.” “Compassion fatigue.” “Secondary traumatic stress.” “Vicarious trauma.” More than likely, you’re somewhat familiar with these terms, especially if you work or volunteer for an organization that supports individuals struggling with addiction, abuse, unemployment, food insecurity, homelessness, damaged relationships, or grief.

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the term “burnout,” in particular, gained increased attention as nonprofits disproportionately face an exodus of employees, along with an increased demand for services.

However, many people are using the terms interchangeably — which can make organizations vulnerable to other ways that various mental health conditions among their employees can undermine their mission, according to Dr. Cara Berg Raunick, the director of clinical quality at Health Care Education and Training (HCET), a nonprofit organization based in Indianapolis. Berg Raunick also is a former sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) consultant for the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking.

As leaders seek to support mental health programs, it’s important to gain a deeper understanding of each of the conditions and how they can impact an employee differently and, as a result, the organization, said Berg Raunick, who conducted extensive doctoral research on the vicarious trauma experienced among sexual assault nurse examiners.

Berg Raunick said the focus on “burnout” as a concept can be related to its perceived connection to a high voluntary turnover rate in the workforce. According to Nonprofit PR, 45 percent of nonprofit employees surveyed said that they would be seeking new employment by 2025 — which could further exacerbate disproportionately high voluntary turnover rates in the nonprofit sector.

While those concerns can be legitimate from an institutional and workforce perspective, employers also need to address the various types of secondary trauma that nonprofit and healthcare workers often face, Berg Raunick said.

“Burnout can be the easiest one to figure out why it matters,” she said. “People quit when they experience burnout, which can cost us money in training time, staff deficits, and a loss of institutional knowledge and expertise. However, unlike secondary trauma, burnout isn’t strictly trauma related. It can be caused by any challenging work scenario.

“While it certainly can be linked to working with folks who have experienced trauma, it’s important to recognize that people who experience any kind of secondary trauma have an increased risk of burnout,” she added.

In many cases, symptoms of secondary trauma — which is an umbrella term that describes what happens to people who are peripherally impacted by another person’s direct trauma — amy not be readily addressed in the workplace because they may appear to only impact the employee, Berg Raunick said.

Yet, secondary trauma can result in disconnected employees who are ineffective in supporting the organization’s mission, she noted.  According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, symptoms of secondary trauma can include isolation, depression, anxiety, physical ailments, disassociation.

Berg Raunick stressed the importance of recognizing and addressing secondary trauma symptoms among employees — both to support employees’ overall well-being and the organization’s mission.

“In nonprofit and healthcare environments, working as a unit and supporting each other matters immensely,” she said. “It can lead to a decreased connection to patients, clients, and other team members.

“We’re losing a lot of our leaders over time to burnout,” she added. “But those who are staying may be disconnecting and losing their ability to have compassion and empathy. There’s a prevailing attitude that we should be strong, and we should be able to just carry on. We must approach not only our patients and clients and from a trauma-informed lens, but our workforce as well.”

Addressing secondary trauma in the workplace

Based on Berg Raunick’s research on vicarious trauma, which includes cognitive changes that occur with prolonged exposure to trauma, employees supporting traumatized people are likely to experience the highest levels of detrimental effects if they also have a personal history of trauma. 

However, as the research revealed, nurses without a personal history of sexual trauma but who examined sexual assault victims scored similarly in cognitive changes as obstetrics nurses who did have a personal history of sexual trauma — but did not work with sexual trauma victims in their roles. 

It’s important to create trauma-informed organizations and practices, including opportunities for self-care, in the workplace without setting the expectation that lack of resilience is a personal failure, said Berg Raunick.

“A huge part of it is learning about it, prioritizing it, and trying to create space to address it,” she said. “In some ways COVID taught us the importance of addressing it. We experienced immense trauma on so many levels, and the world slowed down for a bit.” 

Since there are many terms that have been associated with secondary trauma, understanding of the differences among them can be confusing, she noted.

“For example, compassion fatigue originated as a less stigmatized term for secondary traumatic stress, but now it is defined as a combination of secondary traumatic stress and burnout,” she said. “Compassion fatigue (as a description) makes a lot of intuitive sense. When we say compassion fatigue to someone, anyone who does any caring or any work in nonprofits, health care, or education, intuitively understands what that means.”

“With vicarious trauma, the changes aren’t pathologic,” she said. “They are normal and expected with this type of work. But while the changes themselves are normal, the effects can be harmful. We need to stress, ‘There’s nothing wrong with you. This isn’t a deficit if you’re experiencing this.”

Employers also should consider increasing awareness around the varying secondary trauma concepts as part of the onboarding process and continual employee engagement, Berg Raunick said. “By nature, most people who head into these kinds of fields have great resilience,” she said. “But it’s important to create trauma-informed organizations and practices, including opportunities for self-care, without setting the expectation that lack of resilience is a personal failure.

“A huge part of it is learning about it, prioritizing it, and trying to create space to address it,” she added. “In some ways COVID taught us the importance of addressing it. We experienced immense trauma on so many levels, and the world slowed down for a bit so that we can focus on it.”  

Ideas for practicing self-care

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), self-care tips to prevent and mitigate the impact of secondary trauma, such as those experienced by teams responding to a natural disaster.

  • Focus on the four core components of resilience: adequate sleep, good nutrition, regular physical activity, and active relaxation (e.g., yoga or meditation).
  • Get enough sleep or at least rest. This is of great importance, as it affects all other aspects of your work—your physical strength, your decision making, your temperament.
  • Drink enough fluids to stay hydrated and eat the best quality food that you can access.
  • Complete basic hygiene tasks like combing your hair, brushing your teeth, and changing clothes when possible. Wearing clean clothes can make you feel better.
  • Try to wash up, even just your hands and face, after you leave your work shift. Think of it as a symbolic “washing away” of the hardness of the day.
  • Make time to learn about the people with whom you work. Taking time for conversations will help foster feelings of positive regard toward yourself and others.
  • Engage with your fellow workers to celebrate successes and mourn sorrows as a group.
  • Take time to be alone so you can think, meditate, and rest.
  • Practice your spiritual beliefs or reach out to a faith leader for support.
  • Take time away from the work when possible. Removing yourself from the disaster area can help you remember that not every place is so troubled.
  • Try to find things to look forward to.
  • Communicate with friends and family as best you can. If you do not have Internet or cell phone access or ways to mail letters, write to loved ones anyway and send the letters later.
  • Create individual ceremonies or rituals. For example, write down something that bothers you and then burn it as a symbolic goodbye.
  • Focus your thoughts on letting go of stress or anger or on honoring the memory, depending on the situation.
May 01

In ‘The Room’ where it happens: Setting the space for interpersonal communication

By Sponsor Insight

by Christy Shepard and Jan Frazier of Planning Plus, LLC

Before the recent days of remote and hybrid work models, work was conducted in very static and finite methods and places. The paradigm shifts from employer-driven to employee-driven decision making and work life integration has afforded today’s worker choices and options for work engagement, participation, and lifestyle.

Employers are competing for employees at record levels and remote and hybrid work models are very attractive to multiple generations of people. No longer do we need to be “in the room” where it happens, as we have access to people and information like never before. Technological tools have broken barriers and stigmas, allowing workplaces to build healthy and dynamic organizational cultures that support the goals of the business and people that work in them. But with information and decision making moving through organizations at the speed of light, how do we ensure we are still making “the room” for the necessary thought and decision making to effectively problem solve?

‘The Room Where it Happens’, sung by Hamilton’s Aaron Burr in the popular Broadway musical, expresses many of the downsides workers have faced in the great transition from work from ‘working from home.’ Recently we have been involved in several significant projects involving multiple people where the work was done via emailing, texting, phone calls, Zoom, etc. Rarely were all players “in the room” at the same time. This led to delays in creating consensus solutions and became quite inefficient. Email may be efficient, Zoom is a step above, but where is the “room” for creative thinking, brainstorming, back-and-forth discussions? We may get the work done, but is it the best work we could have done?

Well before the Internet, Zoom, and other technological tools we have today, in 1989 the textbook Organizational Behavior by Robert Kreitner and Angelo Kinicki was published (Richard D. Irwin, Inc.). Based on their research, a Contingency Model for Selecting Communication Media was created by Richard L. Daft and Robert H. Lengel. In this model, they compared the appropriate media to use for communication information based on the richness of the medium and the complexity of the problem or situation. Fast forward to 2023 and we recognize that their principles still hold true.

Richness of the medium refers to how a message may be received and the level of interaction that may follow. We know that emails, written reports, and other forms of mechanical communication are generally impersonal, may or may not be read, and may or may not elicit any observable responses. Communication that involves more face-to-face communication, whether in person or via Zoom, allows the speaker to observe nonverbal communication as well as receive immediate feedback.

Over the years, the original model by Daft and Lengel has been updated but its essence has not changed. The figure below illustrates the information richness of different information channels.

Principles of Management – Open Textbook (umn.edu).

As you think about communicating information with your team or throughout your organization, identify how complex the situation is and match it to a more appropriate forum for discussion.

In this post-COVID work world, employees have become quite comfortable working from home, and we have seen articles where in some cases productivity has not been affected. But productivity alone should not be the deciding factor. We continue to encourage our clients to bring folks into the workspace at least weekly, to allow for critical interpersonal communication and decision making to happen when everyone is in the room.

Apr 24

ICON loan program critical to success of community development project

By Sponsor Insight
Before and after of WIDC project

by Citizens Energy Group

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Questions can be directed to: ICON@citizensenergygroup.com