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Dec 16

Freetown Village: Insights on sustainability from a small nonprofit

By Feature

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

For decades, Freetown Village, a small nonprofit organization based in Indianapolis, had been focused on educating its audiences about a unique period in America’s history — specifically 1870, when freed African American slaves experienced a series of firsts, according to founder Opehlia Wellington.

That distinct period served the organization well, according to Wellington. “When I first started Freetown Village, I decided to focus on that period since there were so many things that happened after the Civil War to benefit African Americans,” said Wellington, referring to the passage of the 15th amendment,  which granted African American men the right to vote, as well as the 13th and 14th amendments, which abolished slavery and provided all U.S. citizens, including former slaves, equal protection under the laws. “It was an unusually safe period of time for African Americans.” 

About 15 years ago, Wellington decided to modify and expand that focus — among the many steps she has taken to ensure that Freetown Village maintains its resilience. “After research, I decided we need to expand beyond that era — after 1870 and even before 1870,” she said. “It allowed us to talk about a more inclusive history of African Americans in Indiana. It gave us the liberty to do something different.”

While expanding an organization’s mission can have advantages, it also comes with disadvantages, according to Wellington. Although Freetown Village has put on numerous productions since modifying its mission, the organization continues to address questions related to its productions set in other time periods. Another consideration is determining how to repurpose or address previous marketing materials, she said.

“A lot of people still think we’re only making productions in 1870,” she said. “Many of them are surprised. It requires a significant amount of marketing to inform people.”

Maintaining sustainability as a small nonprofit

With the nonprofit organization celebrating its 40th anniversary, Freetown Village has avoided a statistic that haunts many other nonprofits. According to the National Center on Charitable Statistics, more than 30 percent of all nonprofit organizations will fail within the first 10 years. And, the fallout from the global pandemic will likely result in even higher numbers of failures.

Wellington, a former educator who first conceptualized Freetown Village in 1982, notes several lessons learned as a small nonprofit that has been able to sustain itself after numerous decades. One of the key factors is ensuring that you have a mission that excites you, as well as addresses a need that is not being met by other nonprofits.

“Do you have an audience?,” she asked. “Are other people excited about seeing the value in what you’re doing?”

The next step is determining how to make the nonprofit sustainable. “It’s really about the planning,” she said.

As part of determining whether others see the value also lies at the heart of fundraising because you will need to solicit support at numerous levels. “There are many nonprofits that get money from foundations as well as individual contributions,” she noted. 

However, Wellington noted, smaller nonprofits, including grassroots organizations, have traditionally had challenges with the fundraising aspects of sustainability. Even small nonprofits that have been able to sustain themselves often are not able to generate enough money to do the things they had envisioned, which has happened with Freetown Village.

“There are many things that we had talked about doing but just never got the funding to make it happen,” she said. “There are some inequities in the amount of money that is distributed. Only recently have foundations realized that only about 2 percent of their funding is granted to organizations led by African Americans.”

Wellington said she is hopeful that trend is changing as numerous foundations have intentionally sought to make funding more equitable in recent years.  “Within the last two or three years, with some of the DEI funding, we’ve been able to pick up some new supporters,” she said. “Some of them I would never have wasted my time submitting a proposal because the amount we would have received would have been insignificant.”

“It’s hard to do the same quality of programming and services when other organizations are getting significantly more,” she said. “That’s not to say that all white-led organizations are flush. It’s just that a majority of black-led organizations are experiencing similar problems with fundraising.”

As she looks to the future, Wellington said she will continue to explore options to expand Freetown Village’s mission as she did with the recent production “Sign of the Times,” a one-woman show that shed light on the women’s suffrage movement in the mid-1920’s.

“Knowledge changes the world,” Wellington said. “With every program we do, regardless of the year, we try to make a current connection to it. For our recent show, we were talking about women’s suffrage. Now, in 2022, we see a resurgence of people trying to keep not just women from voting, but black people and Hispanic from voting. It can be eye-opening to see that the same playbook is being used from 100 years ago.”

Dec 05

How to get your nonprofit news covered by the media

By Feature

Local journalists and PR consultants offer tips to promote your cause

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

As a nonprofit leader, it’s likely that increasing awareness about your organization can be just as challenging as fundraising. While digital marketing and social media outreach can be effective ways to reach new audiences, gaining media coverage can be the key to promoting your mission, and consequently, engaging more supporters and donors.

But the process for successfully getting their news covered by local media outlets can elude many nonprofits, especially those without the resources to hire a public relations consultant.

During Media Access Workshop recently presented by the Indianapolis Association of Black Journalists, local media representatives, including those from the Indianapolis Star, WISH-TV, WTHR, and Not-for Profit News, and communications consultants and public relations experts offered key strategies for nonprofits and churches that want to effectively engage with local media outlets.

After attending the workshop, Paradise Bradford, CEO and founder of Pretty Passionate Hands, said that the insights she gained alleviated some of her frustrations about getting media coverage for her grassroots nonprofit organization, which supports and mentors teen parents.

“It can get discouraging when you see stories highlighted about other organizations,” she said. “You may think, ‘Why are they on the news?’ It gets discouraging because you start wondering if what you’re doing is important.”

Bradford said some of the key takeaways from the session was understanding when and how to send press releases, as well as identifying the media teams that would be most likely to cover her nonprofit’s events and news updates.

The session, which was sponsored by the Indianapolis Recorder and Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, also included the following tips:

Pitch a compelling newsworthy story. Make sure your idea for media coverage is newsworthy. As Jasmine Minor of WISH-TV noted, first ask this critical question: “Why would someone care?” Is your organization celebrating its 10th anniversary? That’s not unusual. Many organizations are celebrating milestones. Explore more newsworthy angles, such as the impact that your organization has made in the community in a specific area. Provide data, whether national statistics related to the story or data unique to your organization’s impact. Pitches backed up by data can make a more compelling case for an article, according to Alexandria Burris, investigative reporter for the Indianapolis Star. It’s more likely to get a reporter’s attention.

Understand your audience. Before pitching a story to a news reporter or media outlet, do your research first. Most media outlets have reporters who cover specific areas, such as crime, education, sports, government, traffic, etc. Take the time to research reporters’ areas of specialty and interest before pitching an article. An education reporter may be interested in the work done by nonprofits that are addressing learning loss caused by COVID-19. Most online publications, newspapers, and TV stations will have a listing of their reporters on their websites. They also will include contact information, including email addresses. Consider reaching out on various platforms, including LinkedIn and Twitter.

Develop a press release. When proposing a story idea, make sure to include the Five W’s — Who, What, When, Where, and Why — in a concise format. In most cases, a press release should be limited to three or four paragraphs on one page with a short attention-grabbing headline. Include contact information of the person who will be responding to reporters’ inquiries. Also, be prepared to share your story as part of a broadcast, whether you receive a request from a TV station or a newspaper.

Don’t be afraid to engage with the reporter on a personal level. If you feel like your news pitches are constantly ignored, send a quick email to ask the journalists on your list what types of stories they’re interested in or if there is another person on their team that would be a better fit. Journalists are often inundated with press releases and advisories. Be consistent in following up and trying to engage them.

Send press releases at least a week or two in advance. Depending upon the news outlet, you will need to send a press release in time for them to consider it for publication. Most daily publications and TV stations will need at least one- or two-weeks’ advance notice about your news story, while weekly and monthly publications will require even more time.

Nov 14

More than a pay raise: Retaining Indiana’s nonprofit employees requires a comprehensive wellness approach

By Feature

Indiana Youth Services Association launches pilot project to address nonprofit youth workers’ challenges

Disengaged, burned out, overwhelmed. Those are the adjectives often used to describe nonprofit employees in today’s work environment.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the voluntary nonprofit employer turnover rate is at a historic high — outpacing the turnover rate in the overall labor market. In 2022, the nonprofit industry had a turnover rate of 19 percent, compared to 12 percent for the overall labor market.

The challenge of retaining and recruiting nonprofit employees in a highly competitive labor market also comes at a time when nonprofit organizations are dealing with increased demands for services, changes in fundraising, and higher costs driven by inflation.

However, the well-being of nonprofit employees must take a priority, according to David Westenberger, CEO, Indiana Youth Services Association (IYSA), a statewide association of 30 Youth Service Bureaus in about 70 counties.

“Within our field, we haven’t done a very good job of taking care of our own people doing the work,” said Westenberger, who has been raising awareness about the need for nonprofit employers to support their employees beyond pay raises and title changes.  “In the field of youth work and social services, people in the field over a long period of time eventually mirror the population they serve more than retain the overall wellness and health that they had early on.”

Without adequate insights about the challenges nonprofit employees face and a comprehensive approach to address them, nonprofit organizations could be undermining their ability to achieve their mission, Westenberger said.

A comprehensive approach to employee wellness

Earlier this year, Westenberger and the IYSA team, launched a pilot project that addresses the overall wellness of nonprofit youth workers. The framework for the project includes the Eight Dimensions of Wellness outlined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) and insights from ACEs (adverse child experiences) training.

During each year of the three-year initiative, representatives from four Youth Service Bureau organizations undergo monthly training that addresses one of SAMHSA’s eight dimensions of wellness — emotional, occupational, social, financial, environmental, physical, spiritual, and intellectual. Each month, participants hear from experts in each of the eight fields reflected in the dimensions of well-being. The also collaborate on supportive strategies and ideas that are later integrated in their workplace employee programs.

IYSA provides the participating organizations with stipends to support the initiatives that help their staff members grow in each dimension.

“For emotional well-being, one of the organizations contracted with a local agency to offer mental health counseling services for their staff,” Westenberger said. Other proposals included providing employees with gym memberships, implementing walking meetings, giving time for employees to be active during the day, and serving nutritious food during meetings.  

The participants, who regularly report on their progress in implementing employee programs around the eight dimensions, will serve as mentors to the other eight organizations that will undergo training in 2023 and 2024.

Addressing a cycle of trauma

The IYSA pilot project follows extensive research that revealed numerous challenges for nonprofit workers in the field of youth services.

The association, which also supports numerous youth-focused initiatives, including increasing awareness about human trafficking, ACEs (adverse childhood experiences), medical amnesty related to underage drinking, launched surveys to gain insights about the challenges faced by youth workers on a day-to-day basis.

A financial analysis revealed that 78 percent of survey respondents experience moderate to significant financial stress, 67 percent are in debt, and 46 percent hadn’t save enough to cover an emergency. It also revealed that employees spend an average of 1.1 hours dealing with their personal finances while at work.

A 2022 IYSA survey related to the eight dimensions of health revealed the following:

  • 40 percent of survey respondents rated their emotional wellness as fair, poor, or very poor.
  • 36 percent rated the quality of emotional wellness support from their organization as poor or fair.
  • 43 percent rated their physical wellness as fair, poor, or very poor.
  • 29 percent rated the physical wellness support programs from their organization as fair or poor.
  • 64 percent rated their financial wellness as fair, poor, or very poor.

Survey respondents who rated their organizations as supportive with emotional wellness provided these comments about their employers:

  • “I am always taken care of and am constantly being checked up on to see if I am okay.”
  • “My employer is understanding and willing to listen and support and encourages us to take care of our minds as well as our bodies.”
  • “The employer does check-ins on staff to see how well we are doing or if we have any questions about programming or suggestions.”
  • “We can take a quick break if we are overwhelmed.”

Some suggestions provided by the survey respondents included providing employees with a quiet place so that they can relax for a minute, being supportive and listening to concerns, counseling, mental health check-ins, and an easily accessible platform for scheduling counseling and therapy.

Westenberger said that the surveys revealed the need to engage in a more comprehensive wellness strategy.

“In the field of youth work and social services, we have employees who, emotionally and financially, mirror the population they’re serving,” he said. “About 60 percent of the people working in the youth services field have their own trauma because they entered the field because of their childhood experiences. They have a passion to make things better for young people — to change the system and circumstances for children.”

A history of childhood trauma coupled with the demands of working with a traumatized population during pandemic is detrimental for many youth workers, Westenberger said.

“Like most other things, the pandemic brought to the forefront how much secondary trauma there is,” Westenberger said. “So, you’ve got people with high ACE scores where it is part of their intrinsic drive to do the work. And they’re working with populations who are experiencing high levels of abuse and neglect.

“We are asking, ‘What are some of the things in your workplace culture that could change to support employees and how can you provide resources to support them?’,” he added.

Oct 31

Indiana Landmarks expands its mission to recognize historic significance of demolished sites

By Feature

Virtual experiences could be central to capturing Black history through a new program

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

A vintage photograph of the 300 block of Indiana Avenue captures a moment in time — when the area was nationally recognized for its bustling Black-owned businesses, and arts and culture scene.

Some of the buildings likely would have been identified by Indiana Landmarks as historic sites worth saving — if they hadn’t already been demolished. With the exception of the Madame C.J. Walker Building, most of the black-owned buildings in the 1950s image, including the jazz clubs Sunset Terrace Ballroom and Royal Palm Gardens, no longer exist because of highway construction and modern urban development during the 1960s and 1970s.

However, Indiana Landmarks recently launched the Black Heritage Preservation Program, which effectively establishes a new concept for the nonprofit — recognizing the heritage of a place, whether or not a building still stands at the location.

People who may not have been familiar with the Black history of Indiana Avenue and other historically significant places like it will soon have the opportunity to gain an appreciation of their impact and influence in the state, said Eunice Trotter, who recently assumed the role of the program’s director.

Trotter, an author, journalist, and long-time community activist, said the new initiative is important because of the disappearance of many historically Black neighborhoods, schools, and businesses throughout the state through demolition or gentrification.

“It is extremely significant because so much of our history has been erased or ignored — even by ourselves,” Trotter said of Black residents. “We know it somewhat but, with each generation, we know even less. When you couple that with the tearing down of the physical evidence of that history, we become a history-less people. There’s no proof of anything that we’ve done, challenges we’ve overcome, or contributions that we’ve made.

“Those stories are important — particularly to our young people,” Trotter added. “They are evidence of our resilience, our determination, and our ability to pull together.”

Re-imagining a central mission

Indiana Landmarks, which was founded in 1960, previously had recognized the importance of focusing on historically significant Black sites through its African American Landmarks Committee, which was established in 1992.

Through its Black Heritage Preservation Program, which was funded by a $5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., and other financial commitments from private donors and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, it also recognizes the loss of many important buildings throughout the state’s history

As Trotter and committee members of the Indiana Landmarks’ Black Heritage Preservation Program start imagining how to capture the vitality and essence of historically Black physical structures, they have considered the possibilities of using innovative technology like QR codes, augmented reality, virtual reality interactive experiences, and hologram-like projections such as those used in the Indiana Historical Society’s exhibit Eva Kor: From Auschwitz to Indiana.

“My No. 1 goal is to tap into the use of augmented reality,” Trotter said. “I was really sold on that method of heritage preservation after visiting the EJI Museum in Alabama,” she said.

Some current possibilities include allowing a person to use their smartphone to access a QR code on a marker near a historically significant Black site to hear a recording about the history of a place or using augmented reality platforms to animate historic photographs, said Steve Mannheimer, who is Indiana Landmark’s chairman of the technology subcommittee for the Black History Preservation Program.

As technology advances, new ways of bringing history alive will continue to emerge, Mannheimer noted.

The latest artificial intelligence innovations include extensively interviewing elderly people about their experiences so that, through artificial intelligence, people can talk to them — even years after their death. The innovation through the USC Shoah Foundation is now capturing stories from Holocaust survivors.

Mannheimer said that the Black History Preservation Program represents a reckoning of the role that race has played in the history of the United States. “It’s not something that could be solved by a significant event such as the election of Barack Obama,” he said. “It’s an ongoing requirement for the future of this country.”

During a recent trip to Germany, Mannheimer said, he walked around Berlin and Munich where he saw extensive documentation of the Holocaust — memorials and tours primarily launched during the late 1960s as homage to victims and survivors.

“I’m Jewish, and it was just unsettling, disquieting on a profound level,” said Mannheimer, who included a visit to the Dachau Concentration Camp on his trip. “As Americans, we have danced around this issue — the debt we have to pay for the treatment of African Americans. We have an obligation … working on this project seems like a step in the right direction for me.”

Oct 17

What’s next?: Perspectives on how local nonprofits are moving forward in 2023

By Feature

Several nonprofit employees share their personal insights a year after NFPN survey

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

How is Central Indiana’s nonprofit industry evolving? What’s next for 2023?

More than a year has passed since Not-for-profit News engaged 500 Central Indiana nonprofit employees as part of a “How Are You Doing?” survey. At that time, we wanted to know how the people who make up Central Indiana’s nonprofit sector were faring during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, stay-at-home orders, and social and racial justice protests.

In September of 2021, a significant number of survey respondents (54 percent) said they were thinking about leaving their jobs within 12 months. And 72 percent said that their nonprofit’s stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work impacted them.

Recently, we contacted several survey respondents who were willing to be interviewed about what had transpired since last year.

While the nonprofit employees’ responses varied, it was clear that the unprecedented events in recent years significantly impacted how their organizations will fare throughout 2023 — either positively or negatively. One person decided to leave the nonprofit field as a full-time career, while others decided to stay in environments experiencing high levels of employee turnover. For some, the pandemic strengthened their resolve to elevate their nonprofit missions.

The following includes an overview of their responses.

Nonprofit veteran decided to leave industry

A 25-year nonprofit veteran in Central Indiana, who will remain anonymous, quit her full-time job at a local nonprofit, making her among the approximately 4.5 million Americans who quit their jobs in 2021, a statistic reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“I’ve always prided myself on working in a nonprofit and making it better than it was when I started,” said the employee, who launched a travel agency and consults for her former employer about 5 to 8 hours a week. “I wasn’t feeling that anymore. I wasn’t feeling like I was having any impact on anything. I wasn’t finding value in working for this particular nonprofit.”

While the pandemic accelerated her decision, she said, the work environment — including a high turnover rate among board members, a lack of inclusivity in decision-making, and a toxic culture — already had put her on a course to seek other opportunities.

She said that she believes the nonprofit lost sight of its mission. “To me, this (travel opportunity) is more impactful than raising money for a scholarship or to keep the lights on. It’s filling my bucket, my sense of purpose,” she said. “I’m encouraging people to travel to places they may not normally go. Writing fundraising copy just wasn’t cutting it anymore.”

In looking forward to 2023 and beyond, the former nonprofit employee said, she would encourage nonprofit teams, starting with the top executives, to re-engage with their mission.

“Somewhere, from the top to the bottom, we’ve lost the whole point,” she said. “Are we filling widgets. Are we raising money? With our most recent fundraising letter, they were focused on the size of the document and the need to fill every panel with a lot of text as opposed to what we really needed for our mission.”

Some nonprofits do make a personal connection with their donors, as evidenced by a local cat shelter that sent her a thank you letter for a donation made on her behalf. Along with a handwritten note with a cat image, the nonprofit sent a newsletter that had been written in Microsoft Word and featured numerous images of cats.

“They told me what they were doing specifically with my money,” she said. “There was nothing fancy. They taped a picture of a cat to the front and wrote something meaningful. I still have it because I think it’s so cute. I read it all the time. They got it right.”

The survey respondent also noted that the Great Resignation included people of all ages and industries, including her husband, who changed corporate jobs to work for a smaller company. She believes management will need to have more meaningful conversations with employees about their mission and their role in it. The message should not be “We need you in the office three days a week” or “Here’s a Starbucks gift card,” she said.

Staying the course amidst a sector in constant change

While the recent upheaval in Central Indiana’s nonprofit has been evident in various areas, Patty Cortellini is among those staying the course as director of agency relations for Second Helpings. “I guess it’s in my blood. I truly believe in the mission of Second Helpings,” said Cortellini, who is preparing to celebrate her 13th anniversary at the nonprofit organization.

“From an organizational standpoint, we have seen a lot of turn over,” she said. “A year ago, our CEO, Jennifer Vigran retired, and several other key individuals have moved on to other positions. Internally, we have seen changes among the ranks. The burnout due to COVID is high.”

Cortellini noted that Vigran was among a series of key local CEOs who announced their resignations, including John Whittaker of Midwest Food Bank and John Elliott of Gleaners.

Innovative approaches that Second Helpings implemented to accommodate COVID-19 stay-at-home orders and increasing food needs will likely continue throughout 2023 and beyond, Cortellini said.

“When COVID hit, we pivoted on a dime and created “to-go” containers for drive-through operations. We also implemented home delivery of meals based on need. At the beginning, the calls were screened by the Indy Hunger Network. Now they are screened by Gleaners,” she said. “To this day, we are still delivering food to home bound individuals/families and still packaging meals into to-go containers. I don’t anticipate those models will ever go away.”

The community also has a continuing need for services, based on requests made to Second Helpings, with the number of meals requested doubling from pre-COVID to today. “We have seen the need for sandwiches explode,” Cortellini said. “Currently, we make around 6,000 sandwiches a week.”

Other changes implemented by Second Helpings, Cortellini said, include the following:

  • Second Helping’s CEO, Linda Broadfoot, and the board of directors joined the Good Wage Initiative, a group of Marion County employers who are committed to providing full-time employees a wage of at least $18/hour and access to health insurance benefits.
  • Invested in a new prep area to expand the organization’s services.
  • Switched fundraising events to a virtual format.
  • Formed an internal committee to address DEI initiatives with the guidance of a Martin University professional. The nonprofit had planned to close its office to host the first of two staff-wide DEI training sessions.

Overall, Cortellini said, she is learning to relax. “Just last week, I was able to take a full complete week off,” she said. “I am working on placing more boundaries around me. I don’t feel like we are in a crisis mode like before. We have a little more breathing space.”

Implementing new approaches to nonprofit work

Susan Ferguson, chief program officer at accessABILITY, and a 30-year nonprofit veteran, said that she no longer feels the level of stress she did a year ago. “However, I do believe the almost constant state of stress, overwhelm, and burnout is real in the nonprofit sector,” Ferguson added.

Ferguson noted some positive outcomes because of the major shifts that nonprofit organizations experienced in the wake of the outbreak of the global pandemic.

“New developments include a more remote work environment,” Ferguson said. “We are now looking for new models for space, including renting space in a co-working model for the flexibility it offers. We have a need for a home office, but outside of our administrative and leadership staff, our staff are primarily working from home.”

Community Center’s CEO focuses on community, well-being

For Eric Koehler, CEO of JCC Indianapolis, nonprofit organizations must continue to play a significant role in healing rifts that have emerged in communities in recent years. “The pandemic really polarized our community, our state, our country, our world,” he said. “Our roles as nonprofit leaders in the community are more important than they’ve ever been. Our collective nonprofit mission is to help foster healthier, more inclusive communities from lots of different perspectives.”

He described JCC Indianapolis as a town square of sorts for the surrounding community, no matter a person’s background, orientation, or beliefs. “This is a place where everyone can gather around programmatic interest areas,” he said. “All that other stuff can fall away. That’s probably the most important of our mission. We’re not just a fitness center. We’re a conduit — a vehicle for us to create community. It’s a deliberate process. We foster a sense of community.”

Koehler also said that his leadership team has prioritized the well-being of employees in the wake of the pandemic outbreak. The organization shut down for a day in 2021 for a Mental Health Day, which included a retreat. After the gathering, the employees were able to take the rest of the day off.

“While it’s a common practice in the for-profit sector, service industry organizations may find it difficult to close their after-school care, fitness center, and early childhood programs,” he said. “But we felt like if we don’t take care of our people, they can’t take care of our community.”

Through the national JCC Association, the local JCC also implemented a MESH certification program designed to train participants in recognizing the signs of someone in need of mental health support. The organization also distributed free resources to employees to help them understand where they can seek help for additional mental health support.

On a day-to-day basis, leadership also plays a role in regularly recognizing the good work of their employees.

“As CEOs, our job is to be the primary cheerleader for the organization. Leadership, whether it’s the staff or the board or the executive team, must spend as much time as we can calling out good behaviors,” Koehler said. “We need to praise publicly and provide corrective feedback privately and find moments to celebrate. It shouldn’t be a once-a-month routine. Do it as many times per week as you can. Every time, you tell somebody something nice, you’re filling up someone’s bucket. It probably takes about 20 nice comments to make up for one negative comment.”

To keep up with the demands of his role, Koehler said that he stays grounded through prayer, fitness, and reading. Through decades of serving in the nonprofit sector, he said, he also has learned how to prioritize his varying responsibilities.

“I’ve been working in nonprofits for 30 years and there’s definitely times where you feel it. Sometimes we’re going to have to work an incredible number of hours for a special fundraising event or to open up our waterpark for camp,” he said. “But you can’t sustain that on an ongoing basis.”

Using advice he read in Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More, Koehler periodically assesses his schedule to make sure that he’s prioritizing the areas that will move the JCC Indianapolis’ mission forward.

“Sometimes it’s very rewarding to check off the quick things that actually don’t move you or your organization forward. It can be satisfying to say that it’s off my list,” Koehler said. “But it’s more important to focus on the things that I’m doing to move my organization and myself, professionally, forward.”

Sep 26

Nonprofit engages Grant County youth with a new mobile play experience

By Feature

WonderSpace expands options in area with one of Indiana’s highest rates of childhood poverty

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

After Stephanie Freemyer and her family returned to her hometown of Marion, Ind., several years ago, she was struck by the lack of indoor opportunities for children to engage in stimulating play. Her two young children, ages 5 and 2 at the time, often complained of having “nothing to do.”

“When we were in North Carolina and Pasadena (Calif.), our kids were outside all the time,” Freemyer said. “Then coming here, it was cold, raining, or snowing eight months out of the year. It really impacted our kids.”

Grant County, where Marion is located, is familiar with these types of comparisons when it comes to opportunities for children. For years, it has had the distinction of having one of the highest rates of child poverty in Indiana — as high as 31 percent in 2018 and 22.7 percent in 2019, according to Indiana Kids Count data. That compares to a national childhood poverty rate of 14.4 percent in 2019.

And, as research continuously reveals, childhood poverty can lead to other challenges, including poor academic outcomes and an elevated risk of behavioral, social, and health challenges. In Grant County, 2018 average math and reading proficiency scores lagged behind state averages — 36 percent for math and 40 percent for reading, compared to the state’s averages of 46 percent and 49 percent, respectively.

These types of statistics, along with the lack of indoor play opportunities, were on Freemyer’s mind when she launched WonderSpace as a nonprofit in 2019 with no previous experience in establishing an organization. WonderSpace now includes a mobile play experience of four distinct areas designed to increase health and wellness among young people through physical, exploratory, imaginative, and cognitive play.

Since it doesn’t have a permanent location, WonderSpace welcomes visitors to free one-day or two-day pop-up mobile play days held in schools, churches, and businesses that donate their space. In its first year, more than 600 children and family members attended WonderSpace pop-up events. Last year, it welcomed more than 5,000 individuals to the mobile play event, which features the interactive stations Cardboard City, Imagination Playground, Snug Play, and Higher Flyers. The stations all contain loose parts that encourage exploration, engineering, and imagination.

Freemyer, who also serves as the children’s ministry director for College Wesleyan Church in Marion, noted that many Grant County families aren’t able to drive for an hour to reach destinations like the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis or the Science Center in Fort Wayne. The realization of those restrictions motivated her to move forward with her idea to create a children’s experience in Grant County.

In 2018, Angela Leffler, an associate professor in education at Indiana Wesleyan University, and Freemyer attended a 2018 Hatch-a-thon run by Ministry Incubators, which helps people launch ministry-focused ideas. As part of the competition, they won $500, which they dedicated to securing a business name.

The project continued to evolve after they hosted a community fundraiser to pay for $11,000 worth of play equipment. Sponsorships and donations followed to help fund additional play materials, supplies, and a 26-foot trailer to transport blocks, cardboard elements, and other loose play materials.

Meeting community needs

Tara Griffin, executive assistant at WonderSpace and a former teacher, said it was important to host WonderSpace as a free event to ensure access for children from all backgrounds. She also stressed the importance of families playing with their children, which may not come naturally for some of them.

“It is family directed,” Griffin said. “It’s not a place where parents drop off their kids and come back in two hours. They stay and engage with them. That’s what makes it so special. Families need to be provided those opportunities.”

WonderSpace also has been beneficial because it encourages socialization among young children who haven’t had opportunities to play with other children during COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing, Griffin pointed out.

The mobile play experience also is designed to meet the needs of children who may need a space separate from the larger areas to comfortably play, Griffin said. WonderSpace has designated calm or quiet areas.

“We try to make it accessible everyone, including handicapped children, children with special needs, or anyone who might be inhibited from playing in a larger environment,” Griffin said. “We want to provide an area for all children to be able to play and engage.”

According to Shayona Funches, a long-time Grant County resident, consultant, and former board member for WonderSpace, the nonprofit is meeting numerous community needs. Funches, who has three children, said that the area has been in decline for decades. During that time, many businesses have closed, including bowling alleys and movie theaters, she said.

“We’re not like Fort Wayne or Indianapolis, where there are a lot of things to do,” Funches said. “At one time, there was always something going on here. That’s just not the case anymore.”

WonderSpace fills a void not only by providing children a stimulating play experience, but also by connecting people throughout the community.

Funches said that WonderSpace has been successful, partly because Freemyer invited community input from the start. She said that it is important for nonprofits to ask questions. “What does your community want? What are their hopes?,” Funches said. “You want to them to buy into whatever you’re doing because eventually you will need their support. It also was important for Stephanie to have a team of people who truly believed in the vision.”

Freemyer continues to receive reinforcement that WonderSpace is making an impact, but one special moment will always stay with her.

During the opening night, a mentor to several troubled youth who were exhibiting signs of play deprivation came over to Freemyer with her smartphone held out. She displayed a photo she had captured while the children were playing. The photo showed a boy’s joyful face. The mentor told Freemyer that it was the first time she had seen him smile.

She immediately recalled her son’s prayer during dinner the night before; he had prayed that there would be smiles at WonderSpace. “I still get choked up,” she said. “I knew we’d see smiles. I just didn’t know it would be so significant.”

Sep 12

New online tool launched to combat Indiana’s workforce challenges

By Feature

Indiana Chamber’s Talent Resource Navigator facilitates connections with career development training

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

Seeking a better employment opportunity but not sure if you’re qualified? Or searching for quality career development training to equip an employee for a promotion?

Those are the types of questions that the Institute of Workforce Excellence (IWE), the Indiana Chamber’s charitable nonprofit, is addressing through its new Talent Resource Navigator, a web-based tool designed to help Indiana employers and individuals access educational and professional growth training programs from one location, according to Todd Hurst, IWE executive director.

The Navigator project, which has been in development for more than a year, streamlines the process of identifying and accessing hundreds of programs that address skills gaps in Indiana’s workforce. Funded by a $2.5 million Lilly Endowment grant, the site is free to employers and individuals. It also is available in Spanish and features a live customer service component.

The development of the online tool is in response to some frustrations experienced by employers across the state, as well as a shortage of skilled employees, according to Hurst.

Based on recent statistics, Indiana employers, like those in many other states, are experiencing difficulties in finding skilled employees to fill job openings. By 2029, 60 percent of net new jobs added in Indiana will require a postsecondary credential. However, only 43 percent of Indiana residents have a credential beyond high school.

While many institutions and organizations throughout the state offer workforce development and talent development training, many people don’t know how to access them — which is one of the challenges the Navigator addresses, Hurst said.

“At the Chamber, we continuously hear from employers that they don’t know where to turn, what’s available to them, or what they’re eligible for,” Hurst said. “Many are having difficulty finding talent. At the same time, the tool is designed to help individuals who don’t know what’s available to them or what career paths exist.”

Evolving to meet specific needs

When the IWE team first started working on the navigator project, the initial concept was to create a platform that puts everything in one place, including all state-funded programs, local nonprofit programs, and post-secondary programs, Hurst said.

“An individual or an employer could just go to one place, find a program, and learn about it,” he said.
“But we learned through conversations with stakeholders and employers across the state, while that’s great, there was still so much more that they needed.”

In some cases, Hurst said, employers and individuals recognized their challenges but didn’t necessarily know how to identify the solution or where to look in the system for the right answer.

The Navigator concept underwent numerous revisions to make it a more comprehensive and personalized experience. “We’ve evolved it to truly embody this navigator concept,” Hurst said.

Anyone accessing the Talent Resource Navigator can select from programs categorized based on location, industry, available funding, and anticipated outcomes. As a result, a person can quickly narrow down their selection to those that specifically address their needs or desired outcomes.

Another feature allows employers to perform a Talent Pipeline Assessment, which evaluates and benchmarks their current talent development strategies against nationally recognized best practices. After the employer completes the assessment, the Navigator will make recommendations about resources that align with their results.

“There’s a lot of good work happening in Indiana — fantastic regional strategies and community strategies that are really impactful,” Hurst said. “But unless you’re already plugged in, you may not know what’s available to you and how to connect to it. The Navigator is not a silver bullet, but we’re beginning to make stronger connections across organizations, among entities that may not have previously known about the other.”

Aug 29

Local nonprofit expands camp experience to address youth mental health needs

By Feature

JCC Indianapolis’ CEO Eric H. Koehler addresses gaps with support from philanthropic donors

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

As with most executive leaders assuming a new role, Eric H. Koehler assessed opportunities for growth when he arrived at JCC Indianapolis in 2017. One of the areas he identified was the need for mental health and related support services for the youth that the organization had been serving for decades.

“While we’re certainly running a good program, I thought we could run an excellent program by providing additional mental, emotional and social well-being support,” said Koehler, who had previously worked in numerous JCC leadership positions, including as CEO of the JCC in Stamford, Conn. “Everyone has different abilities and needs based on where they are, but we didn’t have the capacity — the deep bench that we really needed to provide that additional support.

Koehler outlined a plan to add mental health support to the campers served by the organization’s programs and started reaching out to foundations for funding support.

Although COVID-19 disrupted the timeline of the programming, the organization was able to hire a mental health and behavioral coordinator and inclusion support specialists to work at its camp programs in 2022. The hires were made possible with a gift from the Glick Foundation, and gifts from the Adams, Bell, Cotlar and Koppel families.

With its expanded offerings under the pilot program, the JCC Indianapolis joins an increasing number of nonprofit organizations that are seeking ways to support mental health needs among youth through their regular programs. 

These programs come at a time when mental health challenges among youth are reaching a crisis level, as described in a recent article published by the American Psychological Association (APA). Statistics show that demand for mental health support is far outpacing available resources.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one out of every five children in the United States had a mental health disorder prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, only about 20 percent of the children identified were receiving care from a mental health provider. 

Experts expect those numbers to continue to rise because of children’s experiences with trauma, disruptions and isolation caused by the pandemic. 

About 71 percent of parents responding to a national survey conducted by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago said that the pandemic had taken a toll on their child’s mental health. Also, the CDC reported that emergency room visits related to mental health increased 24 percent for children ages 5 to 11 in 2020 and by 31 percent among youth ages 12 to 17, compared to 2019.

Introducing a new camp program

After five years of planning and pursuing funding, and navigating the disruptions caused by COVID-19, the JCC Indianapolis hosted its 2022 camp season with several noticeable changes. In addition to the MESH (Mental, Emotional and Social Health) services and peer training delivered by the new staff members, the ratio of campers to staffers and group sizes were smaller and programming was calmer, Koehler said.

In previous years, JCC Indianapolis would host the vast majority, if not all, of the families that registered for camp. This year, there was a wait list because of the desire to keep the groups small.

“That’s something we learned. If we’re going to provide a high-quality summer experience for everyone who’s involved, we can’t just provide bulk childcare,” Koehler said. “We never capped the number of campers like we did this summer.”

Koehler said there also was a noticeable difference in the tenor of the program, which offered quiet zones for overstimulated campers, in comparison to camps in previous years. For instance, the number of programs like an annual lip sync contest, which included high-energy singing and dancing, were reduced in favor of more subdued activities.

“The tone was a lot lower and calmer, which led to a more pleasant experience,” said Koehler, who anticipates that the differences in the camp program will result in higher retention among campers and counselors.

Evolving the camp experience

According to the American Camp Association, camp programs, policies and practices that incorporate MESH-focused services and training can improve the camp experience for participants by building resiliency, self-esteem and self-confidence. As a result, they also can minimize challenges for camp counselors.

When pursuing a MESH focus for JCC Indianapolis, Koehler was able to draw on his experiences in leadership roles at other JCC’s in Virginia, Connecticut and Massachusetts. 

In one JCC program, the organization offered special early childhood programs for children with serious needs from birth. The team partnered with specialists and state and county staff members to supplement their offerings. After a child turned three, the JCC would help place them in early childhood programs, Koehler said. “These were kids who had very significant needs. Some had communication issues or difficulty walking,” he said. “Our goal was to get them from point A to point B. Typically, when those children completed our program, they had significant growth so we were able to include them in our early childhood programs.”

At another JCC, the team provided a day camp program for children on the autism spectrum.  “We focused on social skills learning in the morning and in the afternoon matriculated the children into the broader camp to learn how to improve their communication skills,” Koehler said. 

While the work involved in securing the funding and establishing the MESH focus at JCC Indianapolis was challenging, Koehler said, the effort was worth it.

It’s very rewarding to be able to do this for our community, families, and staff,” he said.

Aug 15

CLD set to intensify efforts to overcome racial disparities

By Feature

$33 million capital campaign will expand nonprofit’s reach in eight underserved neighborhoods

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

As the president of Center Leadership Development (CLD) for more than 20 years, Dennis Bland has regularly contemplated the systemic barriers that lead to troubling racial disparities in Indiana — including with income, health, housing, education, employment and financial security.

It’s a concern shared by many leaders throughout the state, especially in light of statistics that show the disparities have not diminished in many areas. In some cases, as with college-going rates, the disparities have significantly increased.

According to a recent report from the Indiana Higher Education Commission, the percentage of Indiana high school students attending college has declined from 65 percent in 2015 to 59 percent in 2019. While the decline is evident across all races, it is more significant for African American students. The report revealed a 13 percent decrease in the number of African American students attending college during the four-year period. 

As part of CLD’s $33 million RISE campaign, the organization will expand its educational programming throughout Indianapolis, specifically among minority and low-income youth residing in the zip codes of 46222, 46208, 46226, 46218, 46235, 46201, 46219 and 46205. CLD will partner with The PATH School, Christamore House, Eastern Star Church, Mt. Carmel Church and Community Alliance of the Far Eastside to provide in-school and satellite programming for students in their own neighborhoods. 

CLD, which targets five areas as part of its programming — character, education, leadership, service and career, plans to increase the number of students it impacts through its core programming from 4,000 students a year to 6,500 a year. Overall, CLD plans to provide services to 15,000 individuals annually. 

“I think so much about disparities and inequities,” said Bland, who recently helped lead the nonprofit organization past the $30 million mark of its $33 million RISE fundraising campaign. Donors have included Lilly Endowment, the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, and the NBA Foundation. “Education ultimately translates into empowerment and cultivation, particularly in the areas that help people mobilize, grow or thrive.”

Quality programming is central to success

Bland said CLD’s programming, which ranges from elementary school to college, has been effective because of its comprehensive scope, which includes free tutoring, counseling, remedial courses, career planning, college prep, and college application and scholarship assistance. 

CLD also never assumes that a youth intuitively understands the value of an education, said Bland, who stresses the importance of identifying the issues that immobilize students. Through their programming, Bland and the rest of the CLD team help disadvantaged students and their families understand why students in more affluent communities value the power of education.

Where a student lives can inherently shape their perceptions, he pointed out. “If there’s a community where 90 percent of the students are passing standardized tests and I live in a community where 10 percent of people pass standardized tests, I will need you to give me some insights as to what they are doing right and why I’m not doing what they are doing.”

With deeper conversations with students, counselors can help them develop incentives and skills that align with the outcomes that they ultimately want, Bland added. They can help the students start caring about how they perform academically, he said.

“When young people come here, there’s going to be intentionality around giving them an education on education,” he said. “We’re not assuming that just because a student goes to school, they understand the importance of education.”

Bland said programs can be more effective by meeting constituents where they are — not where others think they should be. “It gives them an entirely different perspective. Ultimately, they begin to act differently because you created a program that meets them where they were,” he said.

Bland said programs also are designed to help participants and their families understand the challenges that are immobilizing them.

“It’s important to ask questions like, ‘What are those areas and issues that will keep you in poverty?’ ‘What are those things that keep you from climbing?’” Bland said.  “It can help them begin to think differently, process differently, and act differently and then begin to pursue paths that may be different than the path they’re on. We help them switch to a path that’s going to help them thrive and succeed.”

Jul 25

Part 2: Is it time to take a break?

By Feature

Lilly Endowment’s nonprofit renewal program highlights benefits of rest

(As nonprofits seek ways to encourage employee retention, enhance recruitment and minimize burn out, Not-for-profit News explores the benefits of Lilly Endowment’s renewal grant programs in this second part of a two-part series. Read Part 1)

[Headline] Part 2: Is it time to take a break?

[Subhead} Lilly Endowment’s nonprofit renewal program highlights benefits of rest

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

(As nonprofits seek ways to encourage employee retention, enhance recruitment and minimize burn out, Not-for-profit News explores the benefits of Lilly Endowment’s renewal grant programs in this second part of a two-part series. Read Part 1 https://charitableadvisors.com/is-it-time-to-take-a-break/)

What would you do with $10,000? How would you rekindle your passion?

Those are the types of questions posed by the Indy Arts Council to applicants of its Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship Program, an initiative funded by Lilly Endowment, Inc., to ensure that artists and art administrators have an opportunity to replenish and reignite their creativity.

For one applicant, the answer to that question resulted in her traveling to Nigeria, recalled Nikki Kirk, director of community investment for the Indy Arts Council.

“As a dance teacher, she had been teaching various African dances but had never been to Africa,” said Kirk, who oversees the arts fellowship program. “While in Africa, she took three classes a day, learning from the folks who are from the region where it started. It re-energized her teaching by allowing her to really get to the heart of what the dance form is all about.”

Jean Luc Howell, director of historic preservation at Newfields, used part of his renewal grant funds to travel with his girlfriend during an extended road trip. Along the way, they visited historic destinations, including the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C., the Winterthur Museum in Winterthur, Del., and Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens in Akron, Ohio. In addition to exploring the historical sites, Howell made wax rubbings of historical manhole covers he came across.

The award came at a time when nonprofit organizations are under intense pressure to come up with new ways to attract visitors, Howell said.

“Having a break was phenomenal, especially now,” said Howell, noting that many organizations operate on a year-round schedule to remain competitive. “We don’t have quiet times like we may have had in previous years, where you can take a breath, clean your office and catch up on other things.”

“With our current seasonal programming, the schedule can feel unrelenting. You must put something out that’s the best or the newest to get people’s attention,” he said.  “You’re competing against people going to the movies or even staying home to stream movies. And there’s pressure to raise money as a nonprofit through income-generating programs. You can lose the passion for why you wanted to work in a museum or a nonprofit in the first place.”

Giving nonprofit employees an opportunity to step back, whether through the renewal grant programs, paid time off or other benefits, has become increasingly important in today’s climate, Howell added.

“There’s so much more pressure,” he said. “Things like this are going to be more important as we move through issues of DEI and other heavy things we’re dealing with at work. You need an extra break from trying to navigate all of that as well.”

Exploring goals through the process

With up to 200 applicants vying for 40 grants through the renewal program, only a fraction of them will be able to take advantage of a renewal, Kirk pointed out. However, she said, the grant application process itself can be therapeutic.

“Some of the individuals that I’ve spoken to have said that even writing the grant application has been renewing for them because it’s about answering questions like, ‘What do you want to do?’ ‘Why do you want to do it?’ ‘How is this going to impact you?’ ‘What’s inspiring to you?’,” Kirk said.

“For the folks who do receive the grant, it’s really impactful and powerful, eEpecially during these times of COVID and excessive burnout,” Kirk added. “But beyond that, for the folks who aren’t selected in this round they get some form of renewal by writing down what they want to do. That type of creative writing style has an impact.”

Lilly Endowment has numerous renewal programs that are designed to help rejuvenate professionals in various sectors, including teachers, pastors, youth workers and human service workers. The program for artists and art administrators was implemented in the late 1990s.

“People experiencing burnout don’t necessarily turn out the most creative work because their minds are in so many different places,” Kirk said. “Being able to take that time for yourself helps you invest further and more heavily in the work as you come back into the space.”