nonprofits Archives - Page 3 of 4

Mar 21

The impact of IT on employee retention

By charitableadvisors Sponsor Insight

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

As business leaders, we have a lot on our plates to accommodate a new worldview and attract the next generation of talent. Decent pay and a job are no longer enough to lure prospective employees, at least not the ones we want. Businesses must stay informed and honestly care about our people and the issues they face daily. To retain our employees, we must guide them to a better future at home and work.

The future of IT is more than just using technology to automate, streamline, and manage operations as much as possible. It’s aligning it to enhance the employee and customer experience, increasing internal cultural, and external delivery demands. The problem is that the more tech we use, the more tech we must end up managing. This requires expensive skill sets and nuanced management skills. Leaders have been quick to adopt expensive skill sets; however, quality management is lacking.

Few companies are equipped with the technology to accommodate both the older and younger generations. Millennials will make up about 75% of the workforce by 2025. Gen Z has spent most of their lives with fast and efficient internet access, along with smart and portable devices that are constantly connecting each other to the world at large. 91% of Gen Z employees say the company’s technological sophistication impacts their decision to work there. 10% of employees (no matter the generation) have walked away from a job due to technological frustrations. And the complication doesn’t end with office tech. After all, 37% of millennials say working with multiple devices is challenging and stressful, and they don’t want to switch from a computer or phone for work and life activities.

It’s true that the older the generation – the less likely they are to adapt to ever-changing technology. There is a common stereotype that veteran employees resist technology and new workflows because it will require too much stress and a departure from the way they’ve been operating for decades. In reality, many of these people have seen several changes. From typewriters to computers, from mail to fax to email, older generations have continued to adjust their workflows and are much more adaptable to technology changes than many realize.

Simply put, old technology solutions do not allow companies to keep up with many current-day issues, including employee retention. Additionally, poorly implemented new tech won’t deliver solutions to these issues either. Technological choices and implementation can largely impact your company and your employees’ success, culture, productivity, happiness, and of course, loyalty. This directly correlates to what your customer’s experience.

Unfortunately, IT teams often have their hands tied when it comes to keeping up with modern tech because of the amount of time it takes to maintain old technology and security needs. We must make tech training beneficial, entertaining, and easy to keep individuals of all generations engaged. This starts by, fully explaining the company’s values, making the technology and process easy to understand, and investing in a multi-faceted approach to implementing new tech. There also must be a designated place for employees to get answers and present questions for any tech-related concerns. These tactics ensure that IT teams have the time, process, and tools they need to successfully support the company culture. It’s more than just tech. It’s people.

We can eliminate employee turnover issues. We can attract top talent. But to do so, we must evolve.

Sep 27

Does DEI matter?: More than 70% of Central Indiana nonprofit employees say, ‘Yes’

By charitableadvisors Feature

NFPN survey reveals support for continuing DEI initiatives

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

(First in a series of articles about Charitable Advisors’ NFPN “How Are You Doing?” survey)

Many nonprofit organizations are still grappling with how to address diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) policies — more than a year after protests erupted nationwide after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer.

And that work still matters, according to nearly 70 percent of about 450 nonprofit employees who responded to a recent Not-for-profit News survey about how they’re coping in the aftermath of one of the most tumultuous periods in the nation’s history.

When asked if their organization’s stance on DEI personally impacts them as an employee, 30 percent responded it impacts them “a great deal,” 42 percent said it impacted them “somewhat,” and 28 percent responded, “not at all.”

However, based on the survey responses, employees also said that their employers likely think that they are doing better than they actually are — or at least in comparison to how the employees perceived they were progressing with DEI issues.

When asked, “What do you think your leadership would say about your organization’s progress on DEI?,” nearly 35 percent of employees responded that their leaders probably would feel that the work isn’t new — “we have always valued inclusion and equity.” About 34 percent said that their employees would believe that they “are having some hard conversations and making important changes,” while nearly 24 percent said their leadership probably would feel that “we are talking about it but not doing anything, not doing much,” and 7.75 percent would say, “we aren’t talking about it.”

In contrast, employees’ perceptions about that question, “What do you think about your organization’s progress on DEI?” was as follows:

This work isn’t new to us — we have always valued inclusion and equity — 23.06 percent
We are having some hard conversations and making important changes — 29.37 percent
We are talking about it but not doing anything, not doing much — 36.17 percent
We aren’t talking about it — 11.41 percent

Survey respondents weigh in on DEI successes and challenges

Some respondents said that their organizations have been committed to undertaking DEI work not just since the social justice protests — but for some time.

One survey respondent said, “The organization has been working for a while now on DEI. I feel like we are on the right track, but we still have more to improve on. We need more diverse leadership and board representation.”

Others shared a wide range of thoughts about DEI, revealing various challenges such as coming to a common understanding of what it means. Some believed that the solution requires an extensive undertaking, while some believed it is much less complicated to undertake. Here are some responses:

“We need to stop arguing about the reality of racism and accept that systemic racism is real and that we must address it to succeed in our mission.”
“We need to judge people based on their character and not their color, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. It’s really simple.”
“We need to be more modern … stop letting the older Baby Boomers make decisions that affect a wide swath of people. This group (in our organization, at least) doesn’t want to make changes or doesn’t understand why they’re important.”
“We need to weave it into our daily practice, educating ourselves in it, holding each other accountable.”
“Add diversity to the team, address a misogynistic work environment, stop training our organizations on topics we refuse to even talk about. Dismantle the good ‘ol boy stronghold.”
“We need more internal communication, so everyone understands it.”

While many respondents said that their organizations are committed to DEI, some pointed out that it can be challenging to seriously invest in it to create substantial change. Others felt that their organizations weren’t fully committed to the work.

“It’s tough when we are remote,” one survey respondent said. “Not to do DEI, but to do SERIOUS anti-racism work. DEI is a facade in most cases. Equity is the only part I think impacts systemic change. D and I are just an illusion. We need transformation.”

Another survey respondent said, “We have really avoided this conversation as a team and board despite my repeated attempts at raising concerns. We should at a minimum be looking at our internal policies and having some hard conversations about how we operate.”

One nonprofit employee said that conversations about DEI are difficult because they have become politicized. “There is a reluctance to take a public stance on DEIA (diversity, equity inclusion and accessibility) issues — especially addressing them head-on,” the employee said. “However, general public statements do not protect those of us who have had to accommodate the feelings of others for decades. Being a leader today on issues around DEIA is just seen as too political. This is so very antiquated in perspective. My human rights to be myself don’t have anything to do with politics. But at the same time, my employer is diversifying hiring. So, I’m no longer the only native Spanish-speaker in the building apart from the cleaning staff. There’s that, at least.”

Personal perspectives also came up as challenges that may be difficult to overcome, according to numerous nonprofit employees:

“I struggle deeply with issues of DEI. I believe it’s incredibly important, and support DEI efforts wherever I encounter them, but as a white male do not know how to contribute effectively and with respect to colleagues of color, nor do I understand my own position or allowable expression as it relates to accepting or advancing my own career. As a first-generation, college-goer from a blue collar background, I can see how DEI efforts can gain wide acceptance among the white-collar workforce while causing confusion and backlash among so many who take great pride in what they’ve accomplished (and are understandably confused about issues of privilege). The lack of personal connection due to COVID has exasperated this confusion on my part, as my interactions with colleagues feel less genuine and more awkward, while DEI issues have become increasingly important and widely discussed.”
“I am the only person of color in my organization. It puts a great deal of pressure on me to perform at a near inhuman level.”
“I wish we were doing more. I’m in the majority and I don’t think people in the majority can do much to make positive change.”

Implementing DEI in the workplace — perspectives from two nonprofit organizations

For nonprofits undertaking DEI initiatives in recent years, the process is continually evolving as teams better understand what it takes to achieve successful outcomes, according to two survey respondents who agreed to be interviewed.

Sally Bindley, MSW, founder and CEO of School on Wheels, said the 20-year-old organization in Indianapolis started focusing on DEI initiatives in 2016. At that time, the team developed a diversity task force to broaden and diversify School on Wheels’ volunteer tutor base. “We wanted it to be more representative of the students we served,” Bindley recalled. School on Wheels received a grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc., to support the work.

It didn’t take long for the School on Wheels team to realize that diversity, equity and inclusion needed to be integrated into all aspects of the organization’s operations — not just as a side project, Bindley said.

“Diversity is not a task. If you approach DEI as a standalone initiative, you check the box. This way it’s more of a thought process,” she said. “We made it a standing committee of the board of directors — a diversity committee led by a member of the board. Just as we have regular reports from other committees, finance, executive, development, we have regular reports on diversity.”

As a result, employees and board members have become increasingly more aware and intentional on how to include diversity in all areas — from identifying where diverse volunteers are living and working to ensuring diversity in marketing, messaging and operations, Bindley said.

When asked about advice she would give to other nonprofits on embarking on DEI work, Bindley said that it is important to acknowledge that it is an ongoing process.

“Being intentional for us is being aware. Review your language,” she said. “Whether it’s job posts, or messages circulating on your website, make sure you’re mindful of what you’re putting out there. Do you have a commitment to DEI? A statement against racism and hate? We also realized our volunteer recruitment flyers needed to be in English and Spanish. If you don’t have a DEI program, that’s OK. Start with training: What is diversity? What is inclusion? What are microaggressions? Then analyze how you’re doing with all of that. Once we had the in-depth fast training, it brought so much awareness to our language and conversation.

“We’ve made strides, but there’s always more work to do,” she added. “It’s constantly evolving.”

Bindley also said she is a strong believer in hiring a consultant to help assess where the organization stands with incorporating DEI, as well as ensuring that she, as a leader, is fully engaged in the process. Although School on Wheels designated a person to undergo DEI training, Bindley said that she makes sure to personally engage in DEI initiatives.

“I want to have the most opportunities to grow and to impact change as a leader,” she said. “I have zero time, but I can’t say, ‘You’re in charge of this and let me know how it’s going,’” she said. “If you’re a leader of a nonprofit, this messaging starts at the top. If you don’t make it a priority, it’s obvious. I can’t say I’ve always done it right, but you have to be vulnerable as a leader and say this is what I know, what I don’t know, and this is what I need to learn.”

Guenevere Kalal, MSM, director of foster care services for Damar, said that DEI has been at the top of the nonprofit organization’s list of priorities for some time. The team members want to ensure that they are culturally aware of the clients they serve.

“Our foster families are very diverse,” Kalal said. “Over the past couple years, we have seen more children from Hispanic, Burmese and other cultures coming into light for support in the child welfare system.” As a result, they have initiated discussions on how to gain a better understanding of the various cultures and ensuring that they are always culturally and racially sensitive, she said.

Open, candid conversations and acknowledging personal biases must be a priority, Kalal said.

“My approach to many things, not only with my staff, is to be as professionally transparent as possible. It can’t be the elephant in the room. We need to learn how to be comfortable with uncomfortable conversations,” she said.

That process also includes checking in with families for feedback on their interactions with staff, including asking if they have felt any disparities from staff members.

The team also committed to undergoing training, including a two-day workshop, Interrupting Racism for Children, offered by Child Advocates. “The Department of Child Services also did an excellent job of doing their research on what potential trainings are out there to help our providers navigate conversations about racism, including series on Netflix and PBS,” Kalal said.

“We need to understand where we came from as a country. I don’t want to dwell on the past, but it has a huge influence on where we are,” she added. “I need to understand that so I know how I can focus on becoming part of a positive change.”

Sep 21

Local Nonprofit Leaders View Social Justice Protests as Catalyst for Real Change

By charitableadvisors Feature

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

This article is the first in a series of perspectives on how to achieve racial equity locally, nationally and globally. If you would like to submit your nonprofit’s racial justice initiative for possible publication in Not-for-Profit News, please contact Shari Finnell at shari@charitableadvisors.com.

“What’s next?” That’s the question on the agendas of many nonprofits in the wake of racial justice protests joined by as many as 26 million people throughout America in 2020. Here, the following five Central Indiana leaders give their perspectives on how to address that question as part of efforts to achieve real change in our nation’s renewed quest for racial equity.

Alan Bacon, senior director of Social Innovation for United Way of Central Indiana
Ebony Chappell, manager of program and communications, Leadership Indianapolis
Jill English, director of Child Advocates’ Interrupting Racism for Children
Una Osili, associate dean for research and international programs at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Lindsey Rabinowitch, director of the Faith & Action Project for Christian Theological Seminary.

Alan Bacon, senior director of Social Innovation for United Way of Central Indiana

“We have a unique opportunity to do something about racial justice.”

With as many as 26 million people joining in Black Lives Matters protests nationwide in 2020, the United States could be poised for real change in achieving racial equity, according to Alan Bacon, senior director of social innovation for United Way of Central Indiana (UWCI).

“This is a large and significant moment for world history,” Bacon said. “We saw the entire world galvanize around the notion of racial equity. A lot of organizations are now asking, ‘What can we do to help?’.”

However, Bacon said, the moment could be lost unless there is an investment in the work required to eliminate systemic racism. “There’s a lot of work to be done to ensure that it’s not just a footnote to the history of 2020,” he said. “We have a unique opportunity to do something about racial justice.”

As organizations and individuals seek to increase awareness and implement policies to promote equity they must first step out of their comfort zones, Bacon said. “We need to challenge ourselves on our biases, and challenge ourselves to support each other,” he said. “There can be a great response when the community comes together.”

While the work will look different for every organization, Bacon said, there must be a challenge to seek innovative solutions — ones to replace those that haven’t worked in the past.

In his role at UWCI, Bacon supports organizations that are implementing new solutions for long-standing social challenges like multi-generational poverty. “Social innovation is about trying to find new innovative strategies, programs and initiatives to deploy in the community to help fight poverty and help residents experience upward mobility,” he said. We’re trying to figure out what are those new approaches to get a different result … social innovation that makes the most change and most impact.”

That approach also includes encouraging thought leadership, bringing groups together to talk about challenges and solutions, and accessing diverse thought in the community, “We look at innovation from a disruptive lens,” Bacon said. “We try to be as audacious as possible, understanding that, to move the needle, you must do things differently. At the same time, the initiative must be sustainable. There is a high-risk, high reward approach to dealing with innovation.”

Like an increasing number of organizations, the UWCI has invested in an alternative grant-making process for its new Social Innovation Fund. Bacon said it allows UWCI to make informed decisions when awarding grants to agencies that are bringing new ideas on how to address poverty.

“Organizations don’t have to be accredited with United Way to participate in the competitive-based process for funding,” Bacon said. “There’s not a large barrier of entry. If you have a 501c3 status, you can participate in the grantmaking for Social Innovation.” As a result, the pool of applicants for the first round of Social Innovation Fund grants had a good amount of diversity, Bacon said.

Of the 14 grants awarded in 2019, seven went to organizations led by people of color and six were awarded to organizations led by women, Bacon said. “We were able to achieve equity by being intentional on the front end,” he said. “We’re finding ways to implement equity in current processes and programming. We have done well in regard to grantmaking for Social Innovation.”

You Yes You! Project, which was among the first grant recipients of the Social Innovation Fund, demonstrates an innovative approach to targeting multi-generational poverty in Central Indiana, Bacon said. The nonprofit focuses on building healthy relationships between incarcerated fathers and their children through programming and education, a two-generation approach designed to break the cycle of poverty in the household.

Education is another critical area for organizations to address when implementing anti-racism policies and programs, Bacon said. It’s important to understand how racism has impacted housing development, food and transportation access, contributing to the issues that many people of color are now facing, he said.

“It’s important to move forward, but it’s also important to look back and understand the history of systemic racism,” Bacon said. “If not, we will eventually become complacent and not get anywhere. We need to inform with intent. This is not just a moment in American history. We need to ask, ‘How do we build a collection of moments to make real change within our country?”

Ebony Chappel, program and communications manager, Leadership Indianapolis

Ebony Chappel of Leadership Indianapolis, recalls watching broadcasts in disbelief as protests for racial equity erupted nationwide in the wake of the death of George Floyd in May. “Initially, I was very emotional by all the things I was seeing on television and right here in my home city,” Chappel said. “The onslaught was so sudden. I went to sleep and when I woke up, it seemed as if the world was on fire.”

Yet, at the same time, Chappel said, the reality of systemic racism in America diminished some of her surprise. “The embers have been glowing for a long time,” Chappel said. “A deeper part of me wasn’t shocked. This was history taking its course … chicken coming home to roost.”

Referring to an analogy used by author Arundhati Roy to describe the 2020 pandemic, Chappel said mass protests can provide a portal for lasting change.

“When he referred to the pandemic as a portal, that stuck out to me so much,” Chappel said. “We also can use this time as an opportunity to implement real change with racial equity … as a portal to a different way of being. However, that depends upon our collective ability to shift and do something different.

“If everyone is focused on retaining the status quo, I personally believe it will lead to our ruin,” she said. “If we collectively decide this society is not equitable because so many people are disenfranchised, I believe it will change our world for the better, a world full of possibilities.”

Local nonprofits that are already implementing innovative strategies can serve as models for other organizations seeking direction, Chappel said.

“CICF (Central Indiana Community Foundation) is a good example of an organization doing something differently and not maintaining the status quo,” she said. “It’s well known that it can be very difficult for smaller nonprofits to get grant funding. There’s a lot of bureaucracy and extensive application processes that put certain groups in need at a disadvantage.”

CICF eliminated those barriers to access by disseminating money based on needs, not primarily on an organization’s ability to excel with the grant application process, Chappel said. “Their focus is on redistributing wealth and power, bringing people to the table that hadn’t been there before. As a result, these smaller nonprofits now have a stake in how decisions are being made.”

Similarly Leadership Indianapolis has been shifting its focus to ensure that city leadership is more multicultural, more multigenerational and more collaborative, Chappel said.

As organizations explore ways to increase diversity among their boards and workforce, it’s important to avoid a cursory approach, Chappel added. “You can’t think, If I put a black person on my board, then automatically the problem is solved,” she said. “It takes intentional work, including a focus on choosing people who can advance the vision of the organization because of what they can bring to the table.”

It also is important to tap into the unique strengths of board members instead of expecting them to adjust to fit into the culture of the existing board,” she said. “A new board member should feel comfortable bringing themselves to the table without feeling a need to adjust to fit that mold.” For example, board members should be willing to explore more innovative technology, if younger board members prefer it as a mode of communication.

Lastly, organizations must understand that the work of diversity is not a one-person job, Chappel said. “It demands a collective effort. If you want to make sure your computers are running well, you don’t rely on one person,” she said. “If you want to make sure the building is clean, you don’t leave that responsibility to one single person. The business of diversity belongs to all of us.”

Jill English, director of Child Advocates’ Interrupting Racism for Children

Any work involving dismantling system racism must include a focus on children, as well as the acknowledgement that inequities impact everyone, according to Jill English, director of Child Advocates’ Interrupting Racism for Children (IRFC).

As part of her role with Child Advocates, English contributes to the organization’s mission to illuminate how systemic racism has become institutionalized in America and how it is passed on from one generation to the next. IRFC hosts a two-day, interactive workshop where individuals and leaders can learn how to confront racism. “We need to address the question, ‘How do we interrupt racism for our children since we haven’t been able to do it for one another?’,” English said.

When implementing policies to address systemic racism, organizations should engage in deep reflection and examination without an environment of shame, English said.

“We all need to acknowledge that it is embedded in our society. Oftentimes, this work has involved calling people out, shaming them, telling them what they do wrong, what they don’t get, or what they don’t know,” English said. “We need to come from a place of caring. I care more about children than being right. We focus on moving one another to a place where we can actually start interrupting racism and putting the tools we learn in the workshop into effect so we can change the trajectory of where we are today.”

English also said that the IRFC workshop is designed to help attendees understand the scope of racism’s impact on all demographics.

As an example, Child Advocates came to the realization that white children were also at a disadvantage because of racial biases. “If 70 percent of the child population in Marion County is white, for example, and only 46 percent of the children in Child Protective Services are white on any given day, where are all the white children who are being abused and neglected?” English asked.

“We need to see that we are allowing white children to get hurt or leaving them in dangerous situations for no other reason than that we don’t see it,” she added. “Just as we see abuse and neglect for the same situation in an African-American family, the same thing happens to a white child but we don’t see it because of our implicit biases. ‘White’ hides a lot of things. At the same time, too many African-American children are being removed from their homes. How do we help them?”

“We need to connect to an understanding that racism hurts everyone,” she said. “When it gets better for one population, it gets better for all when it’s done from an equitable lens.”

English said when organizations approach her about how to develop a strategic plan, she often encourages them to reflect on their own goals and mission. “The work of racial equity isn’t meant to be a check in a box … just for you to say it’s something you’ve done. It must be part of a journey,” she said.

She likened it to setting goals for a healthier lifestyle. “You don’t go to a gym, check it off a box and then 10 years later say I’m still working on my health,” English said. “In the same way, you can’t go to a cultural competency workshop and then expect to be done. It is an intentional daily practice similar to health. If you want to be healthy when it comes to racism, you have to figure out your organization’s goal and commit to it daily.”

English also said organizations may need to seek external help to hold them accountable in the work of diversity. “It’s hard to have a DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) within an organization and give them the responsibility to hold their colleagues accountable,” she said.

Ultimately, as part of its mission, Child Advocates is intent on creating a community that allows children to reach their full potential; in an environment where their outcomes are not based on their race, English said. “We want to create a world where that’s no longer on the table.”

Una Osili, associate dean for research and international programs at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

The diversity among the millions of people who joined more than 10,600 protests this summer gave Una Osili and her family reason to hope that efforts to eradicate racism in America would be more successful — this time around.

“I’m optimistic,” said Osili, associate dean for research and international programs at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. “One of the reasons this moment is so different is that it involves such a broad-based group of individuals and organizations. What we saw with these protests and calls for racial justice didn’t involve just one racial group. A lot of different communities were represented as part of a grassroots effort.”

Her parents, who were college students during the social injustice protests of the 1960s, also expressed optimism about the mass demonstrations in 2020. “When they looked at footage around the country and around the world, they noticed that the crowds were so diverse,” said Osili, whose parents currently live in Nigeria. “It was inspiring. The call to action was not just coming from black and brown people. It was coming from people of all races and of all ages.”

Osili said intentional collaboration on a large scale, building upon the progress already made by nonprofit organizations immersed in social justice work, is the next step to real change.

“There was a lot of energy and vision that came from our young people,” Osili said. “It’s up to us to deepen the conversations. The questions now are, ‘How do you sustain and build on that progress for it to be a lasting movement?’ ‘What are our values? What do we stand for?’ All of us own a piece of that to a large extent.”

With such a large opportunity for change, Osili added, all sectors must come together to collaborate — government, education, nonprofit and businesses. “If you think about the scale of the work, no one organization can solve this on its own,” she said. “Collaboration is key, yet we haven’t done so well with that in the past.”

Osili said there have been recent developments in more collaborative approaches, citing the Central Indiana Racial Equity Fund as an example. The fund, a collaboration among Eli Lilly and Company Foundation, Lumina Foundation and Central Indiana Community Foundation, was established to address racial inequities in the criminal justice system. It also received contributions from Anthem Foundation, Buckingham Foundation, Dorsey Foundation, Rick Fuson and Karen Ferguson Fuson, Marianne Glick and Mike Woods, Glick Philanthropies, Herbert Simon Family Foundation, High Alpha, The Indianapolis Foundation, Indianapolis Power & Light Company, Lilly Endowment Inc., and Pacers Foundation.

“When organizations join forces, there can be tremendous gain and benefit,” said Osili, noting that nonprofits, including colleges and universities, can play a critical leadership role because of their previous experience and knowledge base.

While collaboration is critical, internal work also must be at the forefront of racial equity efforts, Osili said. Organizations can start by conducting an analysis of hiring practices, processes, assets, board composition and endowments from the perspective of inclusion and diversity, she said.

For example, research from the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy shows that nonprofit boards are less diverse than those of government and corporate boards, Osili said. “Nonprofits are doing well on the gender side; there’s good representation in terms of addressing gender in leadership,” she said. “When you start looking at race and ethnicity, including in areas you would expect more representation like the arts, environment and international, you don’t see good representation.”

Some organizations are addressing minority board representation in several innovative ways, Osili said. Board Connector, an organization based in Chattanooga, Tenn., has developed an app to help nonprofits reach their goals for diversity.

The Indianapolis Urban League, along with other Urban League chapters, sponsors a young leaders group that can be tapped for board membership, Osili said. “They’re ready to serve and are very knowledgeable,” she added. “Many organizations tend to go to the same people to join their boards. They’re inundated with requests.”

“At the same time, we also need to prepare young emerging leaders so they’re ready to serve,” Osili said. “It’s the responsibility of both the organization and the larger nonprofit infrastructure to provide readiness, to equip them with the tools to be successful.”

Lindsey Rabinowitch, director of the Faith & Action Project for Christian Theological Seminary (CTS)

As an increasing number of organizations lean in to address social justice and inequities, increasing awareness must be at the foundation of their efforts, said Lindsey Rabinowitch, director of the Faith & Action Project for Christian Theological Seminary (CTS).

“Part of the work involved in undoing racism is to make sure we are reading, studying and being aware of all the ways we have privilege, including systemic policies that often hold back minorities,” said Rabinowitch, who regularly reads to stay informed.

Organizations, whether congregations, businesses or nonprofits, also need to identify their niche as part of the larger work involved in eradicating racial inequities, she said. “Some of the questions can include, ‘How can we make sure everyone has access to quality education?’ ‘What is the situation of our community?”

While goals may be more clearly identifiable for businesses, such as addressing diversity hiring plans, nonprofits can commit to advocating for equity in numerous areas — from early and convenient voting to education and training for incarcerated populations, affordable childcare and accessible transportation, Rabinowitch said.

Among the critical areas CTS has sought to address through the Faith & Action Project is the disproportionate rate of poverty among Indianapolis residents, including children, when compared with the rest of the nation. According to recent statistics compiled by The Polis Center at IUPUI, one of five people in Central Indiana live under the poverty level. Minorities are among those most negatively impacted,

Rabinowitch noted.

“CTS always has been a very progressive organization with a mission of shaping individuals for leadership in efforts to mitigate poverty, and ensure equal opportunities and treatment for all people,” Rabinowitch said. “We believe all people deserve affordable quality housing, affordable health care and balanced nutrition that’s accessible. We help families move out of poverty and stand on their own. We want people to have a sense of belonging and the ability to experience upward mobility.”

Rabinowitch also advised organizations to shape their conversations by being more inclusive. “We need to change this narrative on poverty — it’s not ‘us’ vs. ‘them,’” she said. “We need to make sure we see each other. We belong to one another.”

Jun 08

Pandemic helps nonprofit see new path

By charitableadvisors Feature, Programming

By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors

By sheer numbers, very little good has come as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In the U.S., there have been more than 2 million cases, more than 110,000 lives lost, nearly 40 million people unemployed and no clear signs that better times are close.

But for two Indiana nonprofits — Carey Services and Second Harvest Food Bank of East Indiana — the pandemic has forced them to rethink their operations. For the leaders of both organizations, resilience is a key word in their vocabularies.

And maybe … just maybe, they will be stronger when life resumes as normal.

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana

Muncie-based Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana is a hunger-relief organization started in 1983 that provides food through a network of 96 agencies and 35 schools in eight counties.

Tim Kean has been its CEO/president since 2012. During the pandemic, he said the agency is finding new ways to reach people.

“I think when circumstances present themselves, you can push back and try to resist,” said Kean. “But if you have the perspective of leaning into the circumstance and using that force that you’re feeling in your favor, then I think you can leverage a lot of benefit (for) the people that you’re trying to serve.

“(Second Harvest) has moved to the place where we are leaning into this and looking at it on some level as being transformational.”

So, what has changed and how has the organization adapted?

Its food supply has been interrupted. Consequently, with donations not coming from its traditional sources, it has had to find alternative ways to procure food said Kean. As a Feeding America network member, it has leveraged national food opportunities, but the bottom line is it has had to purchase food in the marketplace to give it away.

With the high demand, food banks have been forced to quickly ramp up their efforts. In Indiana, news reports have depicted long car lines waiting for mobile food distributions. And while Second Harvest has used this delivery method for over 20 years, what is new is the volume. Nearly double, for each distribution it now uses two loaded semis and serves 2,000 to 3,000 families, up from 800 to 1,000 a year ago. During June, 32 mobile distributions are scheduled.

Volunteers have been a mainstay for the nonprofit, and in a typical year, it relies on 4,300 volunteers to assist with food distribution. But in March, the organization sought to eliminate risk and curtailed access to the warehouse and headquarters, forcing it to find alternative ways to distribute food.

Local organizations have helped fill the gap. Now, rented cargo vans loaded with food are picked up by community groups and driven to underserved areas for pop-up pantries. In the first six weeks of the pandemic, 15,000 pounds of food helped 750 families. In addition to food, diapers, an often-overlooked item, are part of this weekly distribution.

Activated citizen soldiers have been part of its new crew. When the governor activated the National Guard, Second Harvest Food Bank was assigned 30 men and women from a Brigade Support Battalion (BSB). Kean said they are assigned only until June 24 if funding is not approved to extend deployment. If not, Plan B is in place – to hire temporary workers to continue the activity at the current level.

“Quite honestly, I don’t anticipate the need diminishing during that time period. So, we’ve got to figure out how to get that done,” said Kean. “

“We’re not doing it, the community’s doing it. We’re finding that there are new opportunities. So, it’s that kind of thing that I think lends itself toward stepping into the change and embracing it and figuring out how you can become something bigger and stronger than you were in the past and more effective. It’s not just about being bigger, but it’s about being more effective,” said Kean.

Kean noted that there are internal changes as well.

“We are transforming our organization internally in our staff structure, in areas of emphasis. We’ve been hiring people, and we’re going to continue to hire people. We’ve been acquiring new equipment because we’re in a different place.

“I don’t see us looking in the rear-view mirror saying, ‘I hope we can get back to where we were some point soon.’ That is over. We’re at a new place and we’re embracing that, and we’re looking at ways we continue to facilitate growth.”

“I am not at all driven down by the circumstance, if anything I’m energized because this has given us an opportunity to go and find some diamonds. You have to push a lot of things out of the way to get those diamonds, and we’re willing to do that.”

Carey Services

Marion-based Carey Services has served people with disabilities since 1954 with the mission of helping people “turn abilities and barriers into opportunities.” Since 2013, Jim Allbaugh has been its CEO/president. During the pandemic, he said he’s been constantly reminded that the answers to challenges were close.

“It’s almost always members of our team, our staff, our families and the people who we serve who are the ones that have the right answers. So (it’s important to) listen, understand and get perspectives,” he said.

“As we came into the pandemic, there was a clear recognition, and it became more evident during this pandemic that we are individually focused on the people that we serve, and on our employees. So what we realized more and more each day was that need to be aware of what each individual that we serve and each employee would require of us during this pandemic,” said Allbaugh.

Among the agency’s services are group homes, an early Head Start program, workforce development and day services. Over the past five years, the agency has worked to integrate its clients into the community.

Roughly, 61 million Americans are living with a disability of some kind, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While the vast numbers are able to live at home, some live in residential placement. That is the case for 90 adults who live in Carey’s group homes that provide 24-hour supervision for six to eight people.

Allbaugh credits staff creativity for helping clients continue to make positive progress during the pandemic. Residents have struggled with understanding why their routines were being disrupted, and why going out in the community was curtailed, and why people are wearing masks.

“If you can imagine, people with intellectual development disabilities sometimes struggle to even say, ‘Why are you wearing this mask? I cannot see your lips, it just doesn’t make sense to me why you’re doing that,’” he said.

As they readied to reopen the main campus, one question drove their efforts: “How can we get back to whatever the new normal is to continue to maximize that level of independence for the folks that we serve? That’s kind of been the path or really the journey, if you will.”

On June 1, the facility reopened some of its services, and Allbaugh said his staff was pleased with the outcome.

“It is so great to see people engaging and turning abilities into opportunities back at our main campus. We look forward to next steps with our Phase II and Phase III, and in July, our Early Head Start classroom reopening,” he said.

During the pandemic employees in different departments advocated for alternative ways to deliver services to continue progress. When the agency furloughed the Employment Services team, Allbaugh said an employee challenged that decision. He presented a case for reinstating the team, using Zoom and other technologies to engage participants.

Allbaugh said his employee made a persuasive argument. “‘He said, ‘Jim, we’ve made too much progress with these high school-aged special needs kids who need to keep the momentum moving on their career goals. You need to let us come back and get back to work and do these things from a technology base.’

“The positive results from that effort are great. They’ve kept in contact, kept engaged, kept learning and growing,”Allbaugh said.

And while, staff were already investigating these methods, the pandemic jump started them. And Indiana officials have been open to learning what kind of alternative-service delivery is possible.

“One of our goals is figuring out how to tell the story to those that fund us in such a way to say, ‘You know we cannot go back. Here’s the success and certainly the data is proof.’ We’ve got to be able to figure out how to be allowed to continue to provide this kind of support,” Allbaugh said.

The internet has also helped in other ways. In 2016, the nonprofit started an arts program, Creative Hearts Art Studio. Besides individual expression and discovery, the project was also about integrating clients into the community. During the pandemic, however, that effort was thwarted, limiting the community’s access to the shop. So, plans to open an online store became a priority.

“Knowing that everybody was now on their computers and living virtual lives, our team got together and said ‘Now is the time. We’ve got to push this out because people are on their computers right now.’ This is another opportunity to tell our story in a world where folks are living in that online environment,” said Allbaugh.

Allbaugh said from the beginning of shelter-in-place, rather than wallowing in the challenges of the daily stresses, staff began planning for the “new normal.”

“Our team has not permitted that kind of culture to be here.”

A funder commented on the agency’s forward thinking, sharing feedback on an agency proposal that asked for dollars for plexiglass, duct tape and portal hand-sanitizing machines.

“On the surface those things are all kind of simplistic, but the thing the funder appreciated about those three simple tools is the sustainable nature of those items. Those are things that our team thought about that will be something that we may be using for years.

“We need to realize that we’re still in a situation where we still have the same virus, with the same risk, and what this last period has allowed us to do is build and learn and put together a toolbox of safe and health practices and build a sustainable behavior of our employees and the people that we serve,” said Allbaugh.

Aug 27

Student loan forgiveness: With work it could happen

By charitableadvisors Feature

By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors

The topic comes up frequently. Just about every election cycle, candidates talk about the spiraling cost of higher education.

According to 2017-18 figures provided by the nonprofit organization College Board, the average total cost to attend a four-year state college or university is $25,290. The price tag for a private institution is a staggering $50,900.

So what’s a student to do? For many, the answer is borrow and worry about the consequences later.

According to the Federal Reserve, outstanding student loan debt across the United States has grown to $1.5 trillion. That affects about 1 in 4 adults under the age of 30. Those with a bachelor’s degree owe a median of $25,000, according to the Pew Research Center.

Matt Heston is part of this group. He graduated from IU’s School of Public and Environment Affairs (SPEA) in 2015 with a master’s in public affairs (MPA) and a concentration in nonprofit management. He landed a job at the University of Cincinnati Foundation, a nonprofit, but was saddled with student debt from both undergraduate and graduate school.

Heston wasn’t necessarily looking for a lifeline, but it was during grad school that he heard of an innovative, but not-so-well-known federal program that might offer some relief, at least for nonprofit workers such as Heston.

The helping hand was the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which originated in 2007 when Congress passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. The program is for nonprofit and government employees. The idea is seemingly simple: Work for 10 years in one of those two sectors, make 120 payments based on your income, and then have the rest of your loans forgiven.

In theory, the concept seems sound. In practice, not so much, as Heston and others have found. The PSLF program has a host of confusing and somewhat complicated requirements that are difficult to navigate.

“When I took this job, I recognized that I was working for a nonprofit, and the loan payments that I were making could qualify towards PSLF, but I had not yet signed up for it,” said Heston. After two and a half years of work, and at the urging of his colleagues who were on that track, he applied for the program.

That’s where simplicity ended for Heston.

He found out that working full time for a nonprofit wasn’t the only condition he had to meet. His loan had to be the “right” kind of loan (a direct loan from the government), and he had to be making the “right” kind of payment (a monthly amount based on a percentage of your income).

After graduation and prior to submitting an employer certification form, he had made regular loan payments. But his hopes were dashed when he was rejected because those two-and-a-half year payments were not income-based. Additionally in 2016, he married. His wife, an optometrist, also had student loans. In order to qualify for PSLF, though, not only did he have to change his type of repayments, but his income would be combined with hers, escalating his payments because they would be based on the entire household income.

“To qualify for PSLF, I had to jack up my payments by like another $600 a month. It was just not possible for us to utilize that service. We determined that it’s probably best to slog it through all the way to the end. In the long haul, my savings would have been $3,000 or $4,000,” Heston said.

Laura Mazur also got her degree from SPEA the same year and heard about PSLF from her professors. She had $45,000 in student loans.

While she had been making regular payments that she believed could be applied toward forgiveness, it was at the urging of her brother-in-law that she checked to see if she actually qualified. When a borrower submits an employer certification form, not only do they learn if the job qualifies, but if the loan type and repayment plan is correct.

“I’ve always worked in government, and I know the government qualifies, but what I didn’t realize is that only certain repayment plans qualify. So that’s where I ended up losing a bunch of time. I had made over two years or 23 payments and didn’t end up qualifying because I was on the wrong payment plan,” said Mazur who now lives in Denver. “That was very upsetting.”

Something, too, that she didn’t realize is that you don’t actually apply for forgiveness until you are ready, in other words, all 120 payments are made. In February, she started anew and will now reach her 120 payments in 2028. At that time, according to Mazur, a very small amount will be forgiven.

Of the seven young professionals interviewed for this story, all but one never talked with a loan company staff member that was collecting the payments, but rather did all the research and communication online. The Department of Education contracted several companies, including FedLoan Servicing, but in 2012, assigned all PSLF accounts to FedLoan.

For Mazur, a co-worker who had submitted an employer certification form, helped guide her the second time around, showing her where to find the repayment information. Her monthly payment would increase by $100, and while she mulled participation, she asked her employer to submit the form. Personally, she thinks submitting the form should be a requirement.

“While it’s a lot of paperwork to fill out annually, people will be a lot less annoyed than if they make it through 120 payments and at the end of it, find out that none of those payments qualify,” she suggested.

Another SPEA graduate, Noor Shaikh, also lives in Denver. She has made 24 payments toward her $80,000 debt. If she continues at her current repayment level, she will be forgiven half of it.

“It’s kind of scary especially now that you keep hearing about problems and a little terrifying knowing that I relied on an electronic form to decide the next 10 years of my life,” she said. She would tell all students with loans to talk with their college’s or university’s financial aid office. “They have to have training about this stuff, but I just don’t remember seeking them out when I was in school.”

Extended payment plans. Wrong kind of payments. Employer certification. The requirements are on the Department of Education Federal Student Aid website, but the bottom line appears to be not just “buyer beware,” but “buyer, make sure you do your homework.”

With that in mind, meet Michael Lux, a 2012 graduate of George Washington University Law School, and the self-dubbed Student Loan Sherpa. Since 2013 Lux has blogged and answers questions recent graduates, colleges and others pose about student loan problems. He focuses his efforts on student loan strategy and advocacy.

Lux said when he graduated, his future seemed bleak. He had six straight years of student loans and limited job prospects, which prompted his move to Indiana. His first job was for the Indiana attorney general’s office, and then he worked for the Marion County prosecutor’s office. Both jobs qualified him for PSLF.

Along the way, however, he spent time researching the code of federal regulations to find the answers to student loan questions and saw value in sharing what he was learning.

“At a certain point, it just struck me, ‘This should be information that people easily have access to. You shouldn’t need a law degree to pay off your student loans.’

“It’s a stressful subject for people, and it can be confusing. I try to help people navigate these issues themselves. I’m a firm believer that you don’t need to hire a student loan expert to analyze your particular student loan situation,” said Lux.

From his time at the prosecutor’s office, he has 40 of the 120 payments necessary for PSLF. If he goes back to government work, he’ll pick up where he left off. There is no gap limit. He currently makes a monthly payment, which does not count toward forgiveness.

He agrees with Mazur’s brother-in-law that the best way to track progress is to submit an employer certification form.

“I suggest people do that on a yearly basis and whenever they change employers, so that those records stay up to date. And what that does is say, ‘I’m working for an eligible employer,’ but it also triggers a review of your student loans. It will make sure that your loans are eligible and create a paper trail.

“After one year, you’ve got a record that says, ‘I’ve made 12 payments toward eligibility.’ And the next year you do it, you’ve got your 24. Year after that, and the really important reason is to do it, is if you’re on the wrong repayment plan, or your loans aren’t eligible, those are the things that can be fixed. But the sooner you identify the issue, the sooner you can fix that and start the tally toward 120. That’s why it’s really important.”

While there are other forgiveness programs, he reminds those considering the PSLF of the three main qualifiers: eligible employer, eligible loans and eligible repayment plans.

He believes that in the past few years, the Department of Education has gotten much better at providing information to empower individuals to make the right choices and having a coherent strategy from day one will save you a lot of money.

None of the interviewees for this article personally knew anyone who has hit the 120 mark. That may be because according to the Department of Education, borrowers who met requirements would first see remaining outstanding balances forgiven beginning last October. Despite an estimated 42 million federal student loan borrowers, only 139 have fulfilled the eligibility criteria needed to have their loans forgiven at any time over the next two years.

As of that third quarter of 2017, the latest available data, there are 739,719 borrowers who have submitted one or more approved PSLF employer certification forms. However, fewer than 1,000, according to the Department of Education, will be eligible in 2018 because in the early years of the program there was limited availability of income-based repayment plans.

Five states have filed lawsuits against Navient for not properly informing borrowers. The most recent, California, was filed in June.

Lux said that borrowers are assigned a company from the government, but one of his suggestions to improve the servicing is to have borrowers select their service.

“It would create a real incentive for these servicers to actually provide a quality service. Right now their only incentive is to meet the minimum terms as required by the contract with the government and that’s it,” he said.

Michael Lux suggests several resources: https://studentloansherpa.com/favorite-student-loan-sites/

Jul 23

Why a strong HR department improves your nonprofit

By charitableadvisors Sponsor Insight

By Mike Harrington, president, The Synergy Companies

A business changes as it grows. What once was a one- or two-person shop hires more talent as new roles are created to meet daily demands. Capital rises, office space expands, and business goals are set higher and higher. Throughout it all, there is one area that can make all the difference and yet is often relegated to a lower priority. A strong HR department improves your business and has become a focus for successful organizations across America.

Alleviates unproductive multitasking

Consider an organization that doesn’t have a true HR department. There are still HR-related activities that must be completed by somebody. After all, who processes the payroll? When an employee has a problem, whom do they report it to? Who is conducting onboarding, processing hiring paperwork, or running trainings?

Despite being unrelated to an organization’s core business, HR responsibilities add up quickly for even the smallest of companies.

When a specific department doesn’t exist to carry out this function, a member of the management team often shoulders the responsibility. Unfortunately, that typically means spending the time he or she doesn’t have and turns the focus away from business strategy to “deal” with HR duties that he or she may not have much knowledge about.

While some may get by with multitasking in this fashion because, as a smaller organization, doesn’t feel as though there are HR activities daily, it results in a compromise of HR’s ability to add to and improve the nonprofit.

Dedicated, expert HR professionals create a strong HR department because their focus is solely on human resources. While some days like payday may see a flurry of HR activity, other “slower” HR days are the times this department can focus on improving the workforce, environment and culture. Abstaining from implementing a true HR department prohibits a company from reaching its full potential.

Minimizes risk and liability

Each passing day seems to produce a new law or regulation that organizations like yours must comply with. Even the smallest nonprofits have to address complex legislation, making sure they remain in compliance with applicable rules. A strong HR department is an organization’s leader in these efforts. There are payroll, tax law, employment law, benefits administration, disability, hiring, firing and training considerations among a number of others that must be appropriately taken care of. While some of it may feel like bureaucratic paperwork, that doesn’t change the fact that one false move can cause significant issues.

Consider just one piece of this in the topic of harassment and discrimination, a hot-button issue surrounding today’s workplace. When an organization has robust training for all employees in these areas, their liabilities are greatly reduced. The workforce understands exactly what constitutes a violation and how to respond if they witness one. Management knows precisely what to do if they are presented with a claim. Instances of harassment and discrimination can drop sharply. Even if they do occur, when an organization follows all the right steps in addressing and reporting them, they clear themselves of a great deal of liability.

When nearly 20 percent of U.S. adults have been sexually harassed at work, taking the right measures is key. The legal implications are similar for several other areas and, to be addressed appropriately, require a strong HR department.

Improves Employee Engagement and Retention

HR is the internal face of your organization. When the department operates at subpar levels, or if someone without HR expertise is trying to run these activities on the side, it deteriorates the employee experience and negatively affects culture. If employees encounter HR disorganization and confusion, or if they have to wait weeks for answers to common HR questions, it will lower their engagement.

At a time when 87 percent of organizations cite culture and engagement as a top challenge, it’s clear that employees depend on a strong HR resource. When they have a question or concern, they need to know who to go to and expect rapid resolution. Above all, they must be able to trust their HR person. If the onboarding experience is streamlined, paperwork is void of mistakes, and company trainings are professional and helpful, that trust is built. When HR thrives, your employees thrive as well, and that can make all the difference in keeping them happy.

Why a strong HR department improves your business

While the need for a strong HR department is clear, there’s no sugarcoating the fact it can be a difficult and costly overhaul process. For small nonprofits in particular, the cost of hiring HR employees may be prohibitive. Those in this position often find that a PEO like Synergy is an effective and affordable answer. In fact, businesses that partner with a PEO grow 7-9 percent faster and are 50 percent less likely to go out of business. At the end of the day, whether through a PEO or on your own, your HR department will determine just how far your business will succeed.

Mike Harrington is the president of The Synergy Companies. Joining the organization in 1995, Harrington has held several leadership roles within the company working to ensure its effective delivery of human resource and PEO services. Prior to joining Synergy, he spent five years with Safeguard Business Systems in direct sales and sales training and support. Harrington holds a BS degree in marketing from Eastern Illinois University.

When you’re looking for HR expertise that can provide a boost to your company, look no further. Synergy is here for you.

Jan 29

EARN Indiana program pays off for nonprofits, college interns

By charitableadvisors Feature, Programming

By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors

As Teachers’ Treasures executive director for the past four years, Margaret Sheehan works with volunteers daily. The Eastside nonprofit volunteer-run store, which opened in 2000, provides teachers access to donated educational supplies and other materials.

And while volunteers have been critical to the store’s efforts, late last summer Sheehan added an employee to her staff — a paid intern. It was the nonprofit’s first paid intern.

But the benefit was not just to the organization, but also to the student who is gaining professional experience in the workplace. The college student has taken on additional projects that a nonprofit would not have tackled as readily.

Recognizing that experiences like these develop workplace skills, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education took over the former summer work-study program, and it was renamed the Employer Aid Readiness Network (EARN) Indiana program in 2013 under Indiana Code 21-16-2. Last year the legislature approved $606,099 for each of the 2017-18 and 2018-19 fiscal years.

The program pays 50 percent of the intern’s pay and is administered in partnership with INTERNnet, a free internship-matching program managed by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. The goal is to help create or expand high-quality experiential opportunities. HB 1312 in 2013 expanded the program to allow for-profit employers to also access the matching funds. Previously, only government agencies, colleges and universities, and nonprofits were included.

For more information about EARN Indiana, check out INTERNnet’s website.

And for an employer guide on internships in general, visit INTERNnet’s website.

In order to qualify for this practical experience as a paid intern, a student must be a full- or part-time college student with financial need.

Teachers’ Treasures is not the only nonprofit providing students with these workplace experiences. Last year, 113 nonprofit positions were filled, including an environment residential center, library and a municipality and rehabilitation center. In 2016, there were 102 interns hired by nonprofits.

Erin Crofton, the education director at Dunes Learning Center in Chesterton, said it didn’t take long for her board to endorse applying to the program, and it has had a positive impact on the bottom line.

“We’re always looking at budgets, and I thought ‘Wow, it says that they will reimburse 50 percent of the salary for your interns for the time that they’re here.’ That sounds too good to be true,” she said.

EARN Indiana interns can be hired during the summer or school year for at least eight weeks. Crofton hires naturalists during the school year, all of whom have graduated from college, so those program interns are not eligible for EARN Indiana dollars.

But in the summer, Crofton hires 10 residential environmental program interns who are still in college. While not all her summer counselors qualify, for the past two years she’s had at least two. According to the guidelines, no more than 50 percent of a nonprofit’s workforce can be interns.

But Crofton has found that not only does EARN Indiana help fund the intern program, it helps her draw applicants from a wider geographic region with the positions advertised on INTERNnet, which has a statewide reach.

For students, the database is searchable and includes a hotline for questions.

Both Sheehan and Crofton said the online application is straightforward. Once a nonprofit applies and submits a position description, it receives a response within five business days. After approval, the employer receives an email from the commission verifying the position title, work hours, pay rates and the employment timetable. A second email contains an employer agreement and the position is posted.

At Teachers’ Treasures, Sheehan completed the application this first time, and the director of operations is taking care of the communication and reports. Crofton does both. Both said the customer service is great support. As long as the employer is in good standing, there is no limit to the number of times an employer can apply for EARN Indiana internship dollars.

At Teachers’ Treasures, Maryann O’Connor, an IUPUI sophomore who has been employed since August, managed two projects – a STEM and an upcoming gala auction, as part of her experiential internship. For the auction, she met with board members one-on-one to ascertain where they might have connections, and then followed up with them.

After Eli Lilly learned that 60 percent of fourth graders in Indiana had never had a STEM activity, the pharmaceutical company approached Teachers’ Treasures to connect to area teachers. The EARN Indiana intern had experience in this area and worked with Teachers’ Treasures staff and teachers to determine what type of kits would provide teachers. As a result the nonprofit built 2,000 kits to make slime, complete with Borax, glue, beakers and a teacher demonstration kit. O’Connor identified what was needed, and coordinated Lilly employees through an Indy Do-Day at Gleaners to assemble the materials.

“I am grateful for the real responsibility I’ve been trusted with,” O’Connor said. “The STEM project allowed me to actually interact with teachers and see the results of this effort. I was able to take on a leadership role, which included writing the teacher instructions, managing the assembly and taking overall responsibility for the project.”

Sheehan said that while this was a little outside the scope of what the nonprofit typically gives away, without an intern she would not have attempted it. She said there is always going to be an interesting project that you wouldn’t take on without an intern.

“We had the right intern in place,” she said. “She took responsibility. They were her projects — both very different.”

And while Teachers’ Treasures has gained, so has O’Connor.

“This internship has helped me better understand my career path. It applied my course work to a nonprofit and has been a valuable hands-on experience. I am interested in continuing to work with nonprofits,” said O’Connor who is double majoring in international studies and Spanish and is working to complete the nonprofit management certificate. She said this internship was an opportunity to see a nonprofit up close.

“It’s been great working with a small staff, which allows you to see the key components of the operation at work. The organization has an executive director, volunteer coordinator, events coordinator and operations manager and you can see how they function together.”

O’Connor said that it is important that those not in the nonprofit sector apply for nonprofit internships. She has friends who are business majors, and are having difficulty finding one. Her advice is that business managers can see all sides of an operation on a smaller scale.

Reporting the EARN Indiana’s intern’s hours can be on an ongoing basis or be a one-time payment.

“You just have to have all of the reporting done by a certain date, and you can just get a check then or you can do it ongoing. I like to do it ongoing just so I make sure, I don’t have to dig for stuff. The program provides that flexibility,” said Crofton.

If a nonprofit is considering applying, Crofton offers simple advice.

“Absolutely do it. There’s nothing you could lose from it.”

Key is to keep in mind why you’re doing it.

“My major recommendation for any internship is always keep in mind, why are you doing the internship and what are you providing the student. I believe that internships are not for the organization itself necessarily. It’s really you’re helping move this individual along in their career.

“Provide a good experience. I think EARN does that because it has to be experiential, and an intern cannot just get coffee and make copies all day,” said Crofton.

Mar 21

Nonprofits can lobby, too

By charitableadvisors Feature, Governance

By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors |

A few eyebrows were raised 2½ years ago when United Way of Central Indiana named Andrew Cullen as its lobbyist. A few nonprofits questioned his appointment, primarily because they thought that nonprofits could not lobby.

And while in fact, nonprofits are allowed to lobby, Cindy Booth of Child Advocates believes that the perception still exists. She’s the executive director of the nonprofit that advocates for abused and neglected children in Marion County.

“I think people, boards and directors, executive directors are generally uninformed about what they can do and worry about the risk of getting in trouble. So they do nothing or they call it educating,” said Booth. Nationally last year, 280 nonprofits spent nearly $36 million lobbying, according to Open Secrets.org, which tracks the lobbying industry.

While there are specific regulations that have been around since 1934, federal tax laws allow every charitable nonprofit to engage in some legislative lobbying activities. Before 1976, IRS rules stated that 501(c) 3 organizations could lose their tax-exempt status if they did more than an “insubstantial” amount of lobbying. Sections 501(h) and 4911 of the Tax Reform Act of 1976, however, established clearer guidelines called the “lobbying‐expenditure test.”

There are, however, spending limits and technicalities that curb nonprofits from spending all of their time and money on legislative lobbying. If a nonprofit spends more than $500 on legislators or more than $1000 on state executives, the lobbyist must register, pay a fee and file reports with the Indiana Lobbying Registration Commission. Nonprofit lobbyists cannot use any organizational resources to support or oppose candidates or political parties.

Cullen said that United Way believes lobbying is part of the organization’s mission.

“I really do feel like I have one of the best jobs in the Statehouse. I get to behave like any other lobbyist, but with no self-interest to promote. My job isn’t to make some rich guy richer, my job is to help poor people get on the path to self-sufficiency. And I feel really honored to have this job,” said Cullen.

Booth said that few nonprofits ever hit the federal maximum, which is 20 percent of a nonprofits’ budget with a cap of $1 million.

So what exactly can Indiana nonprofits do?

During last year’s legislative session, United Way helped launch an effort to provide state funding for 211, a network of eight centers across Indiana that gets annual support from United Way. According to Cullen, 211 had become a victim of its own success. The public viewed it as a place to connect to services, and when the state started advertising it as a method to receive benefits, United Way and others thought it was time to educate state legislators about the service the nonprofit provides.

“In the Marion County’s 911 Center, the dispatchers have a button they push, ‘This is not a 911 problem, it’s a 211 problem, transfer, bam.’ That’s part of their training. Connect2Help 211 was happy to provide that service, but ultimately, had to recognize that if it was an essential government service, the government needed to be part of the solution and support it. It’s unfair to donors to be expected year after year to continue to fund an expansion of a government service,” he said.

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In advance of the lobbying effort, 211 staff had done a cursory survey of all the funds that support human services in Indiana and determined there is about $300 million in private and philanthropic donations that support human services, and there is about $3 billion in federal, state and local funding.

“So if you’re only playing in the $300 million pool and not trying to effect change in the $3 billion dollar pool, you’re really not serving the citizens as effectively as you should. Nonprofits, in my opinion, have a better handle on the actual needs of Hoosiers, because they are the direct service providers in most cases and should be informing our government how to best spend those dollars,” said Cullen.

Part of Cullen’s work was to help 211 advocates who shared the good work the agency does and help them change the message.

“My experience around and near the legislature told me that that was not a good message. Most of what I did would be to say: ‘Stop talking about how this helps people, start talking about how this helps taxpayers.’ That’s what the legislature of today wants to hear. You know their top priority is not necessarily the old model of traditionally providing welfare services. It’s the new model of raising people out of welfare. And so it was really important that we change the messaging.

“So when we started to connect the dots and prove to the legislature that 211 connects Hoosiers to services that ultimately put them on the path to self-sufficiency, get them off their dependency on government and on the road of leading self-sufficient lives that was a winning argument,” he said.

That doesn’t mean, however, the funding was a slam dunk. While the House supported the initial legislation, the Senate asked tough questions: Was this a good system? Was it efficient? Legislators wanted facts and figures to understand why they should invest taxpayer dollars. The data provided awarded the 211 network $1 million in last year’s two-year budget.

“And it would be my expectation, and certainly my hope, that a million dollars would be the floor going forward for what the state will fund for the 211 network every year. But that being said, you know we cannot take our eye off the ball. We’re going to have to lobby for it every two years, just to make sure.”

Booth says Child Advocates has taken a bit of a different approach.

The Indiana Office of Guardian Ad Litem / Court Appointed Special Advocates, which was started in 1990, certifies and provides training and support to local GAL/CASA programs in 77 Indiana counties. The Indiana office is administered by the Indiana Supreme Court, and as a government office, its director, Leslie Dunn, cannot lobby. At the same time, Marion County’s office was incorporated as Child Advocates, Inc. and became a standalone nonprofit.

The network of programs held a CASA thank-you appreciation day in early March with state legislators. Over 300 volunteers from around the state met with their legislators and shared stories of what happens for individual kids in need of services in legislators’ districts.

“It’s very informational, it’s very one-on-one,” said Booth. “This time, we thanked them for the increase we got last year, and let them know that it wasn’t enough because even with the increase, we still have 5,000 children statewide who are on the waiting list.”

These informational sessions don’t mean there isn’t a overall plan.

“Eight years ago, we determined that we needed more funding at the statewide level, but we realized that legislators had no idea who we were. So we embarked on a relationship-making campaign and truly an educational campaign with the legislators. They had no idea what Guardian Ad Litem was and the general public confused us with Department of Child Services,” said Booth.

The first couple of years were spent talking with legislators about the nonprofit’s work on behalf of neglected and abused children. They held receptions, breakfasts and did different things to help legislators understand how the program benefits children in the child welfare system.

It culminated when Supreme Court Chief Justices Randall Shepard and Loretta Rush needed support for an increased budget for the Supreme Court, part of which would be for CASA programs. The county network enlisted all of its CASAs to talk with legislators and the legislature, and they were able to help make the case.

The network also pays attention to tracking bills that affect the work of Child Advocates/Guardian Ad Litems.

For Booth, it continues to be about building relationships. After an initial meeting with Rep. Susan Brooks, R-Ind., her nonprofit hosted a listening session.

“She asked me to identify a list of juvenile court judges, DCS leaders, the CASA leaders and maybe some service providers. We had about 30 people in the room in early March. She sort of let us just talk about what we were experiencing, the challenges and everything.”

Brooks’ staff took notes, and she asked good questions, Booth said.

“She listened with interest about Child Advocates and what we are doing because she had experience in the field, but she also had the interest in those topics. They talked about having a second listening session and inviting local and Congressional legislators.

“I’m not exactly sure what the follow-up is going to be with that, but I think she came away with a clearer understanding of what is happening in her district. I was quite impressed by that,” said Booth.

What is on the docket for United Way next year?

“Early childhood education. Look out. We’re coming strong in 2017. It’s going to be my biggest project in my life. It’s time that Indiana stops becoming one of only eight states in the nation that doesn’t provide early childhood education for our most vulnerable citizens. The good news is, I think, that legislators see that. I think that most policy makers are coming to that conclusion. The question is just how do we do it in the right way? How do we expand in a way that ultimately leads to the highest potential child outcomes?,” said Cullen.

If Booth were talking with other nonprofits, she suggests several reasons they should lobby — the need to have well-informed legislators in power who are educated by those on the frontlines.

“I think ultimately it benefits your program. All the legislators know is what someone has told them or what they’ve read. And they really need to hear it from someone who is in it every day. It elevates their level of understanding. And we want more well-informed legislators,” Booth said.

Mar 21

Nonprofits’ minimum wage bind

By charitableadvisors Feature, Governance

By Jennifer Jones Austin, commentary, Times Union |

Across the nation there is mounting concern about economic inequity. At the heart of the matter of the ever-increasing economic divide are stagnant wages, which have plagued millions of low- and middle-income Americans for decades. But here in New York state we have a real opportunity to do something about this.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed a $15 minimum wage to be phased in over the next two years for New York City residents and by 2021 for all other New Yorkers. His proposed legislation, the first of its kind put forth by the governor of any state, has the very real potential to increase the financial stability and improve the upward mobility of 3 million New Yorkers. The governor has evidenced his commitment to the minimum wage increase by using his own authority to raise the wages of both state and SUNY employees, but he has not yet moved to include those workers who provide vital human services for the state.

Human services and Medicaid-funded workers employed by nonprofits funded by state government contracts and Medicaid reimbursements deliver mandated services including child welfare, childcare, senior services and supports for the disabled. These workers perform critical roles in our economy and in the communities they serve. However, more than 50 percent of them, more than 400,000, earn less than $15 an hour.

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