Shepherd Community Inc., a Christian-based organization serving the near-east side, is pulling other charities into its fold
at a pace not often seen in the local not-for-profit sector.
As we hunker down and try to fend for ourselves during this difficult economy, don’t forget to support those who are even
less fortunate and
have been hit even harder than we have.
Thanks to a $25,000 contribution from Beck’s Hybrids, Habitat for Humanity of Hamilton County was able to purchase land and
build its 50th home this year.
In the Indianapolis area, small-business owners told IBJ that they give in whatever
way they can, and would like to continue as long as their finances allow. But a Chronicle
of Philanthropy survey indicates that giving is already on the decline.
John Aleshire, the executive director of the Humane Society of Indianapolis, is rolling out policies that please animal advocates.
Area not-for-profits are beginning to feel the sting of the year-old credit crunch, which has escalated into a full-blown
financial crisis that’s battered investors and likely pushed the nation into recession.
Since its origins as the Widows and Orphans Asylum in 1851, the Children’s Bureau has been working to
fix broken families in Indianapolis. Now the local not-for-profit has expanded its reach into 37 Indiana
counties–growing its budget 22 percent in the process. But the agency remains focused on Marion County, where it’s building
a $9.2 million service center at 16th and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. streets.
Kathryn Morgan and Richard Cimera met at a dog park in Greenwood, where Cimera’s basset hound won over Morgan’s shy Labrador
and boxer mix. And the owners soon followed suit, dating and then marrying on June 13. When the Greenwood couple planned their
wedding, they wanted a way to share a bit of their happiness. So, in lieu of party favors, they made a donation to an animal-welfare
organization.
When Jim Cotterill became president of the newly formed Hoosier Christian Foundation in August, it capped off six years of
soul-searching for the Indianapolis entrepreneur. Cotterill represents growing numbers of local business professionals who
have diverted their time and talent to charity and service.
An Indianapolis not-for-profit has taken one of the most radical approaches yet toward trying to remain relevant to the next
generation and to perpetuate its mission. It’s put a 15-year-old on its board of directors.
Once a year, the CEO implores employees to sign pledge cards to the United Way. Local health and human services agencies that
benefit wait to redeem your tax-deductible gift. But others are preaching there’s another path to charitable-giving heaven.
Lesser-known federations continue to nip at the heels of the United Way establishment in the workplace.
Only 29 percent of executives have discussed a transition plan with their boards, according to a study by San Francisco-based
CompassPoint Nonprofit Services. Converging with this lack of preparedness is an approaching deficit of leaders.
In the village of Armenia, in western El Salvador, the Barahona Bautista family last month got a $246 loan to start a pig
farm from Ambassadors for Children. Micro loans are new to Ambassadors, which assists children in more than a dozen countries.
Indianapolis not-for-profits are growing as more universities embrace service learning–an educational approach that encourages
students to incorporate academics into community service.
Attracting people under 40 with money to give is one of the latest challenges faced by not-for-profit organizations. As fund-raisers
look toward cultivating the next generation of supporters, they see a younger generation that appears less inclined to do
so.
A fall merger of two Indianapolis homeless shelters set off a new round of speculation about whether Wheeler Mission Ministries Inc. will continue to operate out of its 245 N. Delaware St. location–a stone’s throw from multimillion-dollar redevelopment under way on Massachusetts Avenue.
