Q&A with JGA CEO Lee Ernst, who helps nonprofits raise money
Johnson Grossnickle & Associates helps as many as 65 nonprofit clients each year boost their relationships with donors and raise the money they need to achieve their missions.
Philanthropy
Articles
Uncertainties under Trump trouble housing providers
Frozen grants, delayed allocations and terminated funds are all examples of what Indianapolis housing providers and builders face as President Donald Trump’s administration slashes federal programs and jobs.
Progress House recovery residence completes $4M renovation, expansion
Both floors of Progress House, the oldest and largest recovery residence in Indiana, were refurbished with new or additional amenities.
Rubio says purge of USAID programs complete, with 83% of agency’s programs gone
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the programs “spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States.”
Riley Children’s Foundation unveils $300M fundraising campaign, its largest in history
The Riley Children’s Foundation unveiled the campaign, called “Every Child Deserves Riley,” during its Red For Our Kids Gala on Saturday. The effort has seen early success—they’ve already quietly raised two-thirds of the goal.
Christel House launches first major expansion since DeHaan’s death
Over the next two decades, the organization plans to add at least 9,100 students to its K-12 schools worldwide, more than doubling the 6,440 students and recent graduates still being mentored at nine schools in five nations now.
Ugandan conservationist wins $50K Indianapolis Prize conservationist award
Mwezi “Badru” Mugerwa will receive $50,000 to spend on his work to protect rarely seen African golden cats.
Lumina Foundation sets new goal for higher education achievement
The new goal is about measuring—and working to increase—the economic value of post-secondary education.
Indianapolis Foundation president steps down after less than 2 years
Lorenzo Esters joined the foundation in 2023 after the departure of longtime leader Brian Payne.
Purdue University launches $4B fundraising campaign
The campaign, publicly announced Monday, is the largest in the school’s history and its third billion-dollar-plus campaign in less than 25 years.
Bill amendment seeks to block charities from operating like true casinos
The amendment begins by renaming popular “casino game nights” to “card, dice and roulette games events.”
Butler grad donating $12M for women’s sports, leadership funds
The donation is the largest gift to Butler University’s athletic department and the largest known estate commitment in the school’s history.
Trump administration’s proposed funding freeze causes uncertainty, delays in central Indiana projects
Although the White House’s planned federal funding freeze was temporarily paused by a judge late Tuesday afternoon and rescinded Wednesday, it’s already delaying some central Indiana-based projects.
Indy refugee organization seeks private donations following federal funding uncertainty
Indianapolis-based Exodus Refugee Immigration Inc. has begun asking for financial support following a flurry of immigration-related changes President Donald Trump made last week through a series of executive orders.
Taylor University leans into Christian identity to attract big gifts
Taylor racked up the highest number of individual million-dollar-plus gifts—14—among the 57 donations in IBJ’s 2024 list of largest individual gifts to Indiana organizations.
Film to focus on activist and medical debt issue
Richard Propes travels in his wheelchair on an annual annual fundraising trek he calls the Tenderness Tour. In 2024, he traveled 150 miles of Indiana trails, raising more than $100,000 for Massachusetts-based nonprofit Undue Medical Debt.
Scouting fund honoring Jim Morris to help first-time campers
The new fund will pay for half of the cost for a child to attend camp.
IBJ Podcast: Mission of Indy furniture maker ‘is about building other people up’
More than 240 people who have struggled with addiction, homelessness, incarceration and other obstacles have been employed and trained by Purposeful Design. And sales of its high-end furniture cover most of the cost of operation.
Purposeful Design rebuilds lives as participants build furniture
The east-side company is about to finish 2024 with more than $2.7 million in sales—up from $1.35 million four years ago. By 2026, the business expects sales to reach $3 million.
UPDATE: IU lands $138M grant from Lilly Endowment to fund new biosciences accelerator
The gift is the largest grant that Indiana University has ever received in support of research and development. IU President Pamela Whitten said the funding will help “change the very landscape of our capital city and state.”