DONATE
Prosperity Indiana supports a network of organizations from all sectors and a variety of fields. That network includes many talented and effective leaders, several of whom were highlighted on our blog in a series that began last October to mark our 30th anniversary. Through our services, we strive to support all Prosperity Indiana members in becoming leaders who make an impact on their communities. Last fall, we launched the Expert Directory Survey to ask members to identify their level of experience on a variety of subjects. This tool is helping us understand our members better and providing us new ways to connect members to opportunities within the network. The below chart provides a summary of responses on several leadership characteristics from the first 70 people to complete the survey.
Those who identified themselves as an “expert” have incorporated these skills into their work to a significant degree and are comfortable sharing their knowledge with others.
We’re excited to announce a new member service to use this data to grow leaders in our network. Members may now request to be matched with a mentor to help them tackle a challenge or learn a new skill. Mentors are people with significant experience in the field who have volunteered to assist their peers by spending one to two hours meeting or speaking with them one-on-one to address particular topics.
If you’re setting resolutions for 2017 and are looking for support in developing strong goals and action plans or if your resolutions include strengthening your command of finances or your ability to facilitate difficult conversations, request a mentor to receive tips, resources, and guidance for reaching your goals. Below is a list of some of the areas in which mentors have agreed to serve; but there are many others—use the Mentor Request Form to let us know what topic you’re interested in.
If you’d like to exercise your own leadership potential and be a mentor, please complete our Expert Directory Survey. In this survey (accessible exclusively to members through our Member Directory page), you’ll identify your level of experience on a variety of topics. You can also indicate your willingness to provide training, technical assistance, and/or mentorship to other members. As more people join the Directory, its potential as a tool for connecting with other professionals grows. So, please share it with other network members.
Be a mentor. Ask a mentor. Become a leader.
In addition to the Lilly Endowment’s regular support of human service organizations this year, the Endowment is granting a total of $100 million dollars to 15 organizations to invest in their sustainability plans. These grants seek to strengthen the financial infrastructure of vital but under-capitalized organizations and build their capacity for the long-term. Included among the grantees are Prosperity Indiana members, Edna Martin Christian Center, John H. Boner Community Center, and 2014 member, Horizon House. Congratulations to each grant recipient for the well-deserved recognition and support of the important work they do in building vibrant communities and resilient families.
Read the official press release for more details of this initiative from the Lilly Endowment and the full list of award recipients.
This Spring, Purdue Extension is offering a course on preparing grant proposals in eight communities around the state. The 2-day workshop, Beginner’s Guide to Grant Writing, will give grant writers of all skill levels the information and resources they need to submit proposals with confidence.
The two-day interactive workshops take place from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM local time on both days listed below:
• Floyd County, New Albany Floyd County Public Library, 180 W. Spring Street, New Albany, IN 47150, Wednesday, February 8 and Wednesday, March 8, 2017.
• Hendricks County, 4-H Fairgrounds and Conference Center, 1900 E. Main Street, Danville, IN 46122, Tuesday, February 21 and Tuesday, March 21, 2017.
• Allen County, 4001 Crescent Avenue, Fort Wayne, IN 46815, Thursday, February 23 and Thursday, March 23, 2017.
• Putnam County, Putnam County Fairgrounds,191 US-231, Greencastle, IN 46135, Wednesday, March 8 and Wednesday, April 12, 2017.
• Marion County, 1202 East 38th Street, Discovery Hall Suite 201, Indianapolis, IN 46205, Friday, March 10 and Friday, April 14, 2017.
• Tipton County, 1200 S. Main Street, Tipton, IN 46072, Thursday, March 16 and Thursday, April 20, 2017.
• Harrison County, 247 Atwood Street, Corydon, IN 47122, Tuesday, April 11 and Tuesday, May 2, 2017.
• Tippecanoe County, 3150 Sagamore Parkway South, Lafayette, IN 47905, Thursday, April 20 and Thursday, May 18, 2017.
During the workshop, participants develop their ideas into written proposals. They learn how to find funders as well as strategies for successful grant implementation.
"Over the years, participants of the Beginner’s Guide to Grant Writing workshop have gone on to win millions of dollars in grant funding, bringing vital programs and services, equipment, infrastructure, and amenities to communities all across Indiana," said Kris Parker, Regional Community Development Educator with Purdue Extension.
Registration is $175 per person and includes a workbook, reference materials and lunch both days. Professional review of a draft proposal is also included.
Additional information and a registration form are available by going to http://bit.ly/2gdgXFu. Or, by contacting Kym Schwinkendorf at 219-386-5232, or kschwink@purdue.edu.
This blog will elaborate on progress already underway in working towards our 2017 state advocacy goals below, but as we referenced in our 30th Anniversary and Prosperity Indiana Summit policy sessions, it is important to understand the context of broader policy priorities dominating legislators’ attention.
House Agenda:House leaders unveiled their top priorities for this session during Organization Day last November. The plans were elaborated on in the House Republican’s “Investing In Our Future Plan.” Speaker Brian Bosma has outlined the following as the key focus for House leadership:
Senate Agenda:January 10, Senate leadership unveiled their agenda, which largely mirrors priorities of their House counterparts with some minor additions and some differences in their approach. Senate President Pro Tem David Long listed the following as specific priorities:
On Monday January 9, Governor Eric Holcomb and Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch were sworn in during inaugural ceremonies. Last week, however, on January 5, then Governor-elect Holcomb and Lt. Governor-elect Crouch unveiled their Next Level 2017 Agenda. The proposals referenced a number of the key legislative priorities put forth by legislative leaders and include some additional ideas. Those proposals include:
As referenced above, the Prosperity Indiana public policy team, which includes Kathleen Lara, Andy Fraizer, Steve Hoffman (the President Prosperity Indiana’s Board of Directors and the Public Policy Committee Chair), and Ice Miller, LLP representatives (Prosperity Indiana's lobbying partners), is already tracking and analyzing a number of bills to support and oppose in this legislative session and accordingly, meeting with legislators to advance and oppose a variety of legislative proposals.
For Prosperity Indiana’s comprehensive bill tracking list and link to more information about legislation, click here [Member Access]. This list is exhaustive of all introduced legislation that pertains to any Prosperity Indiana member issue area.
For a more refined review of key legislation in critical areas for members, review Prosperity Indiana’s top priority bill tracker by clicking here [Member Access]. The identified bills on that list are most likely to proceed at the State House or of greatest concern to Prosperity Indiana’s policy team. Please keep in mind that the deadline bill filing is Thursday, January 12, so our tracker information will be updated as additional bill information becomes available.
Prosperity Indiana has four key affirmative priorities for the 2016 Indiana General Assembly and one key area of defense thus far.
Affirmative Priorities:
Defensive Priorities:
Please stay tuned to our blog for critical action alerts and legislative updates as the 120th General Assembly session continues. Prosperity Indiana is grateful to our members for their work, advocacy, and partnership!
Riley Area Development Corporation (RADC) is a non-profit community development corporation that has used affordable housing to transform urban neighborhoods in and near downtown Indianapolis.
RADC is currently hiring for these two positions:
Mass Avenue/Brookside Industrial Corridor Program Manager
The Program Manager is responsible for the development, facilitation, execution and administrative support of the Mass Avenue/Brookside Industrial Corridor Program. The Program Manager must be professional, entrepreneurial, energetic, imaginative, well organized and capable of functioning effectively in independent situations. The Program Manager is the primary contact person responsible for coordinating all Program activities and Program implementation, coordination of select projects and any other responsibilities deemed appropriate.
See full job description for more details.
Development Project Manager
The Development Project manager is responsible for project development and implementation and communications; shaping, managing and driving the implementation of community development projects and directing the implementation of an effective outreach and communication campaign to educate and cultivate support for projects. The Development Project Manager is a full-time professional position. However, if an outstanding candidate requires a part-time position, the Executive Director may negotiate a reduced scope of responsibilities. Compensation is commensurate with experience.
If you are interested in either position please submit your resume including attached letters of recommendations to the following email address: strickland@rileyarea.org
Prosperity Indiana is seeking a part-time Administrative Assistant. The position of Administrative Assistant reports to the Associate Executive Director and supports the Prosperity Indiana staff with tasks that build the capacity of Prosperity Indiana, its members, and partners. The position will provide administrative support for the organization and Prosperity Indiana’s training program. The successful candidate will be customer service-oriented, write well and communicate effectively, and understand bookkeeping. Attention to detail and accuracy are a must in order to successfully juggle and accomplish multiple tasks.
For more details, click to see the full job description.
Interested in joining our team?
E-mail and/or mail resume, cover letter, and recommendations to
Jessica Love, Associate Executive Director, jlove@prosperityindiana.orgProsperity Indiana 202 East Market Street Indianapolis, IN 46204
Year-end is timely to reflect on the past year’s accomplishments and survey the coming year. Having celebrated Prosperity Indiana’s 30th Anniversary in November, reflection also includes the many years of impact. If you missed the celebration and Prosperity Indiana Summit, where we unveiled the new brand identity, I invite you to watch the commemorative video.
For 30 years, the Indiana Association for Community Economic Development has focused on the assets of local people, mobilizing collective action to advance Indiana’s communities. Now doing business under a new name, Prosperity Indiana, our mission hasn’t changed; we are still dedicated to supporting a network of organizations that build resilient families and vital communities. The new brand embodies a more authentic and approachable way to convey our vision and comprehensive work to strengthen Indiana communities.
As you think about the highlights below, remember Prosperity Indiana delivers services in four ways to members: advocate, community builder and connector, capacity builder, and funder.
As an advocate, the Prosperity Indiana policy team was a coalition partner to improve Indiana’s Individual Development Accounts (IDA) program. With member engagement, including diligent efforts by the TRI-CAP staff, policymakers added vehicle purchase as an eligible use of savings in the IDA program. Partnering with the City of Gary Redevelopment Commission, the policy team also advocated for experimental tools for Lake County to better address the issues of vacancy and abandonment, including challenges of 1) serial tax delinquency, 2) the tax sale process, and 3) disposition of redevelopment commission owned properties.
Again in coalition, the policy team stopped the expansion of predatory payday lending. As the policy team looks ahead, 2017 will again require mobilization on this issue of payday lending. Other priority issues for the year ahead include uniform property tax assessment for mission-based affordable housing and continuation of the mortgage foreclosure filing fee as a source of funding for housing counseling and mortgage foreclosure prevention. At the federal and state administrative policy junction, the policy team worked with the National Low Income Housing Coalition to deliver a webinar and generate member feedback to inform Indiana’s use of the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF).
As a connector, we delivered the Prosperity Indiana Summit. Over 200 people attended with 36 percent attending the placemaking sessions, 26 percent participating in the policymaking sessions and the balance attending some of each track. Sixty-six (66) percent of attendees reported extreme satisfaction with the content and logistics. The annual awards luncheon honored leadership and program impact in the following winners:
Another connecting strategy is our role in providing staff support for the Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network. In 2016, the Network was selected to participate in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Your Money, Your Goals cohort and trained 98 organizations and 150 people on this financial capabilities curriculum. Thanks to generous support from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, the Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network also built partner capacity for asset-building strategies in Northwest Indiana (NWI) with the Porter County United Way.
We also convene communities of practice, or affinity groups, to provide members opportunities to exchange resources, information, and ideas to bolster each other’s work. The details and discussion notes from the various affinity groups are documented on the forum pages.
As a community builder, Prosperity Indiana continued work with the Legacy Foundation in Lake County to advance comprehensive community development through the Neighborhood Spotlight program. This year’s Neighborhood Spotlight communities were Gary’s Emerson neighborhood and Griffith, where Prosperity Indiana provided collective impact planning and capacity building support to residents and local leaders throughout the year.
Other community building strategies included a partnership with member the Indiana Cooperative Development Center to deliver a one-day conference on worker cooperatives as a community economic development tool for financial empowerment and a similar conference on Cooperatives and Communities of Color. The conference on worker cooperatives highlighted them as a business succession strategy to generate local wealth and revitalized downtowns. The Cooperatives and Communities of Color conference focused on strategies for equity and social justice from community ownership. Lastly, with support from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), Prosperity Indiana worked with member Fifth Third Bank to shape a community benefits agreement, which was announced last month to great acclaim for a robust and collaborative process.
Capacity building strategies included another year of robust training and technical assistance consulting. Trainings this year included Housing Counseling, Foreclosure Basics, Developing an Affordable Housing Project from the Ground Up, Certified Aging in Place Specialist, Certified Green Professional, Effective Non-Profit Boards for Real Estate Development, Abandoned Housing Strategies, and Placemaking Basics. For 2016, the capacity building team delivered these courses in a series of "mini-institutes" that allowed participants to encounter more professionals in the community economic development field, learn from others through affinity groups and receive technical assistance from the training team in some cases. Training benefitted 123 participants across these classes, reporting high satisfaction. We also expanded our webinar offerings, covering a variety of topics and archived on the member portal. Looking ahead to 2017, the capacity building team is planning the training calendar now with our partner and funder, Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. The team is also working with the board of directors to plan and implement a comprehensive community development institute, as outlined in Prosperity Indiana’s strategic plan. You will hear more about this in the weeks ahead.
Consulting work with members this year has included projects in organizational development, project and program development, and community and strategic planning. With a grant from member Vectren Foundation, Prosperity Indiana is supporting quality of life planning and convening in a neighborhood in Anderson. Through a partnership with the National Association of Latino Community Asset Builders, the capacity building team supported leadership development in Sheridan in partnership with member Hamilton County Area Neighborhood Development. In Huntingburg, the local public housing authority worked with the team to increase their housing development capacity through a non-profit development strategy.
Alongside member City of Michigan City, the team has supported neighborhood planning activity using a comprehensive community development strategy. Members also engaged the capacity building team for grantwriting and grant review, including Terramark and Pass the Torch for Women Foundation. Early in the year, Hope of Evansville engaged the team for strategic planning. Prosperity Indiana staff also assisted United North East Community Development Corp. with updating their housing strategy and providing data analysis services. In collaboration with member KW Consultants, the team is working on a housing needs assessment for the Town of Speedway. The capacity building team has also been working with Coburn Place to develop a housing strategy in light of changing funding.
As a funder, Prosperity Indiana continues to support members in local communities with a desire to collaborate in fundraising through Homeward Bound. Another 2016 accomplishment was our role in helping community development financial institution (CDFI) members Brightpoint and HomesteadCS establish Community Loan CentersTM upon receiving grant funding from JP Morgan Chase PRO Neighborhoods to create an alternative to payday lending.
In 2017, the Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network will make grants and provide technical assistance to five organizations participating in a learning cluster integrating financial capability. The Network has found lack of access to financial planning resources to be an obstacle to achieving financial stability. Research indicates that integrating financial capability – understood as knowledge plus skills plus resources – into existing programs is the best strategy for focusing on the family balance sheet. The following organizations are participating in the learning cluster: Dress for Success empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and development tools. Connected by 25 creates paths of success for young people aging out of foster care. Families First delivers family and individual counseling services. Coburn Place provides transitional housing for those who have experienced domestic violence. EmployIndy provides workforce development. Participating organizations will develop theory of change, resource assessment, and planning logic models for intended financial capability strategies. The Network will develop case studies from organizations to understand lessons learned and promote achievements.
Prosperity Indiana will also reprise an updated version of its Solar Uniting Neighbors (SUN) grant program to fund solar photovoltaic projects and create community discussions about sustainability. Thank you to member Citizens Action Coalition, which has been a champion of the program and helped secure investment from Duke Energy. Prosperity Indiana recently hired Allyson Mitchell as Director of Sustainability to implement this program and build a portfolio of sustainability strategy support with members.
If you think there is a way Prosperity Indiana can aid your work and strengthen our communities, do not hesitate to call us at 317.454.8533 or email us at info@prosperityindiana.org.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) recently presented a webinar, The Changing Post-Election Landscape for Affordable Housing, focusing on the work needed to move affordable housing policy in this new political landscape.
The webinar recording and PowerPoint slides are now available on their website.
Click here to read more of NLIHC's outlook on the political landscape for affordable housing policy under the new Administration.
Interested in other webinars from NLIHC? Click here to view their webinar offerings.
Member organizations of Prosperity Indiana are on the frontline in local communities tackling the causes and effects of poverty. In consultation with current member Indiana Legal Services Inc. and partner the Community Development Clinic at University of Notre Dame, we believe the support of a legal aid organization to support these member organizations is a missing resource that Prosperity Indiana may be able to support.
We need data to better understand what legal needs exist in our membership and partnership networks and how Prosperity Indiana may address these needs as part of a comprehensive bundle of services. Please complete this five-minute survey on how your organization and your community partners use legal services in pursuit of community economic development and poverty eradication.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/commdevlegalneeds
We understand strategies for tackling poverty, creating assets and investment for low wealth communities, and meeting local needs can utilize a variety of incorporation strategies—nonprofit, cooperative, b-corps, and other social impact organizations and corporations. Please share this survey widely.
Prosperity Indiana is exploring a multi-pronged strategy. Hire a staff attorney able to meet the specific legal needs at a particular time on a discounted fee for service basis for member organizations. Also, identify a statewide pro bono pool of attorneys to meet the needs of community development organizations serving people and places experiencing poverty. We could coordinate and track volunteer attorneys to ensure the timely delivery of services. We envision recruiting lawyers across a diversity of practice areas (real estate, business, intellectual property, nonprofit, tax, finance, labor, etc.) to provide legal assistance to community-based organizations. Lastly, share information and model documents among attorneys.
Thank you in advance for your participation.
Prosperity Indiana's partners at the Indiana Institute for Working Families are hiring a Legislative and Communications Assistant for the 2017 session of the Indiana General Assembly. Do you know someone with a commitment to Indiana's working families who'd like to gain experience learning the policy process in the Statehouse? This could be the job for them. The Institute is accepting applications through December 9, 2016.
Download the PDF job description here.
Donate
Subscribe