Thursday, March 21, 2024, marked a day of extraordinary significance as 250 women from central Indiana gathered for the inaugural INspire Her Leadership Summit. It was a day filled with collaboration, inspiration, and empowerment as women came together to uplift each other and pave the way for a brighter future.

The event began with a keynote discussion featuring Jenny Just from Poker Power, a company she co-founded with her daughter. Their mission? To empower women with skills such as confidence, strategic thinking, and decision-making through the game of poker. Jenny's words set a powerful tone for the day ahead.

The Women & Girls Index (WGI) provides the only systematically generated, comprehensive data on charitable organizations dedicated to women and girls. The WGI tracks the landscape of women’s and girls’ organizations in the U.S., including the amount of philanthropic support they receive from individuals, foundations, and corporations. The WGI is a cornerstone project of the Equitable Giving Lab (EGL), an initiative better to understand charitable giving to diverse communities and under-resourced groups. The Lab currently comprises research on giving to LGBTQ+ and women’s and girls’ organizations, in addition to case studies of organizations serving these populations. The data are hosted at WomenAndGirlsIndex.org, including a searchable database of all WGI organizations, a downloadable copy of the full Index, and more detail about the Index and the methodology used to create and update the WGI. Updated annually since 2019, the Women & Girls Index (WGI) tracks the landscape of women’s and girls’ organizations in the United States.

The National FFA Organization received a $3.15 million grant from agribusiness giant Cargill to help support the youth organization’s commitment to shaping future agriculture leaders. The three-year grant will help fund the Indianapolis-based organization’s efforts toward community service, sustainability, equity, diversity & inclusion, and other endeavors. Read more

Hamilton County Community Foundation (HCCF) announced an investment of $240,000 over three years in support of two not-for-profit organizations dedicated to enhancing the well-being of Hamilton County residents. The two grant recipients are Invest Hamilton County and Trinity Free Clinic. Read more

Janus Developmental Services, Inc. received a $6,000 grant from the Everwise Foundation. This gift will provide support to youth in Hamilton County for life skills such as financial education, financial safety training, and workforce development opportunities. Read more

A new partnership between the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Workforce Excellence (IWE) and the Indiana Latino Institute (ILI) is focused on strengthening work-based learning engagement by Latino students across the state. The two groups are collaborating on increasing internship matches for students involved with ILI’s internship and fellowship programs. Read more

Student enrollment is now open for Indy Summer Learning Lab (ISLL), a five-week, free, or low-cost academic and enrichment program to boost learning over the summer break. Site enrollment is either free or low-cost, with breakfast and lunch served. Some locations will provide before- and after-school care as well as transportation. Enroll  

Merchants Bank and Merchants Capital announced the creation of Merchants Foundation, a private charitable foundation that will provide access to housing, healthcare, and education—three factors that greatly contribute to the overall health of an individual and their community. Efforts have already been made to support Central Indiana nonprofits.

Generosity and social connectedness webinar on Apr. 11 at 1:30 p.m. Learn about the relationship between different types of civic behavior and how factors in our daily life influence giving and volunteering patterns. Presented by Johnson, Grossnickle & Associates. Cost: Free. Register

How A.I. can streamline nonprofit operations webinar on Apr. 23 at 2 p.m. The American Red Cross has launched more than 20 A.I.-powered projects to help support its mission — with many of those aimed at improving operational efficiency throughout the organization. Learn how other organizations are using A.I. to be more efficient. Presented by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Cost: Free. Register 

Federal funding blueprint: Finding and managing federal grants webinar on Apr. 24 at Noon. Learn how to search and apply for sources of federal awards through the Grants.gov website. Presented by National Council of Nonprofits. Cost: Free. Register  

Diversity capital in periods of social activism: Race-related corporate philanthropy is on Apr. 29 at Noon. Drawing on a unique longitudinal archive of social media posts by large firms, this presentation elaborates on how racial justice activism shapes the philanthropic commitments of businesses. Presented by I.U. Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Register

Make decisions with data webinar on Apr. 29 from 1-3 p.m. Learn to apply your critical data skills to decision-making, learn the limits of data in decision-making, and incorporate qualitative information to improve decisions. Presented by SAVI. Cost: Free. Register 

Nonprofits & digital transformation: Why the time to start is now webinar on May 2 at 2 p.m. Identify whether challenges are process-driven, people-driven, or technology-driven, recognize areas where process improvements might be needed before a technological change and discuss planning strategies for a change in technology. Presented by FORV/S. Cost: Free. Register

Fundraising from donor advised fund (DAF) donors: Using Research to raise more on May 15 from 8 a.m. – Noon at The Salvation Army Indiana Division, 6060 Castleway West Drive. Learn how donors with DAFs are actually funding their accounts, making grants from them, and how this research helps fundraisers raise more. Presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals - Indiana Chapter. Cost: $100 members/$150 Nonmembers. Register by May 9

Second Chance Indiana needs volunteer coaches to work one-on-one as they walk with reentrants following release from incarceration. They teach reentrants how to register on the website as a job applicant, how to conduct job searches, how to apply for jobs, how to interview, how to become a valued employee, and how to find the service providers as well as the other resources that they will need to settle into the community. Training is provided. Learn more and register

Footlite Stage is looking for volunteers to help with ushering and concessions at Fiddler on the Roof at Footlite Musicals, 1847 North Alabama Street, throughout the month of May. Volunteers are needed at 6:30 pm on Thursday - Saturday shows. Sunday volunteers are needed at 1:30. Time commitment can range from one to two hours.  Register  | More information  

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President & CEO - Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center