Like many other nonprofit organizations, the team at Christel House Indianapolis had to quickly assess how to carry out its mission in spite of COVID-19 restrictions in early 2020 — an endeavor that revealed many of the challenges facing the students they serve.

“When the pandemic hit last March, our board members and our entire team came together and realized that the pandemic was not just going to last for a couple of weeks,” said Dr. Sarah Weimer, executive director of Christel House Indianapolis.

It was a critical undertaking as they considered the potential for educational setbacks among Christel House students living in some of the most under-resourced communities in Indianapolis. The closing of school buildings for 2,300 K-12 students and 750 adult learners would require addressing any challenges in their home environments.

Technology was identified as a priority, and the team implemented a plan to distribute devices to each of their students at their Indianapolis schools. However, that plan only addressed part of the equation. “They had the device but couldn't access the Internet to download their assignments,” Weimer said. “We discovered that over 50 percent of our students in Indianapolis did not have access to WiFi.”

Although telecommunications companies offered discounted and free internet service for students in low-income households during the pandemic, more challenges came their way. “Providers were having deals for families to get free internet, but they had barriers,” Weimer said. “If you owed a bill, you couldn’t get free access. If you didn’t have a social security number, you couldn’t get access.” Through a partnership with the Indianapolis Mayor's Office and a fundraising initiative, Christel House was able to purchase data packages totaling $10,000 a month to support their students.

In looking back, Weimer said the pandemic further revealed the inequities that already existed based on demographics and neighborhoods. “The inequity question is one that we’re going to be grappling with for years to come,” Weimer said. “We don't have a good grasp of how impoverished communities and communities of color were impacted by the pandemic. We know statistically but we don’t have an understanding of the toll, including the emotional and mental toll.

“There’s going to be a lot to unpack for the kids,” she added. “Besides academic and learning loss, the students we serve come from backgrounds where they need additional mental health services, food insecurity and childhood trauma, all of which were exacerbated by the pandemic,”

Dennis E. Bland, president of the Center for Leadership Development, an organization that equips African American youth with education, business and community leadership opportunities, including scholarships, said that the pandemic highlighted varying mindsets about the value of an education — a gap that must be addressed to ensure that equity is achieved.

Whether your public charity is in the early years of formation or has operated for decades, there is one particular mathematical calculation that should always remain at the forefront of your decision making — the public support test. It is a small but mighty calculation that is vital to maintaining status as a public charity. On the Form 990, Schedule A is used to provide detail about sources of support, types of support and, ultimately, to calculate the public support percentage.

According to the IRS, there are two methods in which a non-profit may qualify as a publicly supported charity:

An organization’s reason for public charity status determines which of the tests apply to calculate the public support percentage. For sake of simplicity, this article focuses on the testing under IRC Section 509(a)(1).

Organizations claiming public charity status under this section must receive at least 33.3% of its support from the public, or from governmental units over a 5-year period — the current year plus the prior four years. At a high level, public support/total support = public support %. Sounds simple right? Wrong. There are several factors used to determine this calculation, therefore, we will break it down further.

The public support portion, or the numerator, consists of four important line items. The first three lines include gifts, grants, contributions, membership fees, tax revenues levied and the value of services or facilities furnished by a governmental unit to the organization at no charge. Unusual grants are not to be included.

St. Vincent de Paul has opportunities at its Food Pantry and Distribution Center, including baristas at its new Holy Grounds coffee shop. Learn. Contact Darlene Sweeney.

A Kid Again needs volunteers for the RUN (317) race on July 15 at Fort Benjamin Harrison. Volunteers are needed to help with packets, check-in, course marshal, water stations, ID checks, and serving drinks. A 3-hour commitments suggested. Register or contact amyp@akidagain.org

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