Dear readers,

Beginning this week, Charitable Advisors has joined forces with the Indy Chamber to expand the reach of the Chamber’s Rapid Response Hub. The goal is to address nonprofit organizations’ questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to the current pandemic, most communities have seen a spike in demand for services, and nonprofits have stepped up. But not unlike many small businesses, you too are vulnerable in this environment. With this partnership, we are working to address questions more directly related to nonprofits.

The Indy Chamber launched its Rapid Response Hub in mid-March to serve as a central location for the most current COVID-19 information and as a service to answer the specific inquiries of small businesses and organizations in the Indianapolis region. We quickly realized we would be better joining forces than creating a parallel system for nonprofits.

At Charitable Advisors, we believe the Indy Chamber team has created a site and a Q&A process that is both elegant and simple, and it has been extraordinarily generous in its willingness to partner for the benefit of our community.

“A considerable number of our membership comes from the nonprofit sector, and we recognize the unique circumstances they’re trying to navigate in these uncertain times,” notes Ross Raifsnider, vice president of membership sales for the Indy Chamber. “We’re proud to partner with Charitable Advisors to help not only our nonprofit members, but all organizations to grow and serve our regional community.”

Besides help from the Indy Chamber staff to triage informational requests, Charitable Advisors has solicited assistance and aligned with consultants and businesses that specialize in nonprofit services, as well as faculty from the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, to respond to nonprofit queries.

Indy Chamber membership is not necessary to access this resource. With these added resources, the Nonprofit Rapid Response Hub will:

Our thanks to the following for their participation and willingness to serve the nonprofit community:

The Nonprofit Rapid Response Hub and resources for nonprofits can be found at response.indychamber.com.

With appreciation for all you’re doing,

Bryan Orander, president, Charitable Advisors

Check out our website. We are highlighting the best resources and tools we can find, and then add to our website for future reference. More info.

Aspire Indiana Health launched Connections -- Aspire Warm Line, a free phone service for people experiencing non-emergency distress or concerns resulting from COVID-19. To reach the service, call 888-967-5842, which is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The service is aimed primarily at individuals who are not clients at Aspire or anywhere.  Learn more.

Increased testing for minorities. The City of Indianapolis and Marion County launched a COVID-19 testing campaign to reach minority communities. The effort establishes three new sites in the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods. The first site at Eastern Star Church (5750 E. 30th St.) begins testing on April 30 and will focus on the elderly, who are immunocompromised, and working essential workers with customer-facing jobs. Both drive-up and walk-up testing is available.  Read more.

Junior Achievement of Central Indiana has developed a virtual career exploration program to engage students and volunteers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization says it will launch "My Career Journey" to middle and high school students and for those interested in volunteering remotely. Read more.

As part of #GivingTuesdayNow on May 5, GoFundMe Charity launched its $1,000 match program to give nonprofits the opportunity to rally support in the face of COVID-19. Click here to find qualifying information, restrictions and limitations.

Paycheck Protection Program replenished: With the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act signed into law, the fund added $310 billion, and the U.S. Small Business Administration is again accepting applications from approved PPP lenders again. Remember, your first step is to contact your bank. The Independent Sector provides a complete resource of the funds available.

Indiana Humanities has announced a new funding opportunity for Hoosier cultural institutions. Applications are now open for Indiana Humanities CARES Grants, which are designed to distribute funding relief to nonprofit organizations that provide public humanities programming and have faced financial hardship during the current COVID-19 pandemic. More than $500,000 will be awarded to Indiana humanities organizations. The deadline for the application is May 8. A webinar is scheduled for April 29. Learn more: IndianaHumanities.org/CARES.

The Indiana Youth Institute in Indianapolis has established the Youth Worker COVID-19 Relief Fund. The $190,000 fund will provide direct support and relief to youth-serving professionals in Indiana who have been impacted by COVID-19. Grants of $500 will be distributed to more than 350 youth workers throughout the state. For more information about applying, clicking here.

TechSoup launched its COVID-19 Response Fund to underwrite technology hardware and tools, training and services from its growing list of resources. The funds particular focus is supporting small organizations that provide social services. In addition to making new products available to nonprofits, TechSoup is hosting virtual workshops on managing the impact of COVID-19 on nonprofits. These workshops cover tools, strategies, and resources to help nonprofits manage remote workers. TechSoup’s COVID-19 Forum is an online message board dedicated to nonprofit topics related to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, go to https://www.techsoup.org/

By Zachary S. Kester, Executive Director and Robert Miller, Program Officer, Charitable Allies

Recognition of your organization’s tax-exempt status is one of the most important steps in the formation of an exempt organization. But, it is not the last step. Many organizations obtain their tax-exempt status and then lose it for one reason or another. The most common reason that exempt organizations lose their status is through automatic revocation for non-filing or untimely filing of Form 990s. From the middle of 2010 to the end of 2017, the IRS revoked the tax-exempt recognition of more than 760,000 nonprofit organizations for failing to file Form 990 returns. However, automatic revocation is easily preventable and even after the exempt status is lost there are relatively simple ways to have it reinstated -- at least initially.

Read more.

The Central Indiana Senior Fund partnered with The Polis Center at IUPUI to develop an annual State of Aging in Central Indiana report. This developing report will be a tool to help generate transformative ideas that address the unique and diverse needs of older adults in Central Indiana. Using initial data, POLIS identified a population measure of the risk of social isolation in older adults, those aged 65 and older, to where they lived.  Learn more about the study and see a state map here illustrating the risk of social isolation in our seniors.

Women’s Philanthropy Institute has released a new report, Women Give 2020 – New Forms of Giving in a Digital Age: Powered by Technology, Creating Community. The report offers new research focused on how women give more than men, even as technology disrupts philanthropy. The report encompasses research that shows broad gender differences in how women and men use the Internet and social networks and how they give online. Read more.

Donation: TuffStuff AXT-2 Home Gym System comes with a 200-pound solid steel weight stack, a convenient press arm range of motion adjustment, an adjusted seat and fully adjustable leg developer. Sits on a 6’ x 4’ pad and stands nearly 6’ tall. Comes with complete exercise manual. Lightly used. Recipient will have to move and transport from a private home. Interested nonprofits can contact [email protected].

COVID-19 relief funds awarded

Central Indiana Senior Fund approved nine grants totaling $394,000 to support senior serving organizations as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. For a complete list, click here.

The Dubois County Community Foundation awarded a second round of grants to local healthcare and nonprofit organizations. With its $50,000 donation in March, the foundation says the second round of grants brings its total relief funding in Dubois County to more than $100,000. Read more.

The Eskenazi Health Foundation board of directors has approved a $500,000 grant for Eskenazi Health to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic various initiatives to support employees and providers. Read more. https://eskenazihealth.edu/news/eskenazi-health-receives-$500-000-to-help-with-covid-19-crisis

Additionally, Bank of America awarded a grant that will support Eskenazi Health’s efforts to care for and serve patients who have contracted COVID-19. Learn more.

Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS Indiana) was awarded $25,000 in C-CERF grant funds which will support virtual early intervention home visits for Central Indiana families who have babies and toddlers who are blind or visually impaired.

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