By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors

By sheer numbers, very little good has come as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In the U.S., there have been more than 2 million cases, more than 110,000 lives lost, nearly 40 million people unemployed and no clear signs that better times are close.

But for two Indiana nonprofits -- Carey Services and Second Harvest Food Bank of East Indiana -- the pandemic has forced them to rethink their operations. For the leaders of both organizations, resilience is a key word in their vocabularies.

And maybe … just maybe, they will be stronger when life resumes as normal.

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana

Muncie-based Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana is a hunger-relief organization started in 1983 that provides food through a network of 96 agencies and 35 schools in eight counties.

Tim Kean has been its CEO/president since 2012. During the pandemic, he said the agency is finding new ways to reach people.

Read more.

Area foundation leaders are speaking out against the killing of George Floyd in police custody last week and the country’s long history of racial violence and discrimination. The following are links to their full statements. 

For the past five years, Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) and its affiliates, The Indianapolis Foundation and Hamilton County Community Foundation, have been on a journey to deeply understand the breadth and depth of racism and racist systems in our city, state, region and country. It’s been more than a year since we met with almost 2,000 of you in Banker’s Life Fieldhouse and announced our new mission to mobilize people, ideas and investments to make this a community where all individuals have equitable opportunity to reach their full potential -- no matter place, race or identity. We committed to no longer being a White power organization and pledged to become a shared power, anti-racist and multi-cultural organization.

Read Brian Payne’s, Central Indiana Community Foundation’s president and CEO,

full statement here.

Lilly Endowment is deeply saddened by the tragic events of last week and the long history of profound racial inequities that has led to protests over the past few days in downtown Indianapolis and across the country.

But we are heartened by the faithful leadership of those who, having felt personally the impact of racial inequity, have urged vigorous yet peaceful protests to bring about change.

Read N. Clay Robbins, Lilly Endowment’s chairman, president and CEO, full statement here.

We grieve because of racial injustice. We hope because our work to help more people learn creates opportunity.

The tragic, senseless death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police and the resulting cries of anguish have profoundly  affected all of us at Lumina Foundation.

We stand as one in resolute opposition to the repetitive pattern of societal violence and injustice Black Americans experience.

Read Jamie Merisotis, Lumina Foundation’s president and CEO, full statement here.

Relaxing PPP rules: In late May, the House passed the PPPFA by 417-1 and the Senate approved it by unanimous consent on June 3. Among the changes, it reduces the amount spent on payroll to 60% and extends the flexibility of spending to 24 weeks. Read more.

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By Sandy McCarthy, president of Retirement Services, OneAmerica

In the face of these uncertain times, we’ve seen new-found levels of appreciation and respect for the organizations providing vital assistance to our communities and citizens. As you know, hospitals and healthcare systems, social and community-service organizations, and religious institutions have stepped up to provide care, support and relief to those in need. These tax-exempt organizations are the foundations of our communities and have always been a top focus for OneAmerica ^®.

Though 2020 – with the SECURE Act, the COVID-19 pandemic and the CARES Act – has presented challenges for all plan sponsors, tax-exempt plans have some unique concerns and considerations.

Here are a few things we’re urging tax-exempt employers to keep top-of-mind as they navigate the current environment.

Read more.

The Momentum Fund will provide grants nonprofit organizations that are managing an active COVID-19 fund. The grants will help these organizations build their capacity so that they can effectively grow, promote, manage and sustain their funds. Grants, through an investment by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will be awarded in amounts up to $100,000 and will total $8.5 million. Application deadline is 3:00 p.m. EDT on June 18. Apply here. 

Indiana Donor Network has announced its first on-site organ recovery. The recovery took place at the state’s first and only Organ and Tissue Recovery Center located at 3760 Guion Road in Indianapolis.  Learn more. 

LifeStream Services Inc. and Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana have announced plans to expand their Senior Safety Net Food Distribution partnership. The program provides easy access locations for seniors to receive food. Read more. 

A coalition of organizations on the east side of Indianapolis, which is attempting to jumpstart the economy of the community and to attract and retain workers, has been designated a 21st Century Talent Region by the state of Indiana. The Eastside Economic Recovery and Mobility District is the sixth region to receive the designation. Learn more.

Indiana Philanthropy Alliance (IPA) has announced Jay Geshay, chief strategy officer at Bosma Enterprises and Sycamore Foundation board secretary, as the recipient of the 2020 Hazelett Award for Leadership in Grantmaking.

COVID-19 funds awarded

Indiana Humanities announced $500,000 in COVID-19 funding from CARES Grants to 74 Indiana organizations to provide public humanities programming. Amounts range from $1,000 to $15,000. See a list of organizations and learn more here. 

Dove Recovery House for Women has received a $100,000 State Opioid Response grant from FSSA/DMHA to provide technical assistance around COVID-19 procedures and to expand the capacity of recovery residential residences for women across the state. Learn more.   

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (PNC) committed more than $5.3 million to address COVID-19 hardship relief efforts in vulnerable communities in Indiana, including a $5 million low-interest loan to nonprofit lender Bankable for the Paycheck Protection Program. In addition, there were $300,000 in grants were awarded several nonprofit organizations. Learn more.

Coronavirus response: Building a future that re-imagines systems for justice webinar on June 16 at 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. EDT. Learn how funders are working together to re-create new systems of power and practice, how we can change our relationship with recovery to ensure we do not a return to the inequitable and unprepared system with huge gaps in power and the long-term strategy for equity-centered resiliency in the arts. Cost: free. Register. 

JGA: 2019 Giving Trends: A look at the Giving USA 2020 Annual Report on Philanthropy for 2019 on June 18 at noon EDT. Learn what drove charitable giving within each nonprofit sector and key opportunities and challenges for your continued philanthropic growth. Anna Pruitt, Managing Editor of Giving USA, will join JGA’s Senior Consultant and CEO Angela White for an informative analysis of the data that will help build your organization’s fundraising outlook and strategy. Cost: free. Register.

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