Since the uprisings in response to George Floyd’s murder, we have seen unprecedented demand for consulting to nonprofit and philanthropic organizations around race equity. This work exists along a continuum of depth and intended impact: from shorter-term trainings and retreats meant to bring people to a baseline of understanding, to longer-term work that attempts to transform the ways that staff and board members interact with one another and with their constituents, ultimately transforming program design and impact as well.

Here, we want to focus on that latter part of the continuum—on the work that goes well beyond “DEI training” and on the kind of work that requires staff and board members to examine their personal identities and habits, and to articulate together an organizational accountability to equity and justice. Specifically, we want to explore how that critically important work is increasingly interacting with — and disrupting — how organizations approach strategy development and planning.

As consultants, we witness a widespread frustration, especially among BIPOC staff, at the parsing of language and at ongoing attempts by executive and board leadership to compartmentalize processes into distinguishable “DEI” and “strategic planning” scopes of work. This compartmentalization can suggest how personally disconnected white leaders are from experiences of injustice and marginalization; these distinct scopes of work allow them to create distance from necessary organizational change work and their personal role in it.

Moreover, in predominantly white-led organizations, it is nearly always the case that BIPOC staff and board members are asked to lead the equity work while the executive director and board chair lead the strategic planning. A fundamental difference in authority to drive change is baked into this process parallelism.

Nonprofits across the nation are rebuilding, working to recover from the job losses that swept through the sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dozens of them are now preparing to connect with college students at the 2022 IUPUI Nonprofit Expo in hopes of recruiting new talent for their organizations.

Updated reports released earlier this year found that—as of the end of 2021—nearly 72 percent of the estimated 1.64 million nonprofit jobs lost during the pandemic had been recovered. But that still leaves hundreds of thousands of positions unfilled across the country.

IUPUI’s Nonprofit Expo will help organizations fill some of those vacancies by serving as a bridge between nonprofit, government, and community organizations and local college students.

“This isn’t a standard career fair,” explains Kerry Lay, a career advisor with the O’Neill School at IUPUI. “It allows nonprofits to connect with large numbers of students in one place and specifically targets those who are interested in working in the nonprofit sector.”

The pandemic canceled the 2020 Expo and forced the 2021 event to be virtual. But students and organizations will meet again in person on March 23 from 1- 4 p.m. in the IUPUI Campus Center Employers can register for the event until March 21.

During its 2022 Prosperity Indiana Summit in February, Prosperity Indiana announced the winners of its annual leadership and program awards. The event highlights outstanding leaders and innovators in the community economic development field. See recipients

CareSource has announced a partnership with Wayspring, a provider of treatment for those with substance use disorder (SUD). As part of the collaboration, the team will launch the first-of-its-kind SUD Home program in Central Indiana. The program, which includes treatment by community-based teams of medical clinicians, social workers, and peer recovery specialists, is available for eligible Medicaid members.

The longtime headquarters of the Society of Professional Journalists and the SPJ Foundation was recently sold to the Damien Center for $1 million. According to the organizations’ leaders, the decision to sell the building located at 3909 N. Meridian St. reflected their organization’s hybrid work model. Over the past two years, many employees have been working remotely. Read more

The International Center is accepting applications for its five-month 2022 James T. Morris Global Leadership Series, which provides an overview of cultural competency, insights into global leadership, and the opportunity to network with global leaders from across the state. The deadline to apply is April 30.

Lilly Endowment has announced its 35th Teacher Creativity fellowship class. The fellowship supports Indiana elementary and secondary educators in renewing their commitment to creative teaching through funding of up to $12,000 each. See recipients 

United Way of Central Indiana is looking for projects for Go All IN Day, an organized day of volunteering and community service across the region. The event is June 24 across United Way’s service area of Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Marion, Morgan and Putnam counties. Learn more and register

Diverse Perspectives on Thriving in Nonprofit Tech Careers, a panel discussion webinar, on March 16 at 3 p.m. Presented by Community IT Innovators. Cost: Free. Register

2022 Charter School Board Recruitment event March 16 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Tinker House Events, 1101 E. 16th St. The city’s charter schools, many of which were developed by Black social entrepreneurs, are seeking board members to assist in advancing access to quality education. Hosted by the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation. Cost: Free. Learn more

Recruit and retain advancement talent in a tight job market webinar on March 17 at noon. Learn trends impacting the Great Resignation and the effects on recruiting in the current environment as well as implications for nonprofit leaders hoping to attract and retain top talent. Presented by Johnson, Grossnickle & Assoc. Cost: Free. Register

2022 IUPUI Nonprofit Expo on March 23 from 1-4 p.m., 420 University Blvd. Nonprofits seeking to hire graduating college seniors will have the opportunity to showcase their impact and employment opportunities to prospective employees, interns and volunteers from among IUPUI’s undergraduate and graduate students, and alumni. Cost: $150. Employer registration

Revival or decline? American faith and philanthropy face the future workshop on March 31 at 6 p.m. at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St. David Brooks and Anne Snyder will share stories from the frontlines of community rebuilding and civic creativity. Presented by Thomas H. Lake Lecture. Cost: Free. Register

Find existing data webinar on April 28 from 9-11 a.m. Learn the strengths, weaknesses, and costs of readily available data sets. Presented by SAVI Data Literacy. Cost: Free. Register

Children's Bureau + Families First needs volunteers for help sort and organize donated inventory, wash gently used clothing, and fulfill requests from case managers. Open volunteer hours are Monday through Thursdays from 10 am-noon. Register For more information, email Brittani Haywood bhaywood@childrensbureau.org or call (765) 404-9877.

Central Indiana Community Foundation CICF is an inaugural member of Nexus for Equity + Opportunity Nationwide, a cohort of community foundations launched by the Community Foundation Opportunity Network. The group will identify strategies and metrics focused on building power and leadership among underrepresented people. Read more

Our sponsor marketplace serves to further connect our readers with our advertisers who are focused on serving nonprofits. To learn about each sponsor's nonprofit services, click on its logo.