The following information was shared with fund holders in a special conversation on Aug. 22.
In Marion County, the Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) aims to help create neighborhoods and environments that empower people, change systems that unfairly hold people back, and dismantle systemic racism. This is a lofty goal, which in order to accomplish, we must partner with donors and community members. In a fund holder educational session on Thursday, Aug. 22, president and CEO, Brian Payne, and senior community leadership officer, Diane Schussel, shared CICF’s learnings and vision for two of its community leadership initiatives: family stabilization and dismantling systemic racism in Central Indiana.
CICF’s new strategic plan for Marion County will focus on five leadership initiatives that overlap and influence one another. For example, we know that reliable transportation is closely linked with job stability, which is closely linked to the retention of safe and affordable housing. It is problematic to learn that Indianapolis has the second highest transportation costs as a percentage of income among the 30 largest metro-areas in the United States. As Indianapolis thinks holistically about its transit system, we want to make sure that low-income individuals have quick and easy access to employment and services.
Additionally, data reveals that on any given night in Indianapolis, approximately 1,700 people are homeless; and more than half of those people are black. While that number seems high enough, as many as 10,000 or more individual people experience homelessness annually in Indianapolis. This estimate likely does not even capture those individuals who are displaced but temporarily staying with friends and family members.
CICF’s strategic plan to address these issues of family stabilization includes:
- Preserving or developing affordable housing near transit stops;
- Addressing racial disparities and wraparound services related to homelessness;
- Developing protected pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure that connects to employment, services, and recreation; and
- Creating a personal mobility network, focused on individual, under-resourced people to better coordinate various modes of transportation.
While these are only a few of the strategies we plan to implement, they represent ambitious work. CICF recently embarked on fund raising to support each initiative of our strategic plan, including one dedicated to a personal mobility network and one dedicated to housing our homeless population. Donations to support the Personal Mobility Network will focus on connectivity for all residents, and donations to our Housing to Recovery initiative will support intensive, high-quality services to help individuals sustain permanent housing.
We welcome you to learn about related funding opportunities on CICF Connect, our online fund holder portal. Together, fund holders can pool their resources to help the Personal Mobility Network and Housing to Recovery initiatives become realities.
Brian reminded fund holders during our conversation, “These are our dreams, and we are committed to helping you realize your philanthropic dreams.”. For additional opportunities to partner with CICF in your philanthropy, please email effectivephilanthropy@cicf.org or call 317.634.2423.
Did you miss July’s conversation about economic mobility in Marion County? Read this recap.
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