Neighborhood Empowerment Pathways

The Indianapolis Foundation

Neighborhood Empowerment Pathways is a partnership with Cummins, Inc. and the City of Indianapolis led by The Indianapolis Foundation to sustain grassroots not-for-profits that are closest to the community’s assets and challenges and uniquely positioned through their proximity to supply solutions and seize opportunities.

The central goal of the three-year initiative is to honor and support the agency and assets of Black and Brown residents and neighborhoods in Indianapolis. The initiative has four strategic paths to empowering neighborhoods and their residents:

  • Community organizing
  • Resident leadership
  • Non-for-profit infrastructure development
  • Community Investment

The partnership makes possible training and consulting support to help strengthen the organizational infrastructures of grassroots and community-based organizations serving Marion County. This initiative features various cohorts designed to bring leaders together and dive deeper to address infrastructure development topics vital to sustaining their respective organizations. Skill-building and shared learning opportunities will also be backed with mini-grants to invest in the infrastructures of participating entities.

Neighborhood Empowerment Pathways prioritizes organizations with yearly operating budgets of $250,000 and under —led by Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC). Deployment of diverse learning opportunities is guided by Partec Consulting Group, a Black-woman-owned company that possesses 27 years of experience providing infrastructure development services to support the advancement of organizations and communities. Partec engages experienced consultants to lead trainings, cohorts and infrastructure development services.

Infrastructure development opportunities for Indianapolis grassroots organizations include:

  • Training opportunities such as 90-minute virtual workshops and four-hour in-person training workshops
  • Grant application preparation clinics
  • Infrastructure development support

Training Opportunities

The Indianapolis Foundation in partnership with Partec Consulting Group offers workshops for grassroots and community-based organization. Sessions are offered in person and through video conferencing during the winter months.

During the 90-minute virtual sessions, participants strengthen their leadership skills through selected training topics vital to enhance their organization’s performance. The purpose of the extended training opportunities is to provide leaders with specialized resources and tools so that they are more knowledgeable on crucial topics of infrastructure development. The in person workshop are designed to provide leaders with more in-depth learning on key topics and utilize various adult learning techniques

Grant Preparation Clinics

The Indianapolis Foundation hosts several grant preparation clinics to provide application assistance. The purpose of these clinics is to help put applicants in the best position possible to secure funding for their organizations.

Details on the next grant clinic will be provided.

Infrastructure development support

To support the growth and development of BIPOC grassroots organizations, the Indianapolis Foundation collaborates with Partec Consulting Group to provide essential infrastructure development services. A dedicated team of experienced consultants offers assistance in areas such as board governance, program development and design, data collection and management, resource development, financial management, and more. These services are available to select organizations participating in the Elevation Grant Program, as well as through periodic cohorts open to the general public.