Summary of 2021 Arago Honor Recipients
Eight nonprofits received $10,000 from The Meridian Foundation for innovation in 2021. The projects showcase dual purposes and demonstrate how these nonprofits are working on multiple fronts to enact community change. The recipients represent a broad assortment of missions involving food insecurity, health, aging assistance, early learning education, workforce development, new business acceleration, art entrepreneurship, and racial equity.
By sharing the practices of the award recipients, we hope other potential applicants will be encouraged to embrace innovation and the ideation process. The list below contains numerous examples of how nonprofits strengthening their niche in the community are resilient, proficient, and competent.
Society of St Andrew (SoSA)
Awarded $10,000 for the creation of a new gleaning affiliate in Indiana to lower food insecurity within the state and save over 4.1 million pounds of healthy food in 2021.
The Society of St. Andrew began in 2018 as an affiliate chapter in Indiana and is part of this 40-year-old national nonprofit. Indiana is the sixth state with the highest percentage of food-insecure people in the labor force, says United Way. SoSA is seeking to build long-term relationships in Indiana to be financially sustainable in five years. The 2021 budget for SoSA was $335,753.
Gleaning is an age-old concept in the Bible. However, it is not as widely known in 2021 in the same way. Gleaning is happening across communities but is not always called by its name. Many food pantries are gleaning "day old" products from their local grocery stores and restaurants.
Within a decade, SoSA hopes to recover comparable amounts of food as Virginia because both states grow approximately the same acres of table crops each year. That would put both states in range to rescue 1 1/2 to 2 million pounds. Cumulative pounds of Indiana food rescued last year were higher because of federal redistribution food programs during the pandemic.
Besides gleaning from farmer fields, SoSA has a seed distribution project to support food desert community gardens and community eligible garden projects. In Spring 2022, SoSa will distribute broccoli, cucumbers, squash, Chinese cabbage, carrots, and melon seeds in Indiana. SoSa also gleans at farmers' markets when farmers do not return their produce to farms.
Rationale for Recognition: It is an important concept to add another layer of food rescue, especially fresh produce in Indiana. The Indiana affiliate benefits from a supportive structure of a national organization encouraging responsible nonprofit regional growth based on community need. It is also innovative that SoSA rescues food at farmers' markets and has a seed distribution program for community gardens. Readers found the simplicity of the program compelling.
The Milk Bank
Awarded 10,000 for building a new partnership with Versiti (formerly Indiana Blood Center). Although the two nonprofit organizations have remarkably similar missions and are well-aligned, they did not collaborate. Since creating the partnership in 2018 nearly 500 mothers have utilized the depot locations in Indiana and at Kentucky Blood Centers.
Thirty-one percent of stakeholders of The Milk Bank wanted more drop-off locations and 15 percent of donors had difficulty accomplishing required blood work.
It has been amazing teamwork at The Milk Bank to bring this partnership to fruition. Dr. Dan Waxman is a clinical pathologist, Vice President, Transfusion Medicine, and Senior Medical Advisor for The Milk Bank. His network advances collaboration and his reputation provides credibility. There is a strong belief by everyone in this nonprofit that human milk is the best nutrition for all babies and is lifesaving medicine for critically ill infants.
One aha moment, that seems simple in hindsight was the realization that the blood drive concept could be applied to milk donation. The Milk Bank was able to benchmark and operationalize this idea. This was when it became apparent that the partnership was more than just a convenient co-location, but also a powerful opportunity to benchmark and share successful approaches in tissue banking.
The Indianapolis Milk Bank is one of 30 Milk Banks in North America. As a community-based organization, the Milk Bank offers robust wraparound services and can be more nimble when responding to community needs by providing free lactation services, bereavement support, and education, in addition to milk collection and dispensation.
Rationale for Recognition: We recognize strong teamwork by The Milk Bank board, staff, and medical advisory team to build this partnership with Versiti in Indiana and Blood Centers in Kentucky. A new strategic plan is in place to help them diversify revenue and expand their lab and processing staff. Improving equitable access removes geography and finances as barriers and over time will reach more diverse families.
CICOA Aging and In-Home Solutions
Awarded $10,000 for creating a Venture Studio to build scalable revenue-generating enterprises for this 47-year- old nonprofit serving the aging population in Indiana. CICOA employees bringing new ideas to the Venture Studio are incentivized and compensated when products reach the market.
The CICOA LOI and follow-up questions brought up a new word: ideation. Ideation is often specifically aimed at problem-solving. Innovation is the process of turning those newly generated ideas into a manner of doing something familiar in a faster, better, cheaper, or more convenient manner. This intentional process of ideation and the spirit of innovation was palpable when speaking with the Venture Studio team.
Results for the Venture Studio Team, led by Jonathon Haag, in the winter of 2021 were from the first product line of Duett that has surpassed $100,000 in annual recurring revenue. Duett is now software as a service (SaaS) available across the country to care coordination agencies and their provider networks. Three other new ventures will be launched in 2022: Twain, Humaniti, and Postbook.
The leadership team at CICOA and the Venture Studio has the creativity and spirit to build up a new pipeline of products to diversify the agency's revenue stream. There was agreement in the zoom call with the CICOA staff that not many nonprofits are taking this venture philanthropy path. Haag cited work by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as a model for CICOA. In 2011 CF developed a drug that gave them $3.8 million to invest in inpatient services. Haag acquired his venture philanthropy background from working at Sagamore Foundation. CICOA's new CEO, Tauhric Brown, supports transferring wisdom between the corporate and nonprofit sectors.
The development of compensation schedules for the founders of concepts launched out of the CICOA Venture Studio sends a message to all staff that innovation is vital to continued success. Reinforcing the message as often as possible keeps innovation top of mind for CICOA's 300+ team members.
Rationale for Recognition: The Meridian Foundation felt that the first results of Duett are just the start of their innovative product development in venture philanthropy and salutes CICOA's work to engage all team members in looking for new solutions to familiar issues.
Early Learning Indiana (ELI)
Awarded $10,000 for the Classroom Support Work-Based learning program, which provides enhanced work-based professional training to classroom support professionals in early learning settings. The program combines online learning with real-world classroom application to help prepare educators and ensure the highest-quality staff in early childhood education programs. A second program for classroom teachers is in development with Butler University.
Seventy-five percent of respondents participating in the program to date agreed or strongly agreed that their job-embedded activities with their mentor teachers were relevant to their roles, and 75 percent agreed they would make changes to the way they do their jobs based on what they have learned.
An impressive group of partners with lots of moving parts are in play as ELI strengthens workforce development for early childhood educator staff. This work will strengthen the pipeline of early childhood educators while raising children's kindergarten readiness.
One of the strongest points of the program is that there is so much more to come. After rolling out across ELI's Day Early Learning Centers, this new model will go to two additional community-based providers and ELI is working to expand it statewide. The partnership with Butler for early childhood teachers' curriculum and with the Indiana Family and Social Service Administration for professional accreditation is also promising.
CEO Maureen Weber expressed commitment to the program on the zoom call with the Meridian Foundation, as well as a strong desire to replicate it throughout the state. Through their longstanding commitment to early education, Lilly Endowment, Inc. has provided generous support for the Classroom Support Work Based Learning program. Weber noted her gratitude for the LEI's support that allows ELI to innovate and drive impact across the state.
Rationale for Recognition: The problem of not having enough staff to support early childhood classroom needs made it necessary for the leadership of ELI to find creative solutions for workforce development. Their position and experience as leaders of early childhood education will ultimately strengthen this powerful model of "on the job training" on an even broader platform statewide.
PATTERN
Awarded $10,000 for a Creative Fellowship program that provides professional and portfolio development to emerging creatives in fashion design, graphic design, digital and social media, and art and music. PATTERN's goal is to keep Indiana talent in Indiana and grow the creative economy equitably and inclusively.
PATTERN has a growing diversified revenue stream from city and state government, events, magazine subscriptions, and ads and corporations, as well as individual donors and foundations. The Creative Fellows program has generated approximately $100,000 in revenue from design, styling, marketing, and event planning work with clients such as the Indianapolis Zoo, Eskenazi Hospital, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
With her background as a professional photographer, PATTERN co-founder Polina Osherov is always looking for new ways to build a stronger infrastructure to support the creative economy in our city. She believes that investment in arts and culture has a multiplier effect. Osherov says "PATTERN's model to build a creative talent pipeline using a print magazine is unique in the country." She has not found a clone.
The quality and creativity of PATTERN magazine, PATTERN's live events, and professional development incubation are just one part of their entrepreneurial enterprises. PATTERN initiatives include St'Artup 317, a partnership with Indy Chamber and real estate developers to support the recovery of downtown Indianapolis by placing artists in empty storefronts as pop-up shops; Paradox, a new studio/gallery space to provide low-cost access to event space and A/V production facilities for artists: and StitchWorks, a project to train workers for jobs in the industrial sewing field or careers in fashion entrepreneurship.
The Creative Fellows at PATTERN are paid a monthly stipend as are the mentors (including Osherov) who provide them with valuable feedback and advice. PATTERN seeks to raise the monthly Fellowship stipends to $1,000.
Rationale for Recognition: This nonprofit's ability to work on more than one goal at a time is apparent when you peel away the overlapping layers of PATTERN. This fashion magazine is hard to define. Their work certainly makes our city a more vibrant and creative community by helping young talent build career portfolios.
Launch HOPE Foundation
Awarded $10,000 for giving underserved women a second chance by teaching them to become entrepreneurs with vetted business plans by Butler University's Lacy School of Business undergraduate students. The new program currently operates at Phalen Leadership Academy and Hamilton County Jail with plans for more sites in 2022.
Outcomes for this new nonprofit that began in 2019 during a pandemic are not its strongest asset. What is inspiring at Launch HOPE (Hope, Opportunities, pathways to Prosperity and Entrepreneurship) is the maxim that you can't tell entrepreneurs that something can't be done. They will find a way through all obstacles.
The unique collaboration of current and new partners, especially with Butler University's involvement truly sets Launch HOPE apart from other entrepreneurship programs focused on underserved communities. As the application was under consideration, the number of partnerships and alliances grew. One impressive partnership is with Launch HOPE board member and RISE (Regional Innovation and Start Up Education) Director, Iris Hammel. She is instrumental in the development of Ivy Tech's new entrepreneurship program. Hammel says that Launch HOPE pulls on the heartstrings. "Launch HOPE makes tons of sense," said Hammel, "because it offers wraparound services to the at-risk entrepreneurs in the program while giving them strong support to move forward with their business plans."
Again, the mission and rationale for Launch HOPE originated from an unlikely source and path. Entrepreneur and Launch HOPE founder Kristi Mitchell is a graduate of Ball State University's recognized entrepreneurship program when Dr. Don Kuratko ran it. Mitchell says the concept for Launch HOPE was born out of a diversity of experiences, uncomfortable conversations about reality, and collaboration ideation with a vast cohort of Indianapolis businesspeople, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, educators, and individuals in need. These conversations came about when Mitchell volunteered to teach a simple entrepreneurship class to a group of young women recovering from drug addiction and sex trafficking.
Mitchell says Launch HOPE is a path out of a negative incarceration environment. When the women walk out of jail, they aren't going to have to look for a job immediately and can focus on their new business. As servant leaders, Butler business students share a growth mindset to overcome obstacles with the women they are helping. Mitchell says there are no other national nonprofits that simultaneously operate integrated Entrepreneurship Centers, Business Acceleration, and Industrial Centers as Launch HOPE does. The unique model brings together three distinct yet interrelated co-centers that when combined exponentially increase their impact on the community and individuals served.
Rationale for Recognition: There is a great deal of promise and of course, hope in this less than three- year old nonprofit model housed at Butler University's Lacy School of Business. They will need to address fundraising and hiring employees in this next phase of development. However, the strong entrepreneurial spirit of Launch HOPE is inspiring.
Spirit and Place
Awarded $10,000 for Spirit and Place at IUPUI's School of Liberal Arts for Powerful Conversations on Race (PCR). A civic reflection dialogue on this difficult topic. Spirit and Place has a 27-year-old history of exploring community issues and is building an income-generating social entrepreneurship strategy around PCR.
Pilot evaluations of PCR showed that 91 percent of participants changed their beliefs and 100% changed their behaviors.
"All change-personal and systemic begins with dialogue and no solution is created without dialogue, "says the leader of the program Pam Blevins Hinkle. As a musician, Hinkle believes that art can create change. Others leading the PCR program—engagement director LaShawnde Crowe Storm (an artist) and PCR facilitator/poet I.U. Bloomington Professor M. Hamilton Abegunde—said they also believe art can change the world.
"Training for the PCR facilitation process can be tough," said the three leaders on the December Zoom call. It is a consensus-based process and examining racial issues using media, history and related documents makes it imperative that front-line navigators use experience as guide rails. This process is consistent with Spirit and Place's practice over the years.
LaShande Crowe Storm has also been a proponent for the racial equity discussions at Child Advocates and supports both community nonprofits. She is leading Spirit and Place's curriculum to build facilitator skill development. Spirit and Place plans to expand to new environments through promising relationships with youth groups, faith-based and cultural organizations. Housed in IUPUI's School of Liberal Arts, Spirit and Place has more barriers than a typical nonprofit as it navigates inside an academic institution.
Rational for Recognition: Impressive approach to discuss race in an open forum, both in public places and using zoom technology during Covid. Pre-Covid 466 total people engaged in PCR, and 1.500 have been involved to date across PCR (and other racial discussion platforms). Surveys said BIPOC individuals prefer Zoom due to fewer micro-aggressions.
GANGGANG
Awarded $10,000 for BUTTER: A Fine Art Fair held in September 2021 in Indianapolis, promoting equity in the arts and creative community by this start-up nonprofit. The focus on Black artists is unlike other art fairs because BUTTER artists pay no fee to participate and 100% of the profit from works sold goes to the artists.
This start-up has gotten incredible press coverage in the little over one- year since it was formed under the umbrella of the Central Indiana Community Foundation. Co-Founders Mali Simmons Jeffers and Alan Bacon were named 2021 Newsmakers of the year in The Indianapolis Business Journal.
At BUTTER $65,000 of art was sold, including 42 pieces comprising 70 percent of the collection. Attendance at the event is estimated to have reached 3,410 in general admission tickets, not including 200+preview night attendees and 200+ student tour guests. Survey results for BUTTER indicated that 94.77% of respondents are very likely or likely to attend if BUTTER in 2022.
If timing is everything then GANGGANG is the bright shiny penny on the nonprofit landscape in Indianapolis. It has an incredibly strong revenue stream for a start-up with financial support from AES, Herb Simon Family Foundation, and art consulting fees. Some of the fees are for organizing an art exhibit called "Swish" during the March 2021 NCAA Basketball tournament in Indianapolis.
GANGGANG says it is a cultural development firm on a mission to produce, promote and preserve culture in cities as a means toward building equity. It aspires to do its work on a national platform in Indianapolis. Aspirations are stronger than its structure, however, as GANGGANG is in the first stages of forming a board, obtaining their 501c3 designation, and just hired their first employee before the December Zoom call.
Co-founder Alan Bacon previously ran the Central Indiana United Ways' $1 million annual Social Innovation Fund that awards grants to nonprofits for new solutions to improve Hoosier's quality of life and combat poverty. Co-founder Mali Simmons Jeffers left Ambrose Property Group, where she had been the branding and marketing director of Waterside before the real estate firm abandoned the retail and mixed-use project at the GM stamping plant to focus on industrial warehouses. Both were ready for a new venture when Black Lives Matter came to the forefront in the summer of 2020 during a pandemic.
Rationale for Recognition: Promoting racial justice by investing in Black artists is innovative in our community. While a longer tenure for the fine art fair BUTTER would strengthen their case for an Arago Honor in 2021, there is no denying they are breaking barriers in Indianapolis as they strive to build a Black cultural art scene like the cities of Nashville, Atlanta, or Miami.