We’re Part of a Healthy, Well-supported, Sustainable Nonprofit Sector

“Nonprofit organizations operate for the social benefit of our community, often on shoestring budgets and with limited resources,” said Mitch Isaacs, executive director of Shafer Leadership Academy. “Quality resources for nonprofit organizations are essential, but they aren’t always easy to find.”

The Community Foundation was uniquely positioned to help solve this community challenge. A planning grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. in 2019 allowed the Foundation to deepen its understanding of challenges and opportunities in the community and identify its role as a community leader. Through research, conversations, and lived experiences, it quickly became apparent that a lack of quality resources was a challenge across the local nonprofit community.

Nonprofit organizations play a vital role in developing and enriching our community and enhancing our quality of life.

“Nonprofits are vital to the overall wellbeing of the community and are often looked to as partners on many of the community’s larger goals,” said Ashley Surpas, director of finance and human resources for Delaware Advancement Corporation and the Muncie- Delaware County Economic Development Alliance. “The services and expertise that they provide make a difference as we look to move our community forward. No one organization can do it alone but having strong nonprofits working alongside the public and private sector will make lasting impacts.”

In 2020, The Community Foundation was awarded a subsequent implementation grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. The grant would allow the Foundation and community partners to develop and launch a program dubbed the Institutional Strengthening Program to encourage and help organizations to become high-functioning.

The steering committee came together for ten two-hour sessions over eight months to support the program development. They each brought expertise and insight to the table and contributed by doing homework between sessions, including researching ideas and meeting with nonprofit leaders for feedback.

On the afternoon of April 26, eleven partners came together to kick off developing a program that will serve the nonprofit organizations in our community. This unique collaboration included representatives from Muncie-Delaware Economic Development Alliance, Heart of Indiana United Way, Shafer Leadership Academy, Innovation Connector, and Ball State University Office of Community Engagement. These partner organizations make up a steering committee. Consultants from Community Solutions, a community development consulting firm, guided the process.

Following the results-based accountability method, with a desire to contribute to larger community goals, the consultants led the group to develop a “what works” statement. What works to ensure that Muncie and Delaware County residents are well-educated and highly employable? What works to make Muncie and Delaware County a community of economic opportunity for individuals and businesses alike? What works to create vibrant neighborhoods? What works to ensure residents are healthy? What works to make Delaware County a community where people want to live, work, and play? What works? A healthy, well-supported, sustainable nonprofit sector.

“Nonprofit organizations play a vital role in developing and enriching our community and enhancing our quality of life,” said Delaina Boyd, Associate Vice President, community engagement at Ball State University. “These organizations often shine a light on our greatest challenges and provide the structure through which community members can lend their time, talent, and treasure in support of tackling unmet needs.”

With the desire to create a healthy, well-supported, sustainable nonprofit sector in mind, the steering committee worked to identify what type of organization would lead this charge. They identified existing resources in the community, what resources could be accessed from outside the community, and how organizations might engage with the services available.

At the end of the planning process, Community Solutions provided The Community Foundation with a toolkit that summarized the program development process, decisions made by the steering committee, and recommendations for the best next steps.

“Our community needs our nonprofits to be strong and functioning at their best,” said Jim Flatford, director of community investments for the Heart of Indiana United Way. “The Institutional Strengthening Program will help organizations identify and improve key areas so they can meet the community’s needs for years to come.”

The Institutional Strengthening Program will be housed by a supporting organization of The Community Foundation and led by a grant-funded Relationship and Resource Director with support and guidance from the steering committee, those community partners engaged in the planning process. Programming will launch to benefit nonprofit organizations in Muncie and Delaware County in 2022.

“The Community Foundation understands the crucial role these under-resourced organizations play,” said Isaacs. “This initiative will help nonprofit organizations get the resources they need to serve the community better. When our nonprofits are stronger, our community is stronger.”

Announcing NonproFIT Support Network

We are excited to announce the launch of the NonproFIT Support Network, the home of the Institutional Strengthening Program. The mission of the NonproFIT Support Network is to provide support to other nonprofits in Delaware County to ensure a healthy, well-supported, and sustainable nonprofit sector from which all will benefit. The NonproFIT Support Network was incorporated on January 1, 2022, as a Type I supporting organization for The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. Services and programming from the NonproFIT Support Network will benefit nonprofit organizations in Delaware County beginning in 2022.