Have you heard the term “radical generosity” before? It’s a concept that the suffering of others should be as intolerable to us as our own suffering. This belief is what fuels GivingTuesday. What all started in 2012 as an idea to encourage people to do good has led to the Tuesday after Thanksgiving becoming a day known throughout the world for generosity and philanthropy.
Last year, an estimated 35 million adults in the U.S. participated in GivingTuesday through some act of generosity. Giving on this day in 2021 came in at a whopping $2.7 billion dollars. This year, the organization celebrates a decade of spearheading this global generosity movement.
We hope you’ll consider joining in on the generosity of GivingTuesday on November 29. If you’re passionate about supporting and uplifting women, here are a few organizations to consider giving to this GivingTuesday — and beyond. Each of these organizations helps to support, encourage, and champion women in Central Indiana.
COBURN PLACE
Since 1996, Coburn Place has provided safe and secure housing to those impacted by domestic abuse in Marion County and the surrounding area. They offer a mix of on-site and community-based housing, with the goal of helping clients achieve self-sufficiency and permanent housing. Support services are trauma-informed and survivor-led, with a focus on healing and independence.
The doors of Coburn Place are open to everyone, and unfortunately, the need in our community continues to grow. In 2021, Coburn Place served 1,794 people, which is 45% more than in 2020 and 102% more than in 2019. Their waitlist for housing assistance can be up to 12 to 18 months long and include upwards of 130 families. Everyone deserves a safe home, and Coburn Place is making this a reality for those who need it most.
DOVE RECOVERY HOUSE
As Marion County’s largest transitional housing provider for women recovering from substance use disorder, Dove Recovery House is committed to empowering women to become substance-free, self-sufficient, and healthy. The organization helps its clients achieve this by offering a safe and sober home along with motivational case management, trauma-informed therapy, wrap-around programming, life skills classes, and family reunification services.
They receive more than 100 inquiries about services each month, and their waitlist averages more than 60 women, with a wait time between four and six months. Their Marion County location can accommodate 40 residents at a time, while their Dubois County location has room for 15. Residents commit to staying at Dove House for at least 90 days but may choose to stay for up to two years. Since 2000, they have helped hundreds of women seek recovery from substance use disorder.
THE INDIANAPOLIS URBAN LEAGUE
The Urban League is the nation’s oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream.
The Indianapolis Urban League (IUL) was founded in the fall of 1965 as a non-profit, non-partisan, interracial community-based social service and civil rights organization. IUL’s mission is to empower African Americans and disadvantaged individuals to achieve social and economic equality and improved quality of living through programs, services, and advocacy in education, workforce development, entrepreneurship, health, and housing.
IUL’s current focus is on helping adults attain economic self-sufficiency through good jobs, home ownership, and wealth accumulation. They offer a variety of college readiness, workforce development, and entrepreneurial programs to help their members achieve this. They also continue to address health issues that impact their constituents, working to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities through health education programs, services, and referrals.
IMPACT 100 GREATER INDIANAPOLIS
Impact 100 Greater Indianapolis is a charitable women’s giving circle dedicated to awarding high-impact grants to nonprofits in our community in the areas of arts, culture and preservation, education, environment and animal welfare, family, and health and wellness. One hundred percent of member donations are returned to the community in the form of grants.
The women’s giving group has donated nearly $3 million to nonprofits in Central Indiana over the last 16 years. Every year, the organization gives away at least one high-impact grant of $100,000, and multiple smaller grants. They seek to fund critical needs, new ventures, and innovative ways to solve social problems in order to create a more civil and respectful climate. Members who want to be highly involved in the granting process may join a focus area committee to review grants in-depth, from the letter of intent phase to the final pitch prep.
INDIANA WOMEN IN NEED FOUNDATION
5,400 Hoosiers will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, many of which have little to no support. Indiana Women in Need (IWIN) Foundation supports individuals statewide receiving treatment for breast cancer by relieving emotional, physical, and financial burdens. They aspire to be recognized as the “neighbor next door” to all Indiana individuals enduring breast cancer.
Since 2000, IWIN has served over 6,700 women (and men) with breast cancer and provided over $2.5 million in services to recipients throughout the state of Indiana. IWIN facilitates professional services that meet the non-medical needs of those undergoing breast cancer treatment, such as meals, transportation, childcare, and housekeeping.
The need for their services is great, considering 20 to 30 percent of breast cancer patients will lose their job during treatment. Many of the patients the IWIN Foundation serves spend sleepless nights worrying about how they will put food on the table, afford extra gas, or pay for a babysitter during treatments. IWIN has seen a dramatic increase in the number of applications to their program this year. So far, they have served 375 Indiana women with meals and transportation assistance.
THE JULIAN CENTER
The Julian Center was founded in 1975 to support survivors of domestic and sexual violence throughout Indiana. They are the largest domestic violence shelter in Indiana, providing 3,117 survivors with services last year alone. From emergency shelter and crisis call support to self-sufficiency programming and youth enrichment services, The Julian Center fosters hope, promotes self-sufficiency, and rebuilds lives through their work every single day.
The emergency center at The Julian Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Staff work hard to ensure all basic needs are being met for the survivor and their children by offering a secure and safe environment for survivors to heal, clothing vouchers to the center’s thrift store Thrifty Threads, and providing three nutritious, warm meals and snacks to help with food insecurities. In just 2021, 20,839 nights of shelter were provided to survivors and 12,387 crisis line calls were answered.
If you or someone you know is living with or recovering from domestic violence, sexual violence, or stalking, The Julian Center crisis line is open 24/7 and can be reached at 317-920-9320.
JUNIOR LEAGUE OF INDIANAPOLIS
What can an organization focused on developing the potential of women achieve in 100 years?
For the Junior League of Indianapolis (JLI), 100 years has equaled more than 163 community projects, and more than $11 million dollars donated to Indianapolis and the surrounding community. As a premier training organization for women, JLI focuses on improving the community through the action and leadership of trained volunteers. Every year, JLI members donate hundreds of hours volunteering in their communities and raise funds to provide substantial grants to local organizations.
In 2022 and beyond, JLI is focusing their volunteer and charitable resources on supporting youth in foster and kinship care. Each year, approximately 20,000 foster youth age out of the system, 20% of whom have an increased risk of instant homelessness. In 2020, there were more than 13,000 youth in foster care in Indiana, with another 5,500 in kinship care. Members are working to cultivate relationships with community partners that are already committed to work in this space, as well as identifying opportunities for advocacy, fundraising, and other philanthropic endeavors.
PASS THE TORCH FOR WOMEN
What happens when you get a room of like-minded women together? For Pass The Torch for Women Foundation, it resulted in the beginning of a robust mentorship organization focused on uplifting and empowering women. Since 2014, Pass the Torch has developed into a nationwide community whose sole purpose is to support women on their professional journey. Women of all career levels, from college students to seasoned executive leaders, can find a way to create a lasting investment in the advancement of women through Pass the Torch.
Project Grow, their mentorship program for female college students, provides students with free access to the Pass the Torch for Women Foundation mentoring program, plus monthly leadership development webinars and modules surrounding personal and professional development topics. Their Developing Professionals program helps women early in their careers navigate their professional journey through mentorship, peer-to-peer support, networking, and leadership development programming. Established executives and entrepreneurs can become part of the Legacy Leaders, a nationwide group with a desire to share their knowledge and experience toward developing women leaders.
WOMEN4CHANGE INDIANA
Women4Change Indiana works to educate, equip, and mobilize Hoosiers to create positive change for women. Their vision is that women, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, can achieve equity in employment and earnings; in healthcare; and in political, civic, cultural, and corporate leadership. Since 2016, their programs and campaigns have exposed societal inequalities, specifically those faced by women and historically marginalized communities, and have offered up solutions based in civility, advocacy, and legislative action.
The organization leads a variety of educational programs and advocacy work. Ready To Run is a program that encourages and prepares women to run for office. This is incredibly important because only one-fifth of elected officials are women in Indiana, even though women make up more than 50 percent of the population. The group also provides a center for advocacy, which provides insight into upcoming legislature that has the potential to directly impact women’s health, economic standings, and overall rights. Women4Change Indiana works directly with Indiana legislators to advocate for women’s health, economic stability, and fair voting practices, to name a few.
WOMEN’S FUND OF CENTRAL INDIANA
As a special interest fund of Central Indiana Community Foundation, the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana exists to mobilize people, ideas, and investments so every woman and girl in our community has an equitable opportunity to reach her full potential — no matter her place, race, or identity. Since 1996, the organization has invested more than $3 million to empower women and ensure their path to economic stability.
The organization harnesses the collective power of community to create change for women and girls in Central Indiana through a variety of educational programming. They have programs reaching all ages and demographics, from GO: Give Back, which teaches children to make thoughtful and intentional contributions to the community now and in the future, to Options, an annual class to introduce young-adult women to the needs facing women and girls in our community. Their Women of Color Leadership + Legacies (WC-ExeLL) program, in partnership with Black Leadership + Legacies, Inc., develops, coaches, and empowers Black women to move into higher-level leadership roles and to prepare them to move into positions of power and influence.
Donate to Women’s Fund of Central Indiana
With so many great local organizations supporting and empowering women, there’s no lack of opportunity for you to give on GivingTuesday.
Lindsay McGuire is a freelance writer, marketer, and podcast host who is passionate about volunteerism and community. You can find her on LinkedIn.
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