Dear Community,

Everyone deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential.

For over a century, nonprofit organizations have stepped up to create more equitable communities by helping community members fill critical gaps. Because of the work of nonprofits, millions of people across the United States are housed, fed, educated, connected, and inspired.

At the federal and state levels, dozens of executive orders across a broad range of issues will negatively impact the nonprofit sector and our communities.

We recently surveyed our nonprofit partners – mostly located in Indiana – about how they’re feeling and what they need in this moment. As expected, nonprofit leaders are worried, overwhelmed, and anxious about the impact they’re already seeing and what’s likely to come. From their feedback, we identified three main needs: Information, Advocacy, and Funding. This feedback will help to inform our grantmaking and community leadership efforts moving forward. As we continue those efforts, we want to take this opportunity to reiterate our values & beliefs, share resources, and celebrate nonprofits.

Our Values & Beliefs

Guided by the core values of equity, compassion, and integrity, we believe:

• Diversity, equity, and inclusion are good for everyone. Supporting organizations serving diverse communities, increasing equitable opportunities, and prioritizing inclusion will always be core to our grantmaking.
• The health of our neighbors and the strength of our communities rely on affordable housing. The U.S. has a shortage of 7.3 million affordable rental homes available to renters with extremely low incomes, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. In Indiana alone, there is a shortage of 139,318 rental homes that are affordable and available for extremely low-income renters, meaning they make $28,390 or less annually. Preserving affordable housing is key to filling these gaps.
• The arts are essential for personal and community development. With art budgets consistently on the chopping block in schools, philanthropy plays an essential role in ensuring opportunities for creative expression continue to be accessible to everyone.
• Every person should have the opportunity to meet their basic needs and reach their full potential. When – and only when – basic needs are met, opportunities for economic mobility become possible. Unfortunately, many barriers to achieving economic mobility exist, such as systemic injustice, access to education, financial resources, and geography.
• The path out of poverty begins with a high-quality education for every child. Thousands of Indiana 4-year-olds from low-income families lack access to high-quality pre-K. We support efforts along the education continuum – including postsecondary education and workforce development initiatives – that build a community’s talent pool.
• Everything we care about relies on a functioning, healthy democracy. Protected civil rights & liberties, strong local journalism, and accessible, free, and fair elections are key pillars of a healthy democracy.
• There is no place for antisemitism. Everyone – regardless of their identity or religious beliefs – should be protected from discrimination and hate.

These core values and beliefs are the foundation for our words, actions, and funding.

Resources

We added a Resources page to our website where we’ll share helpful resources we’ve come across – for nonprofits, community members, and peer funders. We hope some of these resources will be useful to you, such as:

• The Impacts of Executive Orders on Nonprofits: Tracking EOs, Sharing the impacts on your work, and legal challenges to the executive actions
• Know Your Rights: Various resources from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU Indiana about what your rights are, how to exercise them, and what to do when they’re violated
• How Funders Can Respond to an Unprecedented Threat to Nonprofits: Context and key questions that every grantmaking institution should be asking in this moment

Celebrating Nonprofits

We recently partnered with six nonprofit grant recipients to showcase their stories. The work of these organizations represents hope, community, and humanity. One of the most meaningful things we can do in the face of threats and challenges is to persist and look for opportunities – no matter how small – for joy, support, and community. At each of the following links, you’ll find a video with reasons to persist.

• Asante inspires youth through artistic experiences
• TeenWorks empowers teens to achieve excellence in community, college, and career
• Family Promise of Greater Indianapolis provides a place to call home
• Child Care Answers makes quality child care more accessible to families
• Mirror Indy elevates voices and stories from the community to drive action
• Goldman Union Camp Institute (GUCI) provides a safe, inclusive, and fun environment for Jewish youth

Closing Thoughts

If you are a nonprofit leader, we hope you’ll take a moment to think about the impact you make, how important that is, and how you can continue to do that in the face of opposition.

If you are a community member, we hope you’ll consider how you can support the nonprofit community. Find one organization that aligns with your personal values to volunteer with, donate to, or spread the word about.

If you are a funder, we hope you’ll join us in considering president of the Center for Effective Philanthropy Phil Buchanan’s words: “Nonprofits that suddenly lose funding they’ve depended on for years will have to make unthinkable choices about what to prioritize. In that terrible context, extra support, even at a level that is a fraction of what they’re losing, could be crucial. The choice is not “do it all” or “do nothing.””

In partnership,

Your Glick Philanthropies Team

Do you have feedback or recommendations? Reach out to us here or via email at info@glickphilanthropies.org.