Piece of the PI: Newsletter

A monthly publication for the members of Prosperity Indiana

Letter from the Board Chair

Prosperity Indiana is a leader in community economic development across the state, with members serving communities from Aurora to Whiting and everywhere in between.  The communities we serve are as unique as the organizations who serve them.  As we begin the process of selecting a new Executive Director, the Board is mindful that Prosperity Indiana’s value comes from listening to and understanding the needs of our members and their communities.  You can help us by completing this short survey and sharing your thoughts about the next Executive Director and the future of Prosperity Indiana. 

You can also help Prosperity Indiana by sharing this exciting opportunity with your network. There are talented people across the state with broad ranges of experience, skills, and perspectives.  If anyone in your network comes to mind as you read through the position description below, please share the link and encourage them to apply. 

To learn more about the position or apply, please visit the job listing here, or contact Bryan Orander, Bryan@CharitableAdvisors.com, for more information.

Executive Director, Prosperity Indiana (Central Indiana, hybrid) - Are you passionate about bringing equitable access to economic and social opportunities for individuals in communities across Indiana? Prosperity Indiana (formerly the Indiana Association for Community Economic Development) is hiring for a high profile, statewide, community leadership position that interacts with leaders across all sectors. Prosperity Indiana is a statewide membership organization supporting the individuals and organizations that strengthen Hoosier communities. This leadership opportunity is created by the departure of a successful 12-year staff leader, the last five as Executive Director. Staff of 7 and annual budget of $1 mil.

Since its founding in 1986, Prosperity Indiana has grown to more than 200 members from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The organization seeks ways to fund member's work, build and retain relationships, and address local and national issues that impact the capacity and potential for member organizations to deliver services and lead change in their communities.

Thank you,

Steven Meyer

Prosperity Indiana Board Chair

We REAP prosperity by providing Resources, Engagement, Advocacy, and Programs that support our members' work!

For Developers

PI is collaborating with JumpStart Martindale Brightwood to increase the skills of all Indiana affordable housing developers. Please mark your calendar for these upcoming virtual events:

  • LIHTC Funding - March 16, 2023, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
  • Site Control & Purchase Agreements - April 13, 2023, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

A Tool You Can Use

It is the beginning of a new year – do your new board members understand their core board member duties and obligations? Check out Nonprofit Boards: 7 Key Responsibilities for Good Governance. This 3-minute read blog post from Personify WildApricot will give you an excellent tool to help onboard new board members for your organization. 

Summit 2023

Prosperity Indiana’s annual statewide Summit was held on February 1-2, 2023 at the Marriott Downtown Indianapolis (day one) and Statehouse Day (day two).  Nearly 240 registered attendees from all sectors gathered to network and learn about Resilient Communities: Centering Quality of Life, Place, and Opportunity. A very sincere thank you to all that attended!

Receiving a record number of award candidates this year made the selection process much more difficult for the selection committee. We were thrilled to celebrate all nominees during the Awards Luncheon at Summit and were pleased to announce the following award winners:

  • Key Award for Supportive Services Program of the Year: Master It Series, Lacasa, Inc.
  • Robert O. Zdenek Staff Member of the Year Award: Anthony Bridgeman, PNC Bank
  • John Niederman Rural Development Leadership Award: Bo Beaulieu, Purdue University
  • Michael Carroll Community Economic Development Leadership Award: George Guy, Fort Wayne Housing Authority
Thank you to award nomination and selection committees for helping to recruit candidates and select winners! 

Nominating Committee:

  • Keith Broadnax, Cinnaire
  • Brian Carman, Indiana Bond Bank
  • Sherry Peak-Davis, Anderson Impact
  • MaryBeth Wott, FHLB Indianapolis

Selection Committee:

  • Alyssa Prince, JA Benefits
  • Mark Gould, 1st Source Bank
  • Steven Meyer, Intend Indiana
  • Nicki Gilbert, Anthem
  • Angela Byers, First Financial Bank

Engagement Committee

Would you like to be more involved in Prosperity Indiana? Consider joining the Engagement Committee! Chaired by Keith Broadnax, this team meets virtually every other month for one hour.  Please read the committee’s charge and contact Rita O’Donohue to learn more!

Regional Meetings

Prosperity Indiana Regional Meetings are around the corner! Look for a survey coming to you in March with questions about regions, topics, and more. With record attendance in 2022, we still have room to grow! If you are interested in hosting a regional meeting, please contact Rita O’Donohue by April 1, 2023.

1:1 Meetings

Look for a calendar invite to meet 1:1 with Rita O’Donohue, Engagement Director, this spring. Meetings may be virtual or in person and last 30 min to 1 hour. These personal meetings help PI directly connect to your world, so we can learn your needs first hand. And it is a good opportunity for you to ask questions about membership benefits, programs, and consulting services.

Introducing Our New Communications & Fundraising Coordinator

We are pleased to welcome our new Communications & Fundraising Coordinator, Maya Painter, to the team! You can read more about Maya's background here. In addition to other duties, she will serve as your new newsletter contact! Please feel free to email her at mpainter@prosperityindiana.org with your events, news, job opportunities, and needs by the third Friday of each month to be included in the Piece of the PI. Please note that a link to your content is required.


Prosperity Indiana Statehouse Day 2023 Recap

Thank you to over 50 Prosperity Indiana members and coalition partners who joined Statehouse Day 2023! This year’s event was designed to align with the PI Summit, beginning the day with a breakfast for attendees at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown followed by a ‘March to the Statehouse’ to hear from our bipartisan group of legislative champions before fanning out to meet with legislators. Attendees reported applying the lessons from PI’s ‘Advocacy Academy’ series to use data and stories from their organizations’ work to advocate for PI’s affordable housing, community development resources, and asset-building and consumer protection priorities.

This event was also designed to give members new to state-level advocacy an opportunity to sit in on committee hearings and House and Senate sessions, as well as take an ‘insider’s tour’ of all the important and hidden spots at the Statehouse. Your participation is making an ongoing impact to ensure the General Assembly acts to strengthen Indiana’s communities this session - thank you!

ACTION ALERT: Urge Legislators to address housing stability this session!

Indiana has a housing stability crisis, but the General Assembly is not prioritizing the issue! Prosperity Indiana and our Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition partners are calling on the Indiana General Assembly to create a housing stability pilot fund to be added to the budget, and to act on legislation to enforce habitability standards *this session*! Contact all of the legislators who cover your service area today to tell them that housing stability must be addressed this session!

PI members receive updates and alerts like this in our Legislative Update email each Friday during the session of the General Assembly. Not receiving these emails? Send a note to info@prosperityindiana.org and we’ll address the issue.

Submit Comments for IHCDA 2023 Annual Action Plan 

IHCDA’s draft 2023 Annual Action Plan for Housing and Community Development is now available for review. There will be a public hearing on March 7 at 10 a.m. EST. Please send your thoughts, reflections, and recommendations for the draft plan to Andrew Bradley at abradley@prosperityindiana.org by March 7 so they can be included in Prosperity Indiana’ association comments. You can also take IHCDA’s Stakeholder Survey here.

SAVE THE DATE for PI Members-Only Mid-Session Update and Action Plan Discussion March 2

Save the date for Thursday, March 2 at 1 pm EST for a PI Members’ Only discussion of where our priority bills and issues stand at the midpoint of the General Assembly, and to discuss your priorities to include in comments on the 2023 Action Plan. Register here.

Join Prosperity Indiana in DC for the Housing Policy Forum!

Register now to join Prosperity Indiana members and staff at the 2023 NLIHC Housing Policy Forum in Washington, DC on March 21-23. Hear from national and state-level housing policy experts (including two sessions featuring PI staff), network with peers, and join the first PI-led in-person Capitol Hill visits with Indiana’s Congressional delegation since before the pandemic.

Inflation Relief for Employees

Provide relief and credit building opportunities for your employees at no cost to your organization by signing up for Prosperity Indiana’s Community Loan Center benefit.

  • Free to sign up
  • Grant-funded $1000 loans for employees
  • Repayment through small payroll deductions over 12 months
  • Every on-time (payroll deducted) payment is reported to all three credit bureaus

Contact Teresa at clcofindiana@prosperityindiana.org or learn more at CLCofIndiana.org. More information for employers can be found here.

Want Tailored Policy Updates? Join Our Coalitions

If you have a specific interest in housing, asset building, and/or consumer protections, consider joining one or more of Prosperity Indiana’s statewide advocacy coalitions. This session, we’ll be keeping our coalitions up-to-date on their specific issue priorities through meetings, newsletters, action alerts, and automatically updated bill watchlists.


Unsure if you’re already subscribed to a coalition, or want to subscribe to another one? No problem. Just log in to your Prosperity Indiana account. Then go to your account profile by clicking your name in the top right corner. You can change your email subscriptions by clicking ‘Edit profile’ and then scrolling down to the email subscription checkboxes. Need help? Email Coalition Coordinator Hale Crumley.

Housing Our People - A Resource Fair for Congregations

Interested in developing a vacant lot? Want to take action on evictions? Thinking of creating a Community Development Corporation? Need help creating a 501(c)3?

Join the Greater Indianapolis Multifaith Alliance and the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition on February 25, 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM to meet the people and organizations who can help you address housing issues. Subject matter experts from private, city, and state organizations will be present for you to talk to and ask questions. You can browse and discuss with experts and other congregations at your leisure. Lunch is provided. The event is free but registrations are required. Go to Housing Our People for more information.

Sponsor

Piece of the PI is sponsored by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (FHLBI).

Member Needs


American Lung Association Needs Volunteers March 11, 2023 at Fight For Air Climb. Register Here


Bridges Alliance of Johnson County In Need of Ally Volunteers. Sign Up Here


Use What You've Got Prison Ministry Annual Breakfast Letter, Sponsorship Info, Form

Tools & Resources

Purdue Facilitative Leadership Program June 2023

Purdue Extension is hosting the Facilitative Leadership Program from June 13 - 15, 2023. This three-day workshop is for both new and experienced leaders, managers, facilitators and graduate students who would like to develop or improve their facilitation skills. This is an excellent opportunity for individuals to build their skills, toolbox, and confidence to effectively lead meetings and group processes. More information can be found here. 

Seeking Key Players in Historic Huntington Art Guild


The ​Huntington Arts & Entrepreneurial Center​ announced immediate inquiry for any information and artistic artifacts related to the Huntington Arts Guild. The HAEC hopes to tell the story of this group of creatives in a future exhibit and calls on all past members, the family of past participants, or friends of artists who were a part of the Huntington Arts Guild to share their art collection or account of experiences with the Guild Read more here.

Digital Equity Takes a Village


The digital equity task force needs help creating a map of digital inclusion assets in Indiana. Specifically, the task force is looking to map any organization or institution that offers digital inclusion programs or resources. These resources can include things such as public or free WiFi, computers for public use, hotspot lending programs, device lending programs, device giveaway program, digital skills training programs, meeting space, or similar program opportunities. The information collected through this asset map will help inform Indiana’s first-ever digital equity plan.


To contribute to the current map, read more here.

International Women's Day Conference

The Indiana Commission for Women is hosting a four-part panel on how women can Learn, Lead, Leap, and Lift each other on March 8, 2023 from 10:00-3:30pm at the Indiana Government South Building. FREE 

professional headshots will be available by Hallo Karina Photography and exhibit tables are available for reservation. To attend in person, register here. To attend virtually, register here.

NACEDA CED Program Hill Day March 14, 2023

The Community Economic Development (CED) program is a federal grant program that expands employment in communities facing persistent poverty and high unemployment by investing in community development corporations.

NACEDA invites you to participate in CED Program Hill Day on March 14 in Washington, DC or virtually. Register here.

COVID-19 & How to Stay Healthy

Prosperity Indiana's Response

Prosperity Indiana team members are operating in a hybrid work arrangement. We are hosting in-person meetings and events and traveling to member sites for in-person gatherings. Watch for more upcoming events here. We will continue to:

COVID-19 Housing Resources

  • For a complete list of the state's various emergency rental assistance programs, visit the Housing4Hoosiers COVID-19 Assistance & Resources page.

  • The Indy Affordable Modification Program (IndyAMP) allows Marion County homeowners negatively affected by COVID-19 to refinance mortgage debt at a below-market interest rate for up to 30 years. IndyAMP allows owners to remain in their homes, become current with their mortgages, and lower their monthly payments.

  • COVID-19 Resources for Homeowners provides information for FHA-insured mortgages on the foreclosure moratorium and how to apply for mortgage forbearance.

If you have specific suggestions for webinars, FB live chats, or other resources for us to share related to COVID-19, please reach out to our team.

Contact Us

Prosperity Indiana is here to support you! The best way to reach us is always via email. Here is a link to contact information for full-time staff. Questions about your membership can be directed to Rita O'Donohue. For more of the latest in community economic development, please visit our blog!

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!
Prosperity Indiana
1099 N. Meridian Street, Suite 170, Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 222-1221

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