Indianapolis ORG Magazine

Board Room
Welcome to the Board Room where we reach out to volunteer board members around Central Indiana who are serving the needs of community-based organizations so that they may share some thoughts with our readers. We also seek advice from veteran board leaders around the city in Chairman's Corner. Read about "issues of the day" from organizational governance, fundraising, staff and board leadership, or simply find out how some of our city's top community leaders got inspired and what it means to them today.

Women [Still] on a Mission
By Ann Murtlow, President & CEO, Indianapolis Power & Light Co.

Women's Fund of Central Indiana is a unique and critical organization for our community. As the expert resource for critical issues facing women and girls in central Indiana, Women's Fund adds value in a number of ways:

· We provide grants to effective nonprofit organizations in our community. Our grants are the result of a permanent endowment, meaning a gift to the endowment today will keep on giving forever.

· Our grants are informed by research so we can address the most critical issues in ways that add the most value.

· We evaluate the quality and effectiveness of organizations receiving our grants so we can ensure we are successful in the good works we intended and that these organizations are successful long into the future.

· Through our grants, OPTIONS and GO programs, we are educating generations of future philanthropists in the needs of our community and grooming them to be passionate and strategic donors of both treasure and leadership.

· Our work impacts our community exponentially because the issues affecting women and girls also affect families. What affects families affects the very fiber of our community.

· When we are fortunate to receive a dollar from a donor, we do not waste one penny; we are a lean and effective organization.

   Despite the success of our recent Endowment Campaign, we still have work to do. There are still mothers who cannot work because they do not have a safe place for their children while they are gone. Women are still living in fear and violence. Girls are still missing opportunities to break cycles of poverty, violence, and ignorance. Women still need the opportunity to access job training and an income to adequately care for themselves without depending on the goodwill of others.
   I encourage you to consider how you will help women and girls in our community. I appreciate your support of Women's Fund and the issues and organizations we impact. To learn more or to make a gift to support our work, please visit www.womensfund.org or call 317.634.2423.