Family Success Initiative

The people who play parental roles in our lives shape whowe are, create our own idea of a successful family experience.But what happens when those caregivers face an obstacle thatthrows them for a loop – job and benefits losses, divorce, childabuse or domestic violence, addictions, expensive health problems, or being uprooted from their home? Why do somefamilies survive while others spiral the problems into the nextgeneration. How can we as a community put the right tools infamilies’ hands to help them succeed more quickly?

What is this initiative?Family Success is CICF’s commitment to engage our community in developing the nextgeneration of productive citizens through improving their families’ lives today.

We are committing to this initiative from 2005-2010. The commitment is being made by CICF, its affiliatesThe Indianapolis Foundation and Legacy Fund Community Foundation, and some of its internal partnersand donor-advised funds.

Our goal is to help self-motivated families overcome the obstacles they face in breaking cycles of poorresults. They could be the working poor who still cannot meet some of their families’ basic needs (let alonebuild assets), families who are one to two paychecks away from losing their homes, and families who arealready homeless. They may live in small cities and towns, inner-city neighborhoods, and suburban communities in Marion and Hamilton Counties.

What does CICF mean by Family Success?We believe the following characteristics are necessary for families (adults in caregiving roles for children) tosucceedi:1. Economic security and opportunity – their life-long education and job skills enable them to

advance in their careers, earn a self-sufficient income, and safely build assets.2. Healthy and safe home lives – they don’t suffer from homelessness, unsafe homes, family violence,

and/or substance abuse that consistently damage children’s futures.3. Social connections – they have bonds with their extended family, friends, and neighbors that provide

mutual support and stability. These bonds have proven the most productive for both children and adultswhen made through healthy marriages.

4. Connections to quality services – there is affordable, reliable, family-friendly help available throughnot-for-profits, congregations, neighborhoods, and businesses.

Why is this important to our community’s future?Regrettably, the seemingly simple characteristics above still elude too many ofour neighbors, whether they are long-time residents or recent immigrants.Though demographic statistics are not destiny, our neighbors face poorresults caused by:l Asset and income gaps – In 2003, 22.5 percent of Hoosier workers

earned a wage equal to or less than the federal poverty level, and 70 percent of Hoosier jobs paid less than $37,700 (twice the poverty level for a family of four)ii. About22 percent of households lack the savings to subsist for three months if they lose employmentiii.

l Educational attainment – Too few young people finish a post-secondary degree and tuitiongrowth continues to outpace the growth in median family income. Too few workers’ skills arekeeping up with the demands of a knowledge-based economy. And, many immigrants find thattheir hard-won certifications and degrees don’t work here.

l Dangerous behaviors – Children raised in violent homes are far more likely to commit suicide,be violent to others, and to abuse drugs. Yet, our region’s rates of child abuse and neglect arehigher than a decade agoiv, and more than two thirds of those responsible were the children’snatural parents. Between 25-30 percent of women will be abused at some point in their lives.And, at least 9 percent of Americans age 12 and over are classified with substance dependenceor abuse, and that number almost doubles for unemployed adultsv.

l Lack of health care – Local free health clinics are overwhelmed by the increasing number offamilies they serve. At least 12 percent of Hoosiers are without health insurance at some pointduring each year, and that figure will likely increase as government cuts Medicaid and other benefits, and Indiana continues to attract jobs without health benefits.

l Destabilized families – Children raised in intact families have the most promising futures.Some 80 percent of long-term child poverty in the United States is found in broken or

never-formed familiesvi. Unfortunately, more and more children don’t live in households that can provide basic family supports: 35.6 percent of births in themetro area in 2001 were to unmarried parentsvii.

What does CICF propose to do?For more than 80 years, thousands of donors have honored CICF and its affiliatesand partners with their philanthropic gifts, ideas, and energy. Their grantmakingfunds have given us the opportunity to learn from the most successful not-for-profits and civic leaders helping families.

Our initiative will in turn honor those not-for-profits, civic leaders, and donors,and catalyze community energy around the momentum they have built. Throughthe end of 2010, CICF will play the roles of:

l Public champion – shining a spotlight on the importance of these issuesand the civic leaders and organizations already engaged in them. And, advocating for and inspiring increased investment of time and money by the community and other funders.

“I am a single mom and was really tired of dead-end jobs. I knew there had to be somethingbetter, but I wasn't sure where tobegin. Now I have great job skillsthat get me promoted. What adifference a career makes!”

-Daphne Pemberton, Training, Inc. Career Track graduate

l Connector – learning from great ideas, and brokering relationships andideas across communities and systems. Also, adding talent, ideas, and relationships through our own staff, board, partners, and donors.

l Investor – filling gaps or speeding progress directly through millions of dollars in grants. And, helping people understand the transformative power of their philanthropy in these issues, perhaps by replicating the experiencesthat scholarships funds provide both the donors and beneficiaries.

Early testing grounds for our initiative include: our continued involvement withthe Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Making Connections Initiative and the FamilyStrengthening Coalition; Legacy Fund’s Community Initiative to decrease adolescent alcohol and substance abuse in Hamilton County; The IndianapolisFoundation’s Leadership Grant to create stronger financial futures for lower-income families in Marion County; and the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana’sgrants in 2005 to address caregiving, domestic violence, and poverty issues.

Will CICF make grants for this initiative?We welcome your ideas for our investment through our existing competitivegrant processes. Note that in the first couple of years, we will prioritize projects that: a) work to achieve multiple characteristics outlined in “What does CICF mean by Family Success” on page one, and b) provide thewhole family with the tools they need to succeed. We are also interested in projects that can increase civic andphilanthropic engagement around the issue. Most of the grants will be in Marion and Hamilton Counties inIndiana.

Submit an application by visiting the Grants section of our Web site at www.cicf.org. You can download our Grantseeker’s Guide and Application Form to see how your ideas fit our different funds’ guidelines. If youdon’t have access to the Internet, call 317.634.2423 for these materials.

How will CICF evaluate its progress?By 2006, CICF will establish measurable criteria for progress in three categories:

1. Inspiring actions – the investment of grants, staff time, andspace in marketing materials by CICF, its affiliates, and partners.

2. Inspired philanthropy – the level of investments of timeand money by other key stakeholders in the community (localgovernment, foundations, and significant donors).

3. Community results – four to five leading indicators (statistics) of on-the-ground progress to which we are contributing. These results will align with existing work by community partners such as United Way and the FamilyStrengthening Coalition.

www.indyfamilies.org

615 N. Alabama Street, Suite 119 l Indianapolis, IN 46204 l317.634.24231405 E. Broad Ripple Ave. l Indianapolis, IN 46220

515 E. Main Street lCarmel, IN 46032 l317.843.2479www.cicf.org

How can I get involved or learn more?Most importantly, we urge you to get involved in your own neighborhood. Donate volunteer time, cash,goods, and/or services to local projects that make the public places near you physically inviting and inviting for civic activity. Share the places that are meaningful to you with friends and visitors.

Visit our Web site at www.cicf.org and click on “Community Leadership” to find stories ofgreat local projects, links to key resources, opportunities for learning sessions and site

visits with CICF staff, statistics, and more. You can also let us know what publicspaces you think are great and sign up to stay informed about new programs andprogress on our initiative.

Contact Tony Macklin, director of philanthropic services, at 317.634.2423 or e-mailtonym@cicf.org for more information.

Cool Creek Concert Series,Hamilton County Parks andRecreation.

i Thanks in part to Project for Public Spaces (www.pps.org) for this frameworkii “The Indianapolis Market for Arts and Culture,” ArtsMarket Consulting Inc., July 1997iii “SCORP 2000,” Indiana Department of Natural Resources