Indiana is home to a wide array of nonprofits, both locally based and international. The Joseph Maley Foundation considers itself extraordinarily lucky to be included in a vast, diverse community of fantastic organizations and people accomplishing important work in the state and beyond. For this blog, we wanted to highlight just a small portion of some of the wonderful organizations based here!
Lumina Foundation
Focused on enabling underserved populations achieve education, career opportunities, and skilled training. Lumina works with schools and colleges to help people acquire degrees, work skills, and certifications. Lumina strives for racial justice, equality, and equity through federal and state policy and higher education.
Lumina Foundation puts their work into words best by saying: “our goal is to prepare people for informed citizenship and for success in a global economy.”
To learn more about Lumina Foundation visit their website, HERE.
Indiana Humanities
Originally just a grant-making organization, Indiana Humanities has grown to become a multifaceted tool to enable Hoosiers to embrace the humanities and their culture. Indiana Humanities serves all Indiana residents, encouraging people to explore history, literature, philosophy, and the arts, in order to better understand their community and the world around them.
They host a variety of programs, including: Chew on This, “a program designed…to use the power of food and drink as a convener of people and catalyst for conversation to inspire thoughtful discussion on engaging topics”. And, Humanities Action Fellows, “a new program for early-career humanities professionals who are passionate about using the humanities to make their communities better”.
To learn more about Indiana Humanities visit their website, HERE.
Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis
Girls Inc. is a national nonprofit with an affiliate organization based in Indianapolis that has been serving the community since 1969.
Originally founded in 1864, Girls Inc. was created to aid girls who “were experiencing upheaval in the aftermath of the Civil War”. Girls Inc. has spread across the country, providing young women with the freedom “to be confident in their own skin”, and helping to prepare them for their futures.
Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis partners with schools and community organizations to provide programs focused on healthy sexuality, economic literacy, media literacy, and much more.
To learn more about Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis visit their website, HERE.
Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library
In honor of Indianapolis native and renowned author, Kurt Vonnegut, the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library was founded to provide a unique cultural and education resource for not only Hoosiers, but to the nation as a whole.
Visitors to the museum can see Vonnegut’s original writing and drawings, view photos of his family and friends, browse first editions of every Vonnegut novel, and even “sit hunched over the same model typewriter Kurt Vonnegut pecked away on” – they’ll even tweet what you write!
Of utmost importance to the library (and Kurt) the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library stands staunchly again censorship, and “supports language and visual arts education through programs and outreach activities”.
To learn more about Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library visit their website, HERE.
Paws and Think
JMF is proud to be a long-time partner with Paws and Think, a non-profit organization that focuses on creating a community where “every person who should benefit from a dog has the opportunity, and every dog fulfills its potential”.
Paws and Think volunteers have been a great asset to JMF’s Disability Awareness program. Handlers bring their dogs into classrooms to teach students about therapy dogs, both in how they serve the community, and how they differ from Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals.
The organization offers a multitude of programs, such as: “Paws to Heal”, where their trained Pet Therapy Team partners with local hospitals to visit with patients and their families. And, “Paws to Read”, which offers an opportunity for children to practice reading to a Paws & Think therapy dog.
To learn more about Paws & Think visit their website, HERE.
Blog researched and written by JMF Communications Associate, Gino Maley, and JMF Communication Manager, Aubrey Wiest.