IPA Convenes Community Foundation Interns

By Sonya Hallett, GIFT Consultant

Last month, 28 new community foundation interns gathered in Indianapolis for a day of learning about the role of community foundations and IPA's GIFT (Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow) program.

Through the Community Foundation Internships Program, Lilly Endowment Inc., has funded more than 500 internships for Indiana’s community foundations. This includes more than 75 interns since the beginning of 2019. The program began in 2010 as a way to strengthen the work of the foundations and give students real-life work experiences in Indiana.

The interns welcomed at this year's orientation connected with peers from all over the state as they learned the nuts and bolts of community foundations.

One intern shared, “Thank you for an awesome orientation. I felt like it was very educational, informative, and fun. I think it's important to bring people together like you did and have discussions about community foundations and philanthropic work.”

These young professionals also participated in a community visioning exercise, which challenged them to consider ways philanthropy could better support their communities. Ideas offered by this thoughtful group included “higher community involvement” in philanthropy; a “focus on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion;” and an “elimination of Band-Aid fixes” to community problems.