Ask GIFT
IPA's GIFT team responds to hundreds of questions from Indiana community foundations throughout the year, ranging in scope and issue area.
To access these services, contact Technical Assistance Advisor Alisa Winters at askalisa@inphilanthropy.org.
Types of Requests
Succession Planning
Community foundations may benefit from working with this expert when planning for an upcoming leadership transition or in the midst of an unexpected vacancy. Typical requests include information on current trends in salary and benefits expectations, best practices to plan for upcoming transitions, an executive search strategy, or establishing a process to move forward during an unexpected vacancy.
Legal & Planned Giving
Laws that govern community foundations are complex and each scenario is unique. We can advise your foundation on approaching complex planned gifts, changes to funds, or updating old funds to bring them into compliance, among other things.
Finance & Accounting
Our experts deliver experience and knowledge in nonprofit accounting standards and widely used community foundation software platforms. Typical requests might include a consultation on best practices when preparing for a software conversion or a specific question about fund accounting.
HR and Personnel
Community foundations are all employers and must comply with labor laws. Never is the phrase “an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure” more true! We can provide guidance on the correct classification of employee types, benefits, unemployment, and disability claims or offer insight on unusual employee requests.
Executive Coaching
Community foundation leaders are fortunate to work alongside people passionate about serving their communities: donors, nonprofits, board members, other community leaders, and other staff. As such, they are often faced with complex, competing priorities. Our executive coach can serve as an experienced, trusted thought partner to help you navigate difficult decisions and communicate from a position of strength.
Individual Assistance & General Questions
GIFT Technical Assistance Advisor Alisa Winters is available for individual assistance as needed. Contact her for any request. We maintain an extensive resource library and pursue education and professional development to serve the field. If the question requires a higher level of expertise, we will connect you with one of the Experts in Residence listed below.
Experts in Residence
Each organization has access to one hour of consultation per year, per expert. Contact us to access these experts.
Bryan Orander
President
Bryan Orander
President
Charitable Advisors
Bryan is founder and president of Charitable Advisors. In addition to creating and publishing the Not-for-profit News, an e-newsletter for 14,000 subscribers in Central Indiana, Bryan co-founded the “Get on Board,” an annual board member recruiting event hosted by Leadership Indianapolis. He started Charitable Advisors in 2000 after more than 20 years of experience in leadership, management and consulting. In 2010, Charitable Advisors published the first Central Indiana Nonprofit Salary Survey.
Phil Purcell
Territorial Director of Planned Giving, Salvation Army Central Territory
Phil Purcell
Territorial Director of Planned Giving, Salvation Army Central Territory
Foundation Legal Help Desk
Phil is the senior legal council for IPA's Foundation Legal Help Desk. In his role as director at the Central Territory of the Salvation Army, Phil is the directional leader of 39 planned giving officers in 11 states who close approximately $70 million in planned gifts each year. Formerly, he served as Senior Counsel for Philanthropy on behalf of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students where he assisted approximately twenty major gift officers engaged in a $250 million multi-year campaign with a $100 million goal for planned giving.
Phil has consulted on behalf of over 300 charitable organizations of all types. His consulting focuses on state and federal legal issues (e.g., bylaws, tax exemption applications), philanthropy (e.g., fundraising, gift agreements, policies/procedures, endowments, planned giving) and nonprofit governance (e.g., strategic planning, duties of boards of directors). He has served as an expert witness in court cases and trials on topics related to the law of philanthropy, nonprofit organizations, endowments, scholarships and related issues.
Tanner Egbert
Consultant
Tanner Egbert
Consultant
FiscAlign
Prior to joining FiscAlign as a Consultant, Tanner’s background consists of 3 years of experience in financial management and fund accounting in the community foundation sector. Tanner has experience with month end processing, software conversions (Community Suite & Pearl), payroll, creating new work processes, financial reports, audits, budget creation, organizational financial assessments, and donor analysis projects. Tanner completed his bachelor's degree in Public Financial Management at Indiana University in 2021 and completed his Masters of Public Affairs (MPA) at Indiana University in 2023. Tanner was an undergrad teaching assistant (UTA) at Indiana University.
Jeremy York
Lead Consultant and President
Jeremy York
Lead Consultant and President
Invigorate HR
Jeremy York, SHRM-SCP, SPHR is the Lead Consultant and President of InvigorateHR and coauthor of the “JoyPowered Organization.” He has over 20 years' experience in human resource strategy and business operations where he has worked with and advised all levels of management on critical business and people-related issues. Jeremy's expertise in defining and understanding the "big picture" enables him to translate business needs into tangible solutions. With his guidance, organizations have improved employee relations, increased performance, and developed cultures based on mutual trust and respect. Jeremy holds a master’s degree in management from Indiana Wesleyan University and a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from Purdue University. He has served as an adjunct faculty member for Purdue University Indianapolis for over 15 years teaching various leadership and human resources curriculums. Jeremy is a national speaker and currently serves as an advisor on the Society for Human Resource Management’s Diversity Taskforce.
Cheryl Taylor
Consultant
Cheryl Taylor
Consultant
Taylor Leadership Consulting
For the last two decades, Taylor was President of Foellinger Foundation, a private, charitable foundation in Fort Wayne, IN, with assets of $200M. Before she was named President, Cheryl served ten years as Program Manager at the Foundation.
In August 2020, she was awarded the Sagamore of the Wabash, one of Indiana’s highest honors.
At Foellinger Foundation, Cheryl spearheaded the Helene Foellinger Leadership Development Initiative, which includes the rigorous 12-month Leadership Lab program. She also guided the Initiative’s Barbara Burt Innovative Leader Fund to provide leadership development to nonprofit board members.
Prior to these roles, Cheryl worked for public and private organizations in roles including public information officer, marketing and communications, PR and disaster relief services.
Cheryl is on the board of directors of Fort Wayne Quest Club, Indiana Humanities and Indiana Philanthropy Alliance.
Cheryl has a Master’s Degree in Humanities from Indiana University, credentials in Professional Executive Coaching and Advanced Executive Coaching from Huntington University, and is certified in Conversational Intelligence™ and ECHO Listening Intelligence®.
Alisa Winters
Technical Assistance Advisor
Alisa Winters
Technical Assistance Advisor
Indiana Philanthropy Alliance