The Faith & Action Project at Christian Theological Seminary has awarded grants totaling $100,000 for three efforts aimed at reducing poverty in Indianapolis.

The 2018 grant recipients follow.

• $50,000 to the ROCK Initiative at Eastern Star Church in partnership with Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership, Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic and RecycleForce. The Double Forward Initiative seeks to disrupt the cycle of recidivism and housing eviction in the 46218 zip code. With new housing options, a grocery store and counseling services already being developed, this grant will create avenues to second-chance opportunities by helping project participants gain financial stability and integrate educational and life-skills attainment, assisting with housing placement and educating participants about smart rental practices.

• $30,000 to Heart Change Ministries. Heart Change provides ongoing, daily support to vulnerable families in the Brookside neighborhood who are working to achieve stability through formal and informal counseling. Heart Change staff and volunteers develop deep personal relationships with individual moms with a goal of helping them make lasting changes. Heart Change will use the grant to finish renovations at the house that will serve as home for its Gift of Work initiative called Heart Felt Soaps. The new space will allow Heart Change to employ more women and sell more soaps, thus helping moms break the cycle of generational poverty. 

• $20,000 to Outreach Inc. Outreach provides homeless youth with a safe refuge from the unrelenting pressures of homelessness. During drop-in hours at the near eastside facility, youth have access to laundry facilities, computer labs, a food pantry, shower facilities, and family-style warm meals. Additionally, homeless youth are supported on their journey by case managers who help the youth navigate a path to sustainable independence and growth.

“At the Faith & Action Project, we believe that building on a community’s existing assets can be more powerful than focusing on a community’s unmet needs,” said Faith & Action Director Lindsey Nell Rabinowitch. “These projects offer great examples of asset-based solutions that engage a faith component along with nonprofit partners, something that’s integral to the Faith & Action mission.”

The Faith & Action Project received 36 applications for consideration for its 2018 grants. The jury chose 13 finalists to move to Round Two of the program, which required full project summaries.

“Ultimately the jury selected the three programs they feel have the greatest potential to create real, lasting change,” added Rabinowitch.

Launched in 2016, the Faith & Action Project at Christian Theological Seminary is supported by the Mike and Sue Smith Family Fund and Lumina Foundation as a multiyear effort to help reduce poverty in Indianapolis. In addition to providing grants, the Faith & Action Project has held communitywide events and attracted national poverty experts to Central Indiana.

The three recipient projects will be highlighted at the Faith & Action Project’s next public event, which is Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. at Clowes Memorial Hall and features Michelle Alexander, author of the bestseller, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.

In 2017, Faith & Action awarded $125,000 in grants to six efforts: Goodwill’s New Beginnings; Purposeful Design; Broadway United Methodist Church; Trinity Episcopal Church; School on Wheels; and Edna Martin Christian Center, American Baptist Churches of Greater Indianapolis and Eastern Star Church.

About the Faith & Action Project

The Faith & Action Project at Christian Theological Seminary is dedicated to helping to spark a revolution of hope by leveraging resources of communities of faith to connect, inspire and empower lasting solutions for people confronting poverty. Through annual public events and grants, the Faith & Action Project seeks to ignite a solution-oriented movement for inclusive well-being in our community. The Faith & Action Project is supported by the Mike and Sue Smith Family Fund and Lumina Foundation.

About Christian Theological Seminary

Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) is a fully accredited ecumenical seminary, open to all, affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It offers nine graduate-level degree programs, including programs in theology, ministry and counseling, plus open-to-the-public classes and events. More than 30 denominations, including no denomination, are represented among CTS students and faculty. Additional information about CTS is available at www.cts.edu.

New York Times best-selling author Michelle Alexander joins a panel of local leaders to examine poverty’s root causes and call the community to action at the Faith & Action Project’s Oct. 23 fall event.

The author of “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness,” Alexander has spoken widely about the socioeconomic impact of racial discrimination, and specifically the way it affects African-American males.

The free, public event kicks off the third year of the Faith & Action Project, which connects, inspires and empowers faith communities and others to implement effective solutions for people confronting poverty.

“In our efforts to encourage focused conversations about poverty, this year we are delving more deeply into root causes,” said Lindsey Nell Rabinowitch, director of the Faith & Action Project at CTS. “Issues such as race and incarceration can’t be ignored or overemphasized in our quest for solutions.”

Alexander will offer a keynote address and then join the local leaders for a conversation that delves into poverty’s foundations and the community’s role in both its expansion and eventual elimination … all with an eye toward equipping residents and organizations to curb poverty’s momentum and apply their collaborative might to the fight against poverty.

The local leaders scheduled to participate are:

• Michael Huber, president and CEO of the Indy Chamber, whose Rebuilding the Dream report focuses on inclusive growth in the region;
• Angela Carr Klitzsch, president and CEO of EmployIndy, which seeks to ensure all Marion County residents have access to the services and training necessary to secure a livable wage and grow in a career that meets employer demand for talent;
• Rev. Dr. Frank A. Thomas, a preacher, scholar and professor of African American preaching at Christian Theological Seminary, who will bring a perspective on how the faith community should be responding to poverty.

“Defeating poverty will require a broad collaboration,” added Rabinowitch. “As such, we hope that everyone – from all sectors of our community – will attend to join this challenging but meaningful conversation. We’re only going to make a difference if we work together to address the big issues.”

The evening also will include a recognition of local initiatives that are prompting real and lasting change in the lives of people living in poverty, as recipients of Faith & Action grants are honored and celebrated.

WHAT:          Faith & Action’s Fall Event

                        Poverty: Examining Roots, Working Toward Solutions

WHEN:          Oct. 23, 7-9 p.m.

WHERE:        Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University, 4602 Sunset Ave.

COST:            Free but tickets are required. Register at https://faithaction18.eventbrite.com

About the Faith & Action Project

The Faith & Action Project at Christian Theological Seminary is dedicated to helping to spark a revolution of hope by leveraging resources of communities of faith to connect, inspire and empower lasting solutions for people confronting poverty. Through annual public events and grants, the Faith & Action Project seeks to ignite a solution-oriented movement for inclusive well-being in our community. The Faith & Action Project is supported by the Mike and Sue Smith Family Fund and Lumina Foundation. www.cts.edu/faith-action-project/

Central Indiana residents are encouraged to take part in Car Free Day Indy by taking a bus, biking or walking or by going “car lite” and carpooling or vanpooling on Sept. 21.

To sweeten the challenge, Commuter Connect, the region’s rideshare program, is offering a free emergency ride home for anyone who signs the online pledge at CarFreeDayIndy.com. Plus, by signing up, you’re eligible to win great prizes.

“This is the third year for Car Free Day Indy, and we’ve found it’s a great way to encourage people to try transportations options other than driving alone even if it’s for just one day,” said Andrew McGee, interim director of the Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority (CIRTA), which runs the Commuter Connect program. “Of course, our hope is that once they try it, they’ll see how easy it is and incorporate a day or two a week into their regular routine.”

The day includes two events – one at Cummins Plaza from 7a.m. to 9 a.m. and one on Monument Circle from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Both will feature free music and food while it lasts.

“Ultimately, this is all about improving air quality in Central Indiana," said McGee.

Participating employers include Browning, Citizens Energy Group, Cummins, Emmis, Eskenazi Health, IUPUI, OneAmerica and Salesforce.

# # #

About Commuter Connect

Commuter Connect is a federally funded service designed to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion. There is no charge for employers or employees to use Commuter Connect’s services. To learn more, visit www.CommuterConnect.us.

INDIANAPOLIS – Browning Davis, a joint venture between Browning and Davis & Associates that is responsible for constructing the first building (Building One) at 16 Tech, is announcing its July and August monthly info sessions to share opportunities for businesses to be involved in the project.

The sessions are July 26 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Hawthorne Community Center, 2440 W. Ohio St., and Aug. 30, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Indianapolis Urban League, 777 Indiana Ave. Three monthly sessions have already taken place.

Located at 16 Tech, Building One is a $30 million, 120,000-square-foot, five-story steel-and-concrete structure featuring four floors of lab space, one floor of office space, a rooftop patio and a cafe. It serves as the anchor building for the innovation community and will house the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, IU School of Medicine and other innovation tenants.

“Often by the time some firms hear about opportunities to bid on large projects, the train has already left the station,” said Ron Keough, senior project manager at Davis and Associates. “We’re really trying to get ahead of things and let people know the opportunities are coming and to get ready.”

Companies that are certified by the City of Indianapolis as M/W/V/DOBE – or companies that are interested in pursuing certification – are particularly encouraged to attend. The session also would be of interest to contractors and sub-contractors looking to place prime or sub bids, as well as suppliers, business leaders, potential tenants and apprentices and journeymen looking for employment in the construction trades.

“16 Tech is all about collaboration and opportunity, and we want the construction of it to reflect that we’re collaborating with and providing opportunity for the local community,” added David McMath, project manager at Browning. “We’re doing everything we can to involve Marion County firms, and specifically those located in the neighborhoods surrounding 16 Tech.”

Officials from the Indianapolis Office of Minority and Women-Owned Business Development will be in attendance and available to help provide information on applying for certification.

Bid packages in various sizes are expected to be let in October 2018, with construction scheduled to begin in November 2018.

# # #

About 16 Tech

16 Tech is Indy’s urban innovation community. It is a dense, 60-acre community that provides tenants and residents with vibrant, inspiring and collaborative spaces designed to facilitate discovery across life sciences, technology and advanced manufacturing through the convergence of people, purpose and place. It is bordered by Indiana Avenue and White River/Fall Creek and 10th and 16th Street on the near west side of downtown Indianapolis. More information can be found at www.16tech.com.

On July 23, Mayor Joe Hogsett will join Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Director Anna Gremling to celebrate the appropriation of $10,142,500 in federal transportation dollars to help fund the widening of Emerson Avenue from County Line to Stop 11 roads. The future project will improve traffic flow on the south side of Indianapolis, enhancing access to community assets such as the healthcare resources available at Franciscan Health.

WHO:        Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Director Anna Gremling

WHEN:      July 23, 2 p.m.

WHERE:    Franciscan Health Indianapolis, Center for Women and Children lobby, 8111 S. Emerson Ave. (Follow signs to parking for Center for Women and Children.)

WHY:         To represent the federal funds coming to the south side of Indy for widening Emerson Avenue

VISUALS: MPO Executive Director Anna Gremling will present oversized check to Mayor Hogsett

As part of an annual funding process, City of Indianapolis planners submitted projects for consideration by the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which is responsible for planning and programming federal transportation funds in the eight-county Central Indiana region. Projects are judged based on such criteria as impacts to air quality, improvements to congestion, safety, pavement quality and more.

Indianapolis was one of 15 regional communities and agencies selected to receive federal funds.

“It’s always a very competitive process, Gremling said. “This year we had 73 projects submitted, and Indianapolis had 11 projects rise to the top. Building and maintaining infrastructure is one of local governments’ biggest challenges, but also critical to the regional and state economies.”

Joining Mayor Hogsett and Director Gremling will be State Sen. Aaron Freeman, State Sen. Michael Speedy and Indianapolis City-County Councilors Scott Kreider, Brian Mowery and John Wesseler, as well as Dr. James Callaghan, President and CEO of Franciscan Health Central Indiana, Mayor Mark Myers of Greenwood and Mayor Dennis Buckley of Beech Grove.

According to Indianapolis’ application, the widening will address traffic bottlenecks north of the Indianapolis-Greenwood border.

Construction on the Emerson Avenue widening project is scheduled for 2023. The total cost is $12,678,125, with 80 percent -- $10,142,500 – of it federal funding through the Metropolitan Planning Organization. The remaining 20 percent -- $2,536,625 – will come from the City of Indianapolis.

In addition to the Emerson Avenue widening, the 10 additional projects, which received a total of $9,615,313 in federal funds – are listed below.

• Pedestrian enhancements in four high crash zones (5B, 11A, 11B and 11C)
• A bridge rehabilitation on Emerson Avenue over Bean Creek
• A bridge rehabilitation on 29^th Street over the Canal
• A bridge rehabilitation on College Avenue over the Canal
• A bridge rehabilitation on Keystone Avenue over the White River
• Knozone Awareness Program
• Bicycle enhancements related to the Michigan Street Road Diet Phase 1

About the Metropolitan Planning Organization

Federal law requires each urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more to have an MPO, and the MPO planning process is required to receive federal funds for transit, transportation alternatives, and roadway improvements. The Indianapolis MPO encompasses 1,520 square miles and includes eight counties and 31 cities and towns. For more information, visit www.IndyMPO.org. 

The following was originally published in the May 18, 2018 Indianapolis Business Journal.

By Gary Pittsford, President and CEO of Castle Wealth Advisors

Last month, The Wall Street Journal published a column by Robert Atkinson and Michael Lind that, like their new book, “Big Is Beautiful,” seeks to debunk the “myth” of small business.

I started reading the article because I was intrigued by what the authors would say about the sector to which I have dedicated most of my career. I forced myself to continue reading when I realized how bad their information is.

As context, remember this: The nation’s 28 million closely held businesses account for more than 50 percent of our national gross domestic product. Further, six of 10 people who get hired in the United States go to work for a closely held family business.

Atkinson and Lind imply that such impact is snake oil. I can’t list all their arguments, but I’ll highlight a few:

• They claim the tax code “lavishes benefits on small firms.” They correctly point out that profits for large public companies are taxed twice, but they fail to mention that tax reform lowered most big corporations’ tax rates to 21 percent. By contrast, pass-through firms such as sole proprietorships, partnerships and LLCs (most of the closely held family businesses) are taxed either at 37 percent or roughly 30 percent if they qualify for the Qualified Business Income deduction. So, the local hardware or grocery store pays federal taxes at those higher rates while Apple, Exxon and General Electric pay 21 percent.
• The authors suggest small businesses get cut-rate financing supported by the SBA. It’s true that business owners that apply for a loan with a local bank can get an SBA loan guarantee (which would pay 90 percent of the loan if the business went broke), but that guarantee comes with a hefty fee and does not include rate discounts. Also, that small-business owner signs for loans personally, unlike officers of large public companies.
• The authors charge that the top 1 percent of pass-through businesses earn 50.8 percent of the income for such firms and a mere 13.4 percent of pass-through income goes to the bottom 60 percent. While those percentages are probably correct, the same can be said of the medical, legal and architectural professions, as well as others.

As troubling as those claims are, I’ve saved the most stunning one for last: Atkinson and Lind say small businesses actually slow our economy in two ways:

• They charge that subsidies and other size-based policies enable less-efficient firms to gain market share. I would suggest the authors try to convince the founders of Walmart, Microsoft, Amazon and Google that they should not have been encouraged to gain market share when they were small and inefficient.
• The authors say “discriminatory policies provide an incentive for small firms to remain small” in order to avoid regulations and remain eligible for government handouts. To this absurdity I can only say that, in 45 years of working with business owners across the country, I have never met one who planned to stop growing to avoid government regulations. Also, I know of no business owner who looks forward to government handouts. On the contrary, most work hard every day and pay taxes in order to support a government that regulates them more every year.

I have no problem with Atkinson’s and Lind’s belief that big is beautiful. I do have a problem with their suggestion that the impact millions of small-business owners have on our economy is some kind of “myth,” especially if they base that suggestion on bad information.•

Sometimes marketing types talk about brands and identity like they’re talking about alchemy. Or top-secret missile codes. Or Col. Sanders’ seven herbs and spices.

We tend to think of it more plainly than that. A brand should simply be a reflection of an organization or product. And as that organization or product evolves, that brand and the way it is communicated – through a graphic identity, a tagline or whatever – should evolve, too.

That’s why you’re seeing a new logo for JTPR. We’ve evolved, and it’s time for the way we present ourselves to evolve, too.

Of course, we started out as Jen Thomas PR, a one-woman show that quite simply got the job done.

We grew into JTPR, a two-JT firm that offered solid, clear-cut skills and expertise.

And now we think of ourselves a little differently. We still offer those same services, but we put an increasing emphasis on the power of the well-chosen word, straightforward counsel and the right action at the right time. It’s what our clients say they expect from us … what we do best.

So now we describe ourselves like this: JTPR gets people talking about things worth talking about in order to move people to action. With expert counsel, the right words and hands-on execution, we help organizations reach the right audiences, say the right things and get the results they want.

This fits nicely with our business plan, which we sum up by saying, “Work with nice people, and have fun doing it.”

When we discussed this vision of our business with our friend (and designer extraordinaire) Lindsey Hadley, she brought back a new logo for JTPR that we think captures wonderfully who we aspire to be: It’s sturdy and solid, with a dash of color and whimsy. It gets the job done with a bit of flair and fun.

That might not be as impressive as alchemy, or as intriguing as missile codes, or as “spicy” as a secret chicken recipe. But it’s who we are. 

During our firm’s recent rebrand, we spent a lot of time pondering the right words to describe what we do best.

We settled on Advisors. Writers. Doers.

Since the core of our work involves writing, Writers was a no-brainer.

Advisors was pretty easy, too. At this stage of our careers, we’re confident in our recommendations and the advice we provide clients.

The last word, though, was harder. We ended up with Doers.

We hesitated about that at first, worried that it sounded too tactical, too elementary, too lightweight. “Doers” are often seen as the “lowest rung” on the ladder, and we didn’t want people to think of us as a “low-rung” organization.

On the other hand, one of the reasons we opened our shop is that we wanted to provide advice to our clients and then actually see it through to fruition. To DO the work. We like what we do, and we plan to stay small – just the two of us – so we are, by design, the doers.

Of course, we also believe that serves our clients well. When they choose us, they get veterans doing the work. We’re not cooking up big ideas and handing them off to junior staffers. We’re not promising expertise and delivering rookie execution. We’re following through. Putting our experience to work. Making sure the job gets done.

And when we do need help? We reach out to the best partners and subcontractors in the business – people who we know value good work as much as we do – and continue to be engaged so that the job is done right.

Yep: We’re doers. And we feel good about that.

John and Jen