A group of local nonprofit leaders recently created the Fishers Nonprofit Coalition to provide a network of nonprofit organizations supporting families and youth. The coalition was founded to identify needs within the community, cultivate community between nonprofits and curate data to support the demand in Fishers.
The organization was co-founded by Dr. Jody Britten, founder of the Early Learning Alliance Network, and Alison Gatz, executive director of the Youth Mentoring Initiative.
“We realized it would be great if we had a more systematic way to have a conversation amongst local nonprofits,” Gatz said. “We’re starting to grow as a city and have more residents to serve. We wanted to have a collaborative, intentional spirit about how we deliver our services to the community.”
One way the group plans to accomplish its mission is to share information across local nonprofits.
“One of the things I continuously run into is, because of the rapid growth of our county and our city, we don’t have a lot of data available which we need when we’re seeking funding,” Britten said. “We want nonprofit leaders to have access to the needs of our community in a more ubiquitous way.”
Another focus of the group is a collective effort.
“YMI does mentoring, and we do it really well,” Gatz said. “But I also know that other organizations can complement our mentoring with the services that they offer. The coalition allows us to collaborate with other organizations.”
The final tenant of the mission is finding a connection.
“Connection is all about relationships and connecting people to services,” Britten said. “We wanted to make our website, in particular, an easy pathway and entry point for families who need assistance to find all the different programs offered locally.”
For those interested in getting involved, upcoming meetings are 9 a.m. April 2, June 11 and Sept. 3 at the Delaware Township Offices in Fishers. For more, visit fishersnpc.com.
