In July, Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) launched a new podcast, “For Good,” stories about passion, purpose and progress in Marion and Hamilton counties. It was an idea sparked by a few podcast junkies, a desire to engage new audiences and to tell the incredible stories of how philanthropy is driving change in Central Indiana.
Last year, in just 30 days, CICF experienced a 70 percent increase in followers on Facebook as a result of the centennial celebration of its affiliate, The Indianapolis Foundation, including a two-night, interactive light festival, the creation of two Ben Franklin Funds for our city in 2116, and a $1 million surprise giveaway. That’s a big jump in followers!
We wanted to continue to engage the community of people who discovered CICF through the anniversary events, but weren’t sure what that would look like. After all, an interactive light festival along the canal is a pretty tough act to top.
It was at a celebratory meeting (ok, drinks) with our friends and fellow podcast fans at Well Done Marketing that the idea to create a CICF podcast was born. It didn’t take long for us to realize that it would be a really exciting and fun way to tell our story, or rather, the story of the people in Central Indiana transforming our community.
CICF knows the pulse of this community better than anyone. Our community investment officers are deeply knowledgeable about the many programs and initiatives working in our community, and have worked alongside those organization and their leaders to make Central Indiana a better place, for everyone. And our philanthropic advisors work with the generous donors that help fund those programs and initiatives.
CICF staff has the privilege of watching the power of philanthropy at work every day in our community, and it’s time we share those impactful stories with others in a broader way. Enter, “For Good.”
On the fourth Tuesday of every month, we’ll officially launch a new episode of “For Good.” Each episode focuses on issues facing Marion and Hamilton counties, and highlights local people and organizations working to make a change. In addition to working with Well Done Marketing to create our brand, we partnered with the experts at WFYI Public Media to produce each episode.
In its first episode, which debuted on July 25, “For Good” examined how limited access to transportation impacts opportunities for employment, healthcare and social services. It also featured conversations with civic leaders about what’s being done in Central Indiana to revolutionize the way people get from place to place.
The second episode of “For Good” focused on food insecurity, a real and pressing issue for rural, suburban and urban communities in Central Indiana. In this episode, “For Good” explored how the contours of food insecurity can shift based on geography or demographics, and how these factors impact a community’s ability to solve the problem.
The most recent episode features the Marion County Promise, a new pilot initiative that aims to increase the number of students pursuing post-secondary education by starting college-readiness programming and a college savings account as early as kindergarten.
We are excited to launch this project and hope it’s something everyone finds both educational and inspiring. As a community foundation, we at CICF are lucky to represent a community of civically-minded citizens who care as much about Central Indiana as we do. It’s an honor to tell these stories of transformational and innovative philanthropy.
Subscribe to “For Good” at cicf.org or by searching for “CICF” in your favorite podcast app. And don’t forget to let us know what you think by leaving a review!
