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Hoosier History: Philanthropic association names first Black board chair

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For more than 10 years, Tina Gridiron has used her philanthropic powers for good, most recently as strategy director for the Lumina Foundation, where she has been instrumental in assisting communities and institutions of higher learning in developing strategies to close the achievement gap facing students of color and those living in poverty.

She has led Luminaā€™s work on initiatives that directly impact the success of Latino and Native American students and help men of color attain college degrees, and she plans to continue working as a grant consultant in the future.

The Stanford University graduate made history this past December when she was named chair of the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance, becoming the first African-American appointed to the role in the organizationā€™s nearly 30-year history.Ā 

ā€œIt is my honor to serve in this role,ā€ she said.Ā 

Gridironā€™s relationship with the IPA began nearly 10 years ago when she was a part of the education committee. She would often be tapped to conduct guest lectures at various meetings of the groupā€™s membership.

ā€œThere is an affinity group that IPA sponsors called Indiana Blacks in Philanthropy, which brings African-American people involved in philanthropy together to discuss issues and realities we may be facing in our career journey, what grant making we are doing and how we can connect it to strengthen the African-American community in Indiana,ā€ she said. ā€œThat work was an exciting opportunity for me to marry my passion for the African-American community with my passion for higher education, grant making,ā€ said Gridiron, who went on to serve as vice chair of the committee before assuming her current role.

Gridiron said another goal of the Blacks in Philanthropy group was to increase the number of African-Americans coming through the philanthropic sector.Ā 

Though African-Americans statistically and historically have been known to contribute parts of their income to charity on a continuous basis ā€” 25 percent, to be exact, according to a W.K. Kellogg study ā€” a joint report released in 2014 by the Association of Black Foundation Executives and the Black Philanthropic Network stated the number of Black philanthropy executives has continually decreased for some time.Ā 

Here in Indiana, IPA is hoping to change the tide.

ā€œI think that Indiana has not had as many African-Americans involved in philanthropy as other states,ā€ said IPA President and CEO Marissa Manlove. ā€œBut itā€™s growing.ā€

Another goal: The organization hopes to grow contributions of its member organizations to initiatives and programs directed toward the African-American community statewide. Some of the local entities that have benefited from IPA member funding are the Center for Leadership Development, Indianapolis Urban League, 100 Black Men of Indianapolis and Indiana Black Expo Inc.

Manlove said the most recent data revealed that in 2014 and 2015, IPA member organizations gave more than $68 million to 86 grantees focused on the Black community.Ā 

ā€œThat is a significant amount of resources directed to support strengthening, building and encouraging success and forward movements,ā€ said Gridiron.

Still, Manlove said sheā€™d like to see those numbers climb, and she thinks the environment in Indiana will be conducive to philanthropic growth.

ā€œIndiana is very fortunate to have a robust and active philanthropic community that is very committed to trying to help find solutions to some of the difficult issues that our state is facing,ā€ said Manlove. ā€œPhilanthropy is not just about the grants that they give out and the money. Foundation dollars are never going to be enough to tackle all the issues that our state faces, but they can be a partner in that.ā€Ā 

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