Lumina Foundation recently awarded $300,000, which includes a $250,000 grant from its Fund for Racial Justice and Equity, to support Christian Theological Seminary’s ongoing commitment to the Indianapolis community and efforts to address systemic racism and mitigate poverty.
For the past five years, Christian Theological Seminary’s Faith & Action Project has partnered with 15 grant recipient organizations in Marion County working to break the cycle of poverty. Additionally, the Faith & Action Project annually hosts more than 2,000 community members at its spring and fall events that inspire solution-oriented conversations and action. These events are dedicated to sharing evidenced based poverty mitigation solutions and highlighting national best practices and local initiatives that have shown a positive and sustainable impact in removing barriers for individuals confronting poverty, especially Black and brown people.
Lumina Foundation shares the seminary’s belief that transformation in our community often requires solution-oriented collaboration among practitioners, faith communities, and low-income people. Faith & Action Project Director Lindsey Rabinowitch said, “Our experience has shown us that overcoming the factors that keep people in poverty requires a collaborative multi-sector approach. Unfortunately, many Central Indiana organizations still operate in silos, although collaboration is growing. Incorporating all the existing assets, particularly the faith communities, working to mitigate poverty will generate the power necessary to create real and lasting impact.”
The funding from Lumina Foundation will contribute to the following Faith & Action Project initiatives:
Spring 2021 Conference (Online)
On April 15, the Faith & Action Project’s Push Back Poverty conference will host national and local anti-poverty experts and residents to examine such barriers and identify action-oriented solutions. Keynoting this conversation will be Nisha Patel, national expert on social and economic mobility and philanthropy who serves as Managing Director for Narrative Change and National Initiatives at Robin Hood Foundation. The Spring Conference offers an opportunity to hear solutions that are grounding in the lived experience of those walking in the pathway out of poverty. This opportunity will inspire and inform efforts to create meaningful and lasting change in our community.
Fall 2021 Event
The Faith & Action Project’s fall events are designed to invite the community to listen in as national experts discuss the big issues, help to frame the challenges we face, and inspire big ideas. The 2021 Fall Event will feature Bryan Stevenson, lawyer, social justice advocate, Founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, and author of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.
2020 and 2021 Grant Cycle Cohorts
The Faith & Action Project seeks to support and champion initiatives that move people out of poverty for the long term. The Faith & Action Project hosts an annual grant cycle for organizations and initiatives that demonstrate a potential for tangible impact and that seem poised to increase their scale and impact with additional resources. In 2021, Faith & Action Grants Jury will also be looking for how organizations are explicit in their efforts to address systemic racism and barriers for those they seek to serve.
