Diane, Your Women’s Fund of Central Indiana Magazine
Welcome to DIANE Magazine!
This magazine is just one outcome of my conversations with you over the last year. As I was settling into my new role, I met members of the Women’s Fund family–OPTIONS Alumnae, Emeritus Advisory Board members, longtime supporters, and other men and women with a shared commitment to ensuring all who identify as women or girls living in Central Indiana have an equitable opportunity to reach their full potential no matter their race, place, or identity.
You asked for more opportunities to learn and engage with Women’s Fund and our mission. This magazine was conceived of that desire. Here, once a quarter, you can learn more about women and girls in Central Indiana; the issues that matter to them; and the individuals and institutions, including Women’s Fund, that give their time, talent and treasure to create a world where women and girls can thrive.
As with all things Women’s Fund, this is your magazine. This space will evolve as you tell us what you want to read and learn.
We hope you enjoy this new offering and that it will inspire in you the commitment to women and girls in our community exemplified by our
founder–Diane.
Tamara Winfrey-Harris
President
Women’s Fund of Central Indiana
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Letter from the President, Diane November 2024 Issue
As I reflect on the stories in this issue of Diane—the pressures of finding safe, affordable housing or the insidious abuse and extortion Hoosier women in the adult entertainment and sex industry face—I’m reminded of how often women’s lives are ignored. Despite the critical roles women play in our communities, our stories are too often dismissed. Society does not always listen to women, and it rarely takes the time to adequately research the unique challenges we face. A recent study found that...
Elevating Women’s Voices Through Night of 100 Women
Women’s Fund hosted its second annual Night of 100 Women in July. For those in attendance, it was a night equal parts joy and vulnerability. Women were wowed by vocalist Tiffanie Bridges and poet Januarie York. They even got to express themselves through a haiku wall and roundtable discussions. More than anything else, a feeling of connection was present throughout the event. President of Women’s Fund Tamara Winfrey-Harris was emcee for the event and kicked off the night saying, “We invited...
Women’s Fund of Central Indiana Awards $475,000 in Annual Grants to Support Women and Girls
Women’s Fund of Central Indiana is proud to announce the distribution of $475,000 in grants to 30 organizations in Central Indiana. As part of its annual grant round, Women’s Fund awarded critical financial support to not-for-profits and programs that empower and uplift women and girls across Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion, Morgan, and Shelby counties. With a record number of applications this year, the grants were strategically directed to support key areas impacting the...
Unconditional: Supporting Women in Indiana’s Adult Entertainment Industry
Unconditional, a 2023 Women’s Fund grant recipient, offers support and resources to Hoosier women in the adult entertainment and sex industries. By and large, that refers to dancers and strippers at adult clubs, but the term (and Unconditional’s service base) includes those working as prostitutes. Operating since 2012, Unconditional and its staff are trailblazers in Indiana. Still unique for our state, their work is sorely needed. According to in-house surveys, Unconditional found that nearly...
Tele, 2024 OPTIONS Alumnae Scholarship Recipient
Every four years, a committee of OPTIONS Alumnae awards a scholarship intended to fully fund the cost of college, usually amounting to $12,000 a year for a four-year degree. Eight outstanding women have received this award since 2002. This year, the committee has the pleasure of awarding the OPTIONS Alumnae scholarship to our ninth student, Oluwateleayo Ikheanosi Olubiyi or, as she prefers to be called, Tele. Tele finished her high school career in the summer of 2024 and is starting her first...
What We’re Watching, Reading and Listening To
As advocates, conveners, community members and investors in women and girls, it’s essential that we focus on continued learning. Staying up to date with critical issues keeps us informed and inspired. Here is a list of books, articles, videos and podcasts focused on women that Women’s Fund and OPTIONS Alumnae recommend. WHAT WE’RE WATCHING “What protected me was the innocence of a child”: Ruby Bridges reflects on 1960 school integration In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, civil...
The Struggle for Affordable Housing in Indiana’s Low-Wage Economy
This past July, Prosperity Indiana and the National Low Income Housing Coalition released the 2024 “Out of Reach” study for the state of Indiana. Executive Director of Prosperity Indiana Aspen Clemons said the study “is meant to clarify two things: How much most Hoosiers are making and how much it costs to live comfortably in our state.” The study lists the state’s most common occupations, each of those occupations’ median wage, and the wage required to comfortably afford a two-bedroom home at...
Letter from the President, Diane August 2024 Issue
I’m a proud member of Generation X. And I remember fondly the women’s magazine, Jane, that embodied the quirky feminist riot grrrl spirit of its founder, Jane Pratt. (Fun fact for fellow Xers who remember the beloved title: Pratt first wanted to name the magazine Betty.) As the Women’s Fund team began brainstorming potential names for a new magazine, we considered whether there was a woman whose name embodies the Women’s Fund spirit. There is, of course. Diane B. Brashear, Ph.D. was the...
From Mortality Rates to Health Equity: Tackling Indiana’s Maternal and Infant Health Crisis
From 2014 to 2022 (the most recent year for complete data as of this writing) Indiana frequently placed in the top 10 of U.S. states for infant mortality according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. This was at a time when the country found itself ranked first in the same metric among the world’s 20 richest nations. Meanwhile, the health of new mothers in the Hoosier state was also faltering. By 2022, Indiana ranked 3rd in the nation for maternal mortality. And in that...
What We’re Watching, Reading and Listening to – August 2024
As advocates, conveners, community members and investors in women and girls, it’s essential that we focus on continued learning. Staying up to date with critical issues keeps us informed and inspired. Below is a list of books, articles, videos and podcasts focused on women that staff at Women’s Fund recommend. WHAT WE’RE WATCHING 9to5: The Story of a Movement Women office workers in 1970s Boston call for better pay, more opportunities and an end to sexual harassment | Available on Netflix...
Grants Foster Awareness and Implementation of New Laws Related to Pregnancy in the Workplace
Tucked within the 4,000 pages of Congress’s 2022 omnibus spending bill were two little-noticed but critical laws affecting pregnant employees and new mothers in the workplace: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP). These laws have the potential to expand employment protections to millions while promoting a healthier society for newborns and new mothers. Previously, challenging work conditions resulting from one’s...
Trust-Based Philanthropy at the Heart of New Pilot Program
During the pandemic, donors and non-profits saw a shift to trust-based philanthropy. That allowed service organizations to quickly adjust to a new pace of public need and social change. Five years later, that initial shift has become an ongoing trend in the world of philanthropy. Women’s Fund of Central Indiana is partnering with two local community non-profits to put trust-based philanthropy into practice. With an emphasis on community autonomy over funder administration, this approach...
New Partner audiochuck Aligns with Goal to Honor All Women Voices
A recent report from Dell Computers and Institute for the Future shared a bold fact: 85% of jobs that will exist in 2030 have yet to be invented. But that may seem like familiar territory for Indianapolis-based podcast network audiochuck. They are setting the standard for media and innovation in an industry nobody could imagine less than a generation ago. Beginning with Crime Junkie, her marquee podcast, audiochuck Founder and CEO Ashley Flowers has redefined success in the still-young medium....
Addressing Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence
Estimates in 2019 showed around 42% of women and 28% of men in Indiana experience physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner. And in the first year of the pandemic, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department recorded a 65% increase in emergency calls related to domestic violence. But this impact is not always distributed evenly. Black women are more than twice as likely to experience domestic or intimate partner violence as White women. Transgender people, meanwhile, are over...