Prosperity Indiana

Resources: Prosperity Indiana is dedicated to providing members with helpful tools to advance their work. Resources include consulting services, trainings, a resource library, and funding. Training and technical assistance are aligned services to build the capacity of Community Economic Development practitioners and the organizations employing them. The organization delivers a robust program of training for member organization staff and others in the Community Development field. Training topics address the diversity of technical and adaptive knowledge necessary to manage organizations, exercise leadership, and deliver outcomes. Technical assistance is long-term, one-on-one consulting support. Staff provide a depth of experience and knowledge. The organization provides technical assistance in the following categorical areas: board governance, financial management, planning, program/project Development and delivery, resource Development, staff Development, and staff management services. The organization's role of funder primarily includes securing pass-through grants to support member projects, including leveraging state and national partner resources available for this purpose. The organization also serves as the fiscal agent and program manager for member initiatives to help launch innovation.

Advocacy: advocacy and policy engagement are important parts of a successful Community Economic Development framework. The organization's advocacy work strengthens members by building relationships. It enhances members' skills and capacity to understand their own policy environments, large and small, and to communicate their values and priorities to their elected officials and program administrators. It enables front-line practitioners to have their voices heard in policy debates. The advocacy function organizes members and supporters around a policy agenda, builds and maintains strategic partnerships with allies to advance this agenda, and monitors and explains trends in policymaking to members.

Engagement: Prosperity Indiana utilizes a number of strategies to accomplish Community building and connecting to strengthen and unite members. This includes the organization's blog and social networks, the monthly piece of the pi newsletter, peer-to-peer convenings, membership directory, an annual summit and leadership awards presentation, and regional member meetings. The organization also accomplishes connectivity and advocacy goals through coalition building efforts.