Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Symposium

Historical and Current Drivers of Indiana’s Racial Wealth Gap

The racial wealth gap refers to the gap in assets between white families and families of color. On average white families have about ten times the wealth of Black families. This symposium’s opening panel will share the history of racism and barriers to asset-building. We will also discuss the history of black philanthropy in the United States and the changing demographics of Indiana’s populations. Attendees will explore how philanthropy can work to address persistent economic inequality through welcoming communities and deploying capital to crucial areas including education and economic advancement.

Maurice Jones, OneTen: Revitalize Communities and Catalyze Economic Opportunity

In the United States, Black and Hispanic workers faced two times the unemployment rates of their white counterparts. What happens when corporations like Lilly, Target, and GM band together to address this unemployment and racial wealth gap? OneTen emerges, under the leadership of Maurice Jones, and joins together chief executives and their companies to upskill, hire, and promote one million Black Americans over the next ten years into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement. Learn ways funders, businesses, and community organizations can work together to support projects that revitalize communities and catalyze economic opportunity for residents.

Lunch Plenary - Connie Lindsey, Northern Trust: From Transactional to Transformational Organizations

Disruption and innovation can help funders move from transactional approaches to transformational organizations. You'll hear from Connie Lindsey, executive vice president and head of corporate social responsibility at Northern Trust, to explore how to leverage data to make changes to your organization’s structure and apply the lived experiences of staff and the grantees and nonprofits you support. You’ll come away with concepts to create sustainable change within an organization’s culture and learn the benefits of diversifying your staff and board to close the racial wealth divide. 

Closing the Racial Wealth Gap through Innovative Investments

In response to the inequities laid bare by the pandemic, there is a surge of giving from business-friendly donors. These innovative investments make an immediate difference by helping Black and Hispanic people rescue their struggling businesses, start new ones, and create jobs and housing in communities that desperately need them. Join this session to learn how funders and institutions are pumping money and fresh ideas into community-development financial institutions (CDFIs). Explore how building cross-sector collaborations can lead to pooled funds and impact investing opportunities that forge a different relationship between foundations and black-led organizations. 

Closing the Racial Wealth Gap through Career Preparedness

Households with less than $30,000 in annual income faced double the unemployment rates of higher-income households. What can philanthropy do to help more people secure higher wage jobs? Join Earl Phalen to explore how improving K-12 learning conditions for children of color results in quality education and career exploration. Learn how the Lumina Foundation is helping to improve Indiana’s graduation rates while ensuring more adults earn degrees and other credentials after high school. Find out about JPMorgan Chase’s five-year investment in workforce development and the future of work through creating economic opportunity and career mobility.

Philanthropy's Call to Action

Close out the day with a call to action and interactive discussion with your peers.

Date & Time: 
Wednesday, October 6, 2021 -
10:00am to 4:30pm EDT
Room: 
Hyatt Regency, Cosmopolitan Ballroom (3rd floor), 1 S. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46204
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