Jennifer Bartenbach's Remarks on Democratizing Philanthropy

Jennifer Bartenbach, CEO of Central Indiana Community Foundation, presented at the Democratizing Philanthropy Research Workshop, hosted by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy on On December 19, 2026. Her remarks explored what it means to democratize philanthropy from a community foundation perspective, highlighting the role of residents, data, and long-term partnerships in shaping more equitable outcomes. This work is central to CICF’s work and to the work of community foundations more broadly: serving as connectors, elevating community voice, and turning research into practical strategies that strengthen local systems.

A write-up of her presentation is provided below.

When people ask what “democratizing philanthropy” looks like from a community foundation seat, I don’t start with theory. I start with a moment I can’t forget. 

During COVID, our Community Ambassadors told us the rental-assistance rules looked fine on paper but were breaking down in real life. As trusted, long-serving neighbors of our city, these were opinions that were informed by firsthand information. One of them said to me, “I’m watching families do everything right and still fall through the cracks.” 

That hit me. Because inside the foundation, our data showed progress. In an earlier era, our data might have carried the day without direct input from affected neighbors. But we now knew that, outside, people were being left behind.  

Their feedback helped to reshape local policy around rental assistance and eviction-prevention. That experience proved to me that democratizing philanthropy means:  the people living the problem must help shape the response. 

At CICF, we’re still early in our research partnerships, but we know the major role we play in this ecosystem: we convene.      

…We can bring neighbors, funders, and policymakers together. We can, for example, bring outlying counties’ community foundations together with the Indy Hunger Network to study hunger as a problem facing our region, not just our largest city. We can then get usable data to the people who need it most and can use it best.  

Along the way, we’ve learned four major lessons. 

First: share power with residents who are impacted.
It is simple, but it still doesn’t happen nearly enough. The Community Ambassadors showed us that when residents are listened to closely, policy and programs will work better.  

Second: share your experience when it can benefit others.
When it comes to “democratizing philanthropy,” CICF has no greater treasure than our experience over decades living and working in Central Indiana communities. We have worked at nonprofits, city and state governments, schools, and much more. One example of where this comes into play is our work to improve the immigration experience in the larger Central Indiana region. 

In recent years, most surrounding counties have seen tremendous growth among foreign-born residents. As complicated as the issue of immigration has become, that growth is still what helps to fuel a local economy and fill a local talent pool. But for some, serving immigrant communities on this scale is a recent phenomenon. The meaning of terms like “asylum” may not even be familiar.  

Luckily, Indianapolis and other parts of Central Indiana are home to some of the largest immigrant communities of their kind in the country – like Burmese and Haitian-born populations. For decades, we and our partner entities have worked with immigrant service providers. By putting our experience and their expertise to bear on the communities that need it, we can help demystify immigration at a pivotal moment. 

Our third major lesson: give communities control over their data and how it’s used.
This fall, Indy Hunger Network released a regional hunger study across all nine Central Indiana counties. Their partners included CICF, IU’s O’Neill School, and the City of Indianapolis. More than 1,300 households participated. The numbers were sobering, especially for rural communities in the surrounding area 

But instead of presenting the data and telling counties how they should respond, we gave them the results and said, “You know your communities. You decide what comes next.” 

While not every community can afford to run studies like the Indy Hunger Network study, they all need this data to help address challenges. By widening our scope – and our resources – we can help surrounding communities elevate their response. In a region as interconnected as Central Indiana, that is a critical adjustment.  

Fourth: commit to neighbors for the long haul.
Up at 38th and Sheridan, partners set out to tackle two long-standing issues: a lack of stable jobs and lack of access to healthy food. Cook Medical and Goodwill opened a medical-device manufacturing site with wraparound supports. In conjunction, Indy Fresh Market opened nearby as a full-service grocery with a rent-to-own model led by local entrepreneurs. 

IU’s Public Policy Institute has studied what this means for residents over time. In all honesty, it hasn’t been a straight line—leadership changed, funding shifted—and more than once, I wondered if the learning would outlast the projects themselves. 

That’s when it clicked: if we want long-term change, we need long-term investment an evaluation. Without shared governance and multi-year funding baked in from the beginning, this kind of learning disappears. But when we invest in it, then the next time a new initiative doesn’t go exactly as planned, we have knowledge to fall back on. 

So, again: 

• Share power from the start. When impacted neighbors define the response, that response is more effective. 

• Share knowledge freely. If we have learned from experience, we should share the lesson. 

• Make data accessible. Return data to the people it describes so they own the story and the next steps. 

• Invest for the long term. Major challenges that developed over years require major commitment and patience. 

Luckily, those of us in this room are all working in spaces that are experiencing new and unprecedented opportunity: For philanthropy, we are living through the largest wealth transfer in human history; for data scientists and researchers, the technology has never been more sophisticated.  

If we can put this power into the hands of our communities, for the good of our communities, then philanthropy can prove its worth like never before.